SLUSH, the largest startup event in the Nordic region, started in Helsinki in 2008. This year’s event was expected to attract about 13,000 visitors, including about 5,000 startups and 3,000 investors, according to the organizers.

After the partnership between the Frankfurt comprehensive school Schule Am Ried and Sakuragaoka Municipal High School in Yokohama was established in 2017, the first visit by Schule am Ried to its partner school took place in 2018 and the school made return visits in 2019 and 2020, the exchange had to be put on hold for the time being as the visit by Schule am Ried planned for autumn 2020 had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

The City of Yokohama has set up the Mobility Innovation Hub YOKOHAMA concept, aiming to become a city that attracts mobility start-ups from Japan and abroad, and is promoting support for the development of next-generation mobility technologies and their social implementation. Meanwhile, The Drivery, a German innovation support organisation specialising in the mobility sector, brings together start-ups, technicians, investors and others from Germany and abroad to support the creation of new businesses in the mobility sector.

The Smart City Expo World Congress, the world’s largest international conference and exhibition on smart cities, was held in Barcelona, Spain, November 7-9.　Approximately 25,000 visitors, over 800 cities, and more than 140 countries and regions participated, with over 500 speakers and more than 1,000 exhibitors.