Following the success of our participation in a Trade Mission last November to Rio and Sao Paulo with Lord Maude, UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment, IRIS has been asked to join another Trade Mission to Brazil. This second mission took place in March and April, focused on the Smart Cities Congress in Curitiba, Paraná.
IRIS has extensive experience working across the various industries involved in urban development such as construction, infrastructure and public administration. Based on this experience, and our prior success exporting to the Brazilian market, IRIS was asked by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) to participate in the Trade Mission to Curitiba, Brazil from the 28th of March to the 1st of April.
As increasing numbers of the world’s population are attracted to metropolitan life, there is a growing demand for a more sustainable and smart urban environment. Over the coming decades, cities will become the real motor of transformation in both the life style and the economy all over the world.
However, planning and developing smart cities is a highly complex process involving multiple stakeholders and numerous layers of project complexity. As Brazil, the 7th largest country in the world continues its rapid urbanisation, the need to manage risk effectively in the move towards smart cities is self-evident.
The Trade Mission was led by Sir David King, Chairman of the Board of Future Cities Catapult and currently the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change. The Smart Cities Event itself was attended by over 3000 participants from across Latin America and was attended by numerous Mayors, CEOs and International Delegations. The event has established itself as the largest discussion forum around the theme of intelligent alternatives for urban growth in Latin America.
The mission provided IRIS and our local partner 2020LATAM with the opportunity to highlight the importance of managing risk in planning for success in the smart cities of tomorrow.
More details can be found here: http://www.smartcitybusiness.com.br/
