Neapolis hosts a meeting of the C4TALENT URBACT Action Planning Network. The meeting brings together teams of representatives from the European cities involved with the aim of addressing brain drain and fostering the attraction and retention of young talent and promoting technological business initiatives rooted in the territory.
Among the actions that will focus the points of interest of the event are: Rethinking Neapolis as a space for the development of the technological entrepreneurial ecosystem. Collecting collectively coordinated ideas and actions that help avoid the loss and flight of talent and that can be applied in the participating cities. Thirdly, the meeting will provide the opportunity to listen to the interventions of international experts who will dialogue with local socio-economic agents on the challenges to consolidate the ecosystems of innovation and local entrepreneurship.
The mayor of Vilanova i la Geltru, Juan Luis Ruiz Lopez, has received Nerijus Cesiulis, mayor of Alytus, a municipality in Lithuania and one of the 9 cities participating in the project. In addition to the city of Alytus, the cities of Roeselare (Belgium), Alghero (Sardinia), Varberg (Sweden), Pula (Croatia), Centar-Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Rzeszów (Poland), Nyíregyháza (Hungary), Piraeus (Greece) and Vilanova i la Geltrú are participating in the project.
For two days, innovative methods and tools will be discussed, pilot experiences will be presented and collaborative sessions will be held that allow practices, challenges and, above all, those initiatives that have been successes or successful experiences that can be reproduced in other local contexts to be shared.
The common objective of the participating cities is to prevent, and as far as possible stop, the brain drain while contributing with this retention of local talent to strengthen local entrepreneurs. The ability to attract and retain talent is considered a driver of development, considering that this talent thrives in environments where creativity and innovation are encouraged.
C4TALENT (Cities for Talent) is an URBACT IV Action Planning Network, designed to help member cities efficiently address the migration of workers, young people or experienced entrepreneurs. The project seeks to create or facilitate favorable environments for companies and start-ups. Among the solutions offered are from financial support to the existence of physical infrastructures such as co-working spaces and incubators, and using the city as a test bed. The experiences of the Neàpolis Cowork or the Crea&Co business incubator are two consolidated examples in the city of creating environments that capture, attract and retain talent in the city.
