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Innovation requires vision and deeper commitment. Why it is important to be innovative - to save time, resources and money. Smart technologies also play a role in promoting sustainable urban development, reducing the carbon footprint and increasing energy efficiency. We cannot use innovation, however, if we do not convince our fellow citizens that they need it. This was stated by the mayor of Vratsa and member of the Board of Directors of NSORB, Kalin Kamenov, in his opening address at the discussion forum "Innovations and Smart Cities" within the framework of the Annual Meeting of Local Authorities.

The mayor of Vratsa also added that the main factor for the effective implementation of innovative urban solutions is the information preparation of citizens. Innovations can be applied everywhere, as long as people are aware of the need for them, Kamenov said and gave an example of the extension of time for municipalities to prepare for the new calculation of the household waste fee. Without preparation and informing our fellow citizens, we will not be ready even after our given deadline. It is necessary for the state to commit a serious resource to explanatory campaigns about the new proposals and innovations, he said.

Another important condition for turning a city into a "smart" one is human resources, Kalin Kamenov added. Whatever innovations we make, if we do not have prepared experts, they cannot be effective. It is important that, in addition to projects for plumbing, repairs and infrastructure, we also develop projects for education, since without trained personnel there will be no one to develop and incorporate innovations into life. Our task is to lead the municipal policy for personnel training. Invest in education if you want to have innovations, the mayor of Vratsa addressed the representatives of the local authorities.

Within the framework of the discussion forum "Innovations and Smart Cities", the Minister of Innovation and Growth Assoc. Dr. Rosen Karadimov and the Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Bulgarian Development Bank and advisor to the Minister of Innovation and Growth Delyana Ivanova presented the new strategy of BBR. The prepared programs must reach directly to public policies and help overcome regional imbalances in the country.

The aim is for the institution to solidify its role as a real development bank by financing public objects. Karadimov specified that the programs are currently being developed and in 2025 the bank will become a real partner of the Bulgarian municipalities, especially for projects for which the state cannot or does not have the right to allocate resources.

Local authorities must be very active in attracting investors. The state finances projects for the construction of infrastructure leading to future business sites. Attracting entrepreneurs should go along several lines. It is necessary for the Bulgarian Investment Agency to have adequate information from the municipalities, said Minister Karadimov.

The Ministry opens new financing measures under the European programs with a total budget of BGN 5 billion. One of them is under the "Science and Business" program with a budget of BGN 25 million. Under the "Competitiveness" program, several procedures with a budget of nearly BGN 102 million are opened. There will be a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Bulgaria, and some of the measures enable municipalities to participate together with businesses.

Urban development funds are about to be effectively launched. The total budget that will be allocated under the urban development program is BGN 650 million, which will be absorbed by the end of 2029. The public resource will be provided under two of the European programs.

From the point of view of the municipalities, the implementation of the "Development of the Regions" program aimed at 50 large and small cities is key. In this direction, investments in infrastructure for business, including business parks, for sustainable urban mobility, for green urban, cultural and educational infrastructure, for energy efficiency of residential and public buildings are allowed. By the end of 2024, the structuring of the new financial instruments, including those for grants, will begin, concluded the Minister of Innovation and Growth.

We can talk about smart cities where there are people who contribute to making them so. The "FLAG" fund is an innovative financial instrument. "We are a small financial institution, but thanks to the partnership with municipalities, we have a high rating and receive financing with low parameters from all commercial banks in the country - this is the result of smart resource management. Banking institutions know that they can reach the smallest settlements through us," said the executive director of the FLAG Fund, Nadya Dankinova, who was one of the speakers at the discussion forum "Innovations and Smart Cities.

She announced that the FLAG Fund will provide municipalities with free technical assistance for projects related to the transition to clean energy. This will happen through an innovative instrument piloted to finance projects to achieve the transition to clean energy and created with the support of the European Commission. "Initially, the project was focused only on renewable energy sources, but we expanded it, received support, and today this instrument can finance projects in all areas of using clean energy and achieving the goals of the circular economy, including energy efficiency projects" , she said and added.

Nadia Dankinova appeals to the representatives of the local government to seek the expertise of the Fund, because its team knows all the possibilities of financing and in this way the municipalities can structure the financing of their projects in the best and most successful way.

The project for the development of the Danube Industrial Technology Park, which is to be implemented in the municipality of Svishtov, is the result of a long and difficult administrative process, which, within a few years, required the full dedication of the municipal management for the implementation of a number of activities that were carried out with the support of key national and international partnerships and state institutions. This was stated by the mayor of Svishtov, Dr. Gencho Genchev, who shared with the attendees the experience of the Municipality of Svishtov in the implementation of the large-scale project for the construction of the industrial park.

The financing is carried out in several stages with funds provided by NPVU, PRR and the municipality, as well as borrowed funds. The goal is, with common efforts, to build a sustainable economic zone that will generate added value, create a good environment for creating jobs and a better life for the residents of the entire municipality.

"Already during the first term, my team and I felt the scourge of unemployment and the lack of jobs. And all the mayors promise to deal with this problem. Our view is that the solution lies in creating an enabling environment for investors. Svishtov is a city with an economic profile, but due to numerous factors, the Academy of Economics cannot cover the staffing needs. Therefore, in 2017, we decided to go on the road to the realization of the Danube Industrial Technology Park", stated Dr. Genchev and introduced the participants in the discussion to the main challenges and upcoming activities in the construction of the economic zone.

The "ZAHYR" project, whose main coordinator is the University of Thrace in Stara Zagora, envisages the construction of the first hydrogen valley in our country. The value of the project is 16 million euros and it will be implemented by a consortium of 14 Bulgarian and 4 foreign partners. The goal is to produce 400 kg of hydrogen /the fuel of the future/ per day, to be used in the three cities. Within the panel, the project was presented by Prof. Dr. Dobri Yarkov, Rector of Thrace University.

Karlovo is one of the three cities involved in the ZAHYR project to build a green hydrogen valley. "The whole idea of ​​the project is the production of "green hydrogen", through which we become energy independent and create an energy community," said Dr. Emil Kabaivanov, mayor of Karlovo and member of the Board of Directors of NSORB.

Hydrogen is the future of Europe, and municipalities are the most active drivers of innovation in the country. I am convinced of the meaning of this project and I am sure of its success, added the mayor of Karlovo.