European Twinning & CitiVERSE Plaza: LDT CitiVERSE EDIC brings human-centric AI for cities to Smart City Expo World Congress 2026

From the 3th to the 5^th of November, LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC will be at Smart City Expo World Congress 2026 in Barcelona with a joint pavilion, the “European Twinning & Citiverse Plaza”, a living showcase of practical, human-centric AI and Local Digital Twins for cities.

The shared European pavilion will showcase how artificial intelligence can be turned into practical, replicable solutions for cities. Over the three days, visitors to Fira de Barcelona will see how data, Local Digital Twins and immersive technologies are already helping public administrations govern better, deliver services more efficiently and improve everyday urban life.

Bringing together 25 partners from the European, national, regional and local levels, the Plaza is designed as a living European marketplace where cities bring real challenges and use cases, companies bring technology, and public authorities bring the frameworks that make deployment possible, a shared space where innovation becomes experience and collaboration becomes impact.

At the heart of the Plaza is a clear message: “AI for cities should be human-centric, trustworthy and ready to use”. The EDIC and its partners will showcase practical, replicable AI and data-driven solutions that tackle pressing urban challenges from housing and urban planning to resilience, mobility, the circular economy and digital sovereignty. Aligned with the European Apply AI Strategy, these solutions show how responsible AI can strengthen governance, public services and quality of life, anchored in a balanced and empowered social fabric.

What to expect at the Plaza

Over three days, the Plaza combines ideas and hands-on experience. A Main Stage will host talks, pitches, panels and debates on Europe’s digital future, while a Sandbox Area will offer immersive demos and live simulations of real city use cases. Together they give EU policymakers, local authorities, urban planners, public-sector innovators and AI developers the chance to explore actionable solutions, learn from real deployment stories, and connect with peers from across Europe!

Key highlights

• Opening Ceremony, 3 November at 9:30 with Jan Wester, Martin Bailey, Bob Van Graft, Inga Barisa, Diāna Korbe, and Viesturs Celmins as Moderator.
• EDIC Service Portoflio, 4 November at 12:35 in the FIRA Innovation Playground: “From pilots to Services: scaling city & regional Digital Twins with EDIC” with Jan Wester, Martin Bailey, Jordi Ortuño and Jan Koers.
• Networking reception, 4 November at 18:00 in our pavilion, located in Hall 3, Stand D71.

Find more information

• Pavilion’s full updated program
• LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC Exhibitor Profile
• LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC Service Portfolio session

  Pavilion programme

  Central stage, Sandbox and Fira sessions at European Twinning & CitiVERSE Plaza.

  Central stageSandbox areaFira stage

  3 November4 November5 November

  09:30 - 10:15OPENING CEREMONY PAVILIONSpeakers Jan Wester, Director, LDT CitiVERSE EDICMartin Bailey, Head of Unit, AI for Societal Good, European AI Office, DG CONNECT, European CommissionBob Van Graft, Director of Spatial, Dutch Ministry of Housing and Spatial PlanningErnesto Faubel (Chair) or Jordi Ortuño (Deputy Chair) LDT CiTiVERSE EDICInga Barisa, Adviser for EU Strategic Investments, Riga City Council Digital AgencyDiāna Korbe, Head of Geospatial Data Unit, Riga City MinicipalityModerator: Viesturs Celmiņš, Managing Director, VEFRESH10:20 - 10:35Applying AI for Smart Cities and CommunitiesHow Apply AI strategy helps to connect developers, public administration and ecosystem to identify high-impact needs, co-develop solutions and test them in real environments.Speakers Martin Bailey, Head of Unit, AI for Societal Good, European AI Office, DG CONNECT, European Commission10:40 - 10:55EuropAI & EDIC towards Sovereign AI SolutionsHow can Europe move from isolated AI pilots to scalable, reusable solutions for cities and public administrations? By leveraging the EDIC’s shared infrastructure and sandbox environment, AI solutions developed through EuropAI could be tested, validated and adapted for use across European cities.Speakers Marc Minnee, WP3 Lead EuropAI, part of Apply AIJaan Saar, Operations Lead, LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC11:00 - 11:15From Projects to Standards: Interoperability and Reference Architecture for Local Digital TwinsProgress on a common European foundation for interoperable Local Digital Twins through the standardization of a Reference Architecture and Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms.Speakers Thimo Thoeye, Tech Lead, OASCMartin Brynskov, Founding Director and Standardisation Lead, OASCJan Koers, Strategic Advisor to the Director, LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC11:20 - 11:35LDT CitiVERSE Reference architecture: A Common European Blueprint for Networked Local Digital TwinsHow can European cities develop Local Digital Twins that remain locally controlled, while still connecting, sharing and reusing solutions across cities and borders? Disover the LDT CitiVERSE Reference Architecture, a common European blueprint for interoperable and reusable Local Digital Twins. The ambition is simple: local freedom, European interoperability and reusable public value.Speakers Jan Koers, Strategic Advisor to the Director, LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC

