The city of Barcelona will host next November 17th the I International Conference PPP for Cities entitled "Fostering sustainability and innovation in cities through Public Private Partnerships". The conference will take place in the context of the Smart City Expo World Congress.

The Conference organized by The Specialist Centre on Public Private Partnership in Smart and Sustainable Cities (PPP for Cities) will discuss and debate about the solutions PPP can offer cities to build Smart and Sustainable Cities (SSC), and in accordance with the SDG of the UN. The sessions at the conference include both roundtables and keynote speeches. Sessions will be attended by some of the most relevant experts, academics and policy makers in their respective areas and it will cover topics such as governance challenges in infrastructures and urban projects, and the role of PPP in urban projects.

There will also be specific sessions led by PPP for Cities Working Groups discussing PPP projects in the areas of water, IT and finance.

The Conference will attract participants from governments at different levels (municipal, provincial and national), academics, as well as private sector delegates representing different professions: finance, engineering, IT and law.

Keynote speakers include:

• Geoffrey Hamilton. Chief of the PPP Programme at UNECE.
• Elisabetta Iossa. Professor of Economics, Dept. Economics and Finance, University of Rome "Tor Vergata".
• Ellis Juan. General Coordinator of the Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative (ESCI).
• Tatiana Khabarova. Director of UN-Habitat Moscow Office.
• Joan Enric Ricart. Professor at IESE Business School.
• Gulnara Roll. Head, Housing and Land Management Unit. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Head of Smart City Program of UNECE.
• Stéphane Straub. Professor at the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), Arqade.
• Francesc Trillas. Associate Professor, Universitat Autà²noma de Barcelona (UAB).
• Xavier Vives. Professor at IESE Business School.
• Guy Fleuret. Managing Director of Transport and Urban Development Division, Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean.
• Luis Fernando Arboleda. President of Findeter, Banco de Desarrollo Territorial.
• Bruno de la Fuente. Concessionaires Director, Seopan.
• Pedro Michelena. Chairman, Foro PPP.
• Alberto Dorrego, Vicepresident, CCIES.
• Irina Zapatrina, Chairman of the Board, Ukranian PPP Center.
• Wang Tianyi, Former Deputy Mayor of Jinan City and Chairman of China Everbright Water Limited.