After the plenary session of World Cities in Seoul on 14.03.2017, delegates from Tampere visited Gwangju from 15. to 16.03.2017, having meetings at the Gwangju City Hall (mobility department), the city-owned International Climate and Environment Center (ICEC), the GIGA Gwangju Institute of Green-car Advancement (GIGA), the production plant of KIA motors and the Green Valley of KEPCO in Neju, South Jeolla. Tampere delegates also visited the Green Technology Fair SWEET 2017 and participated in a local climate action group meeting organised by Gwangju City Council.
Delegates from both cities identified potential areas of cooperation along two main thematic areas:
Smart Cities / Mobility: Tampere has identified smart mobility as a key area of potential cooperation. Tampere is interested in establishing cooperation and knowledge exchange on bike sharing, car sharing, technology, software and the IoT. They are also interested in the utilization of open data and ‘digital city pilots’ – smart city test environments. Gwangju’s own Smart City provides a good avenue into furthering cooperation and establishing the basis of knowledge exchange, and Gwangju foresees cooperation in this area being spearheaded by cooperation between Tampere and KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation).
Energy Efficiency and Climate Change: Both cities have expressed interest in cooperating in the field of energy efficiency. In particular, Gwangju is interested in cooperation and knowledge exchange on GHG emissions reductions, hydrogen/electric vehicles, and civic participation. Gwangju has also expressed particular interest in learning more about Tampere’s experience with renewable energy.
Other topics:
Both cities have also expressed interest in the potential for cultural exchanges, and university and education cooperation, such as through research and student exchanges.
Impressions