  11:00 - 11:35What is the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC Sandbox?How do we make sure that what one European project builds can be trusted, reused and scaled by others? The LDT CitiVERSE EDIC Sandbox is a shared infrastructure for validating and demonstrating interoperable building blocks for Local Digital Twins. Step by step, it brings together a growing ecosystem of building blocks that are proven to work together.Speakers Corné Helmons, Sandbox Alliance Lead, LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC16:40 - 17:15EDIC Initial Services: From EU vision to local actionDiscover the EDIC’s first 4 services designed to help cities and regions adopt Local Digital Twins along different stages of the adoption journey. The focus is on turning European innovation into practical, scalable solutions that create real value for cities and communities.Speakers Jan Koers, Strategic Advisor to the Director, LDT CiTiVERSE EDICJaan Saar, Operations Lead, LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC17:20 - 17:35EuropAI: Building reusable GenAI for EDIC recipe uptakeBuilding upon European solutions for data spaces and identity management, this presentation gives some practical insight in how to augment your Local Digital Twin using AI-supported scenario sweeps and indexing legal constraints for informed and integrated spatial planning. AI is helping you to navigate complex spatial challenges and foresight social impact.Speakers Marc Minnee, WP3 Lead EuropAI, part of Apply AI

  18:00 - 19:00RECEPTION Hosted by LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC

  No sessions in this space on this day.

  13:00 - 13:35NEXCITY: evidence for true interoperability between Rotterdam and Valencia, for data and toolsRotterdam, Scenexus and Future Insight show live how NEXCITY gathered evidence of true interoperability between Rotterdam and Valencia: not only datasets via open standards, but also tools, with Scenexus Urban Strategy running on both cities’ data.Speakers Corné Helmons, Senior Advisor LDT Interoperability, City of RotterdamJeroen Borst, CEO, ScenexusRick Klooster, Technical Director, Future Insight17:20 - 17:35Open developer platform on AR/XR for CitiesTBDSpeakers TBD

  16:00 - 16:35What is the LDT CitiVERSE EDIC Sandbox?Live demo of the EDIC Sandbox: shared infrastructure to validate and demonstrate interoperable building blocks for Local Digital Twins. Starting with the LDT Toolbox, open to national programmes for scaling with cities and to future EU pilots.Speakers Corné Helmons, Sandbox Alliance Lead, LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC

  10:40 - 11:35LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC Initial Services and replicable recipesDuring this demo session you can see how the initial EDIC services look like and how they deliver value to regions and cities: 1. Identify Opportunities, 2. LDT Assessment with Roadmap generation, 3. EDIC Sandbox 4. Teaching how to Implement The concept of reusable recipes will also be explained and demod using a practical prototype.Speakers Jaan Saar, Operations Lead, LDT CiTiVERSE EDICCorné Helmons, Sandbox Alliance Lead, LDT CiTiVERSE EDIC

  No sessions in this space on this day.

  12:35 - 13:20From pilots to Services: scaling city & regional Digital Twins with EDICLocation Stage: Innovation playgroundOrganised by Co-organised by Barcelona City Council & LDT CiTiVERSE EDICJan Wester, Director, LDT CiTiVERSE EDICMartin Bailey, Head of Unit, AI for Societal Good, European AI Office, DG CONNECT, European CommissionFrancisco García Vieira, Director, Red.esJordi Ortuño, Deputy Chair, LDT CiTiVERSE EDICJaan Saar, Operations Lead, LDT CiTiVERSE EDICMartine Delannoy, EU Strategist, Digitaal VlaanderenGerman Castignani, Digital Twin Innovation Centre Manager, LIST

  No sessions in this space on this day.