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Special Edition

Invitation to join the 2026 MCE Community Annual Conference

Grand Tour – Cities and Regions in Action

After more than 40 years Major Cities of Europe has now become the MCE Community – Cities and Regions for Innovation. This evolution aims to strengthen our association’s distinctive value as a collaborative and knowledge-sharing community.

We are excited to announce that our 2026 annual gathering will be an immersive peer-to-peer working experience entitled “Grand Tour – Cities and Regions in Action”, held as a side event of the Barcelona Smart City Expo & World Congress (SCEWC), the premier global event on urban innovation.

OVERVIEW: NEW CONFERENCE FORMAT

The Grand Tour – Cities and Regions in Action introduces a new format for the MCE annual conference. Unlike previous editions, it will not follow a traditional speaker-based model, but instead offer a peer-to-peer working experience.

Participants will actively engage with real and challenging cases. Starting from ongoing projects, we will share strategies, issues and approaches with peers, and translate those insights into action through a curated walkthrough of the SCEWC exhibition where specific challenges will be connected with the actual technologies and vendors on the floor.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

The Grand Tour is designed as a 1.5-day working experience structured into three phases:

Conference Programme Layout(*)

Day 1 – 4 November (Morning)

  • 09:30 – 10:00: Opening Session

    • Introduction and framing

  • 10:00 – 13:30: Collective intelligence session

    • Sharing real cases and discussion

  • 10:00 – 11:00 Live Interviews – Presentation and discussion of significant cases through interviews of some MCE members. For each case the interview will highlight:

    • Context and objectives

    • Key decisions (taken or pending)

    • Main challenges

    • Expectations from peer discussion

The topics selected for the interviews and discussion throughout the event are:

  • Artificial intelligence

  • European digital sovereignty

  • Climate neutral cities

  • Cybersecurity

  • 11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break

  • 11:15 – 13:30 Collective intelligence session

    • Translating cases into a collective intelligence discussion

The key topics discussed in previous live interviews will be explored in depth in several round tables. The brainstorming will be led at each table by a facilitator. The results of the discussion will be presented in the subsequent plenary session in the second day.

  • 13:30 – 15:00 Lunch Break

    • free lunch using the catering services available in SCEWC fair area

Day 1 – 4 November (Afternoon)

  • 15:00 – 18:00 Grand Tour at the Exhibition

    • Targeted exploration of the SCEWC exhibition

Participants will join a guided visit of the exhibition, structured around the themes of the selected cases discussed in the morning.

The aim is to transform the Smart City Expo experience into a focused and meaningful learning journey, enabling participants to:

  • Connect case topics with showcased solutions

  • Develop a critical understanding of technologies

  • Identify tools and approaches applicable in their own contexts

Day 2 – 5 November (Morning)

  • 09:30 – 11:30 Wrap up session

    • Sharing of the results of 1st day Collective Intelligence session and of the Grand Tour experience. Reflection and peer-based conclusions.

Participants will reconvene in groups to reflect on insights gained during the entire event.

The discussion will focus on:

  • Collective Intelligence session outcomes

  • Linking exhibition solutions to the challenges discussed

  • Identifying solutions that may appear suitable but are not feasible

  • Highlighting critical or unsustainable aspects in public administration

  • Extracting valuable insights for future decision-making

The event will conclude with a plenary debrief session, where lessons learnt and key takeaways are shared.

  • 11:30 – 12:00 FREELAND Erasmus+ project presentation

    • The project is focussed on the collaboration among schools, municipalities and stakeholders for the design and implementation of urban regeneration solutions inside abandoned public areas. MCE Community is acting in the project as responsible for dissemination.

(*) This draft programme is subject to change.

Participants will also have free time on 3 November (full day) and 5 November (late morning and afternoon) to explore the SCEWC independently using the received free pass for the fair area.

Opportunities for Participants

  • Engage in open discussions on real and relevant cases

  • Receive a free pass to access the SCEWC exhibition

  • Participate in a guided and thematic visit of the Expo

  • Gain a unique and practical learning experience to bring back to your organisation

We hope that you will be interested both in this new conference format and in the opportunity to also be part of the internationally recognised Barcelona fair.