Great news: Rotterdam reached the next round in the battle to become iCapital. Or, in other words, innovation capital of Europe. At the beginning of September we, together with 11 other cities, have to convince an external jury of our innovation power at the European Commission. The winner will be announced at the end of September.

The first step in becoming iCapital, was to make a proposal with four cases that show the innovative Rotterdam approach in 2018. Making that happen was a great collaboration between different organisations in the city and several departments of the city of Rotterdam. Take a look at the proposal.

The other finalists are: Antwerp (BE), Bilbao (ES), Bologna (IT), Bristol (UK), Dortmund (DE), Espoo (FI), Glasgow (UK), Hamburg (DE), London (UK), Lyon (FR), Nantes (FR), Rotterdam (NL).

What is the European Capital of Innovation (iCapital) Award?
This is an annual cash prize awarded to the European city that is best able to demonstrate its ability to harness innovation to improve the lives of its citizens. It concerns in particular cities that: contribute to open and dynamic innovation ecosystems, involve citizens in governance and decision-making, and use innovation to improve the resiliency and sustainability of their cities.

The 6 winning cities – competing to receive up to €1 million to scale up their local innovation activities – will be announced in September. Commissioner Moedas will reveal the European Capital of Innovation 2019 during the "EU Research and Innovation days" event in Brussels.

Read more about the iCapital award.

Photo: Iris van den Broek