Sofia participates in an international training project of Bloomberg Philanthropies on urban digitalization and innovation policies. The project provides access to a network of city leaders and training provided by leading global experts in innovation and digital services to citizens.

Sustainable growth in the business sector is one of the main factors influencing the selection of Sofia as one of the participating cities. The capital participates in the project on the initiative of Mayor Yordanka Fandakova.

Sofia will participate in a new two-year digital innovation programme developed by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The initiative aims to help 21 European capitals to improve their services through digital innovations.

The city will receive expert technical assistance to improve and develop digital services for citizens related to one of the following topics: Habitation, Mobility, Healthcare, Education and Jobs.

The Bulgarian representatives will also have access to a specialized educational programme provided by Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School – Skills Consolidation Faculty.

The first meeting of city representatives took place in January in London, and currently the selection of specific projects to be supported is expected, as well as a series of distance learning courses.

The opening event was attended by the teams of all associate cities, including Amsterdam, Madrid, Ljubljana, Athens, Dublin, Vilnius, Riga, Brussels, Budapest, Prague, Stockholm, etc.

In Sofia, the project is within the remit of Vladimir Danailov, Deputy Mayor responsible for Digitalization, Innovation, Economic Development and Investment.

“Through this new offering, we hope to see these cities take their work to the next level by putting people at the heart of digital transformation, driving 21st Century ways of working across their organizations, and sharing lessons with other cities around the world,” said Andrea Coleman of Bloomberg Philanthropies in an official communication.

All participating cities can be seen on the following link: https://www.bloomberg.org/press/releases/bloomberg-philanthropies-selects-twenty-one-european-cities-to-join-new-digital-innovation-program/?fbclid=IwAR0Nh0DdQGamfvvduJQOO-a8Hga8ulBPw14mCDE-2f90v4t4XAR_be4ZqOY

Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 510 cities and 129 countries around the world. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health.