At the end of September, Utrecht was the beating heart of the Future Green City World Congress, the international meeting place for experts on sustainable cities. With more than 200 specialists and 1400 participants, this congress represented a unique opportunity to dive deeper into the cities of tomorrow.
Photos: Martijn Beekman
The conference is an initiative of Koninklijke Vereniging Stadswerk Nederland and Koninklijke Vereniging van Hoveniers en Groenvoorzieners (VHG). The two umbrellas used to organise their own conferences, but had the idea to merge it in 2024. Because urban development and green space, go hand in hand. It grew into an international conference, with as many as 1,400 participants from 60 different countries. Organising it, did not happen overnight. It took no less than 2.5 years.
At the end of September, Utrecht was the beating heart of the Future Green City World Congress, the international meeting place for experts on sustainable cities. With more than 200 specialists and 1400 participants, this congress represented a unique opportunity to dive deeper into the cities of tomorrow.
Matching the event objective
VNG Connect organised the event. That started with selecting the host city, which began with a bidbook request. Project leader Marc Gerritsen: 'The municipality of Utrecht, among others, responded and made a bid book together with Jaarbeurs. On this basis, we chose Utrecht as host and Jaarbeurs as central location. There were several reasons for this, including accessibility, central location and the presence of hotels nearby. But also the congress themes and Jaarbeurs 's sustainability ambitions fit together.'
Talking and thinking along
Account and event manager of Jaarbeurs, Kelly van der Velden-Otten, beams when Marc tells this, "Utrecht is increasingly upcoming as a venue for conferences. This has not only to do with price and availability. For instance, Utrecht is also the region where the focus is on health (Heart of Health). This is not only about care, but also about creating a better living environment in the city. That fits perfectly with this congress. And not to forget: with only 30 minutes from Schiphol Airport, Jaarbeurs is also easy to reach for international participants. We are literally right next to Utrecht central. In addition, we as Jaarbeurs are very good at hosting these kinds of international conferences. We are flexible, like to think along and have the necessary knowledge. We enter into discussion with our client. For example, we look at what the objective is per meeting. On that basis, we look at which locations suit it.'
Marc agrees. He has worked with Jaarbeurs many times in the past and cites the reliability and speed of the team as the most valuable aspect. 'A deal is a deal at Jaarbeurs,' he says. 'People think solution-oriented here. With clear boundaries, of course, but within those boundaries there is room to look for solutions. I also sometimes find that venues are quick to dig in their heels. Jaarbeurs does not do that.'
At the end of September, Utrecht was the beating heart of the Future Green City World Congress, the international meeting place for experts on sustainable cities. With more than 200 specialists and 1400 participants, this congress represented a unique opportunity to dive deeper into the cities of tomorrow.
At the end of September, Utrecht was the beating heart of the Future Green City World Congress, the international meeting place for experts on sustainable cities. With more than 200 specialists and 1400 participants, this congress represented a unique opportunity to dive deeper into the cities of tomorrow.
Together for the best result
Both look back on an extraordinary conference. Kelly: 'It was a unique journey. It's great when you are present from day one and sit in on the first talks. Then you start looking for the right spaces and together you look bit by bit at how you are going to shape it. And then more and more parties join in, with different interests. That really is quite an organisation. And then comes the moment when you think: we are ready. We can go now! And then when it's over...? Then the afterglow begins.'
International success
All in all, Future Green City was a great success. It brought together a diverse audience, from urban planners to environmental experts, with one common goal: to share ideas and solutions that contribute to a greener future for cities. The plenary sessions and workshops provided inspiration and showed participants how innovations such as green roofs, circular construction and smart urban planning can be applied. And participants also looked back enthusiastically. Both the conference itself and the location were rated with a fat 8.5.
At the end of September, Utrecht was the beating heart of the Future Green City World Congress, the international meeting place for experts on sustainable cities. With more than 200 specialists and 1400 participants, this congress represented a unique opportunity to dive deeper into the cities of tomorrow.
At the end of September, Utrecht was the beating heart of the Future Green City World Congress, the international meeting place for experts on sustainable cities. With more than 200 specialists and 1400 participants, this congress represented a unique opportunity to dive deeper into the cities of tomorrow.
- Number of visitors/participants: 1400
- Visitors/participants come from: 60 different countries
- Venues used: Expo hall, Beatrix theatre and 17 subspaces in MeetUp
- Goal of the meeting: Inspire and connect
- Special element to mention extra: congress and venue were rated 8.5
