Prof. Carlo Sessa, EMEA Executive Board Member, represented the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association – EMEA at the 7th International Scientific Conference “Economics of Digital Transformation (EDT) DIGITOMICS”. The event was organised by the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Rijeka, and took place onsite in Opatija, Croatia, and on-line from June 19-22, 2024.
The main theme of this year’s conference was “Artificial Intelligence and Productivity: Challenges and Opportunities. The transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings both challenges and opportunities. While ethical considerations, workforce disruption, security risks, and regulation remain important challenges, AI also offers immense potential for increased efficiency, better decision making, and personalized services.
Prof. Sessa presented the CROSS-REIS Project in the panel “Empowering Long-Term Urban Resilience and Prosperity: Fostering A Regenerative Economy in European Cities – CROSS-REIS EDITION”. The panel discussed key strategies to strengthen long-term urban resilience and prosperity by creating a regenerative economy in European cities. The panel included Jelena Stanković, Faculty of Economics, University of Niš and Saša Čegar, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Rijeka, and it was moderated by Marko Ćirović, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade.
In his presentation Prof. Sessa illustrated the regenerative economy concept of doing more for our and planet’s quality of life, and the application of the concept to improve the quality of life in green living areas. The latter includes high density urban agglomerations (regenerative metropolises) as well as low density rural areas, with different health and flourishing needs for people living in urban and rural contexts. in the discussion that followed the questions from the audience helped to highlight several aspects of the transition to a regenerative economy business model, and directions for future CROSS-REIS applied research in the countries involved in the project (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Albania, Montenegro).
The CROSS-disciplinary network for research excellence in Regenerative Economy Innovation ecosystems (CROSS-REIS) is the project that aims to raise excellence in science and value creation through deeper and geographically inclusive cooperation in alliance of higher education and research institutions in five widening (Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia) and three science-leading European countries (Italy, Norway and Spain), to support the shift towards a regenerative economy paradigm. Global competitiveness and visibility of the high education institutions in widening countries are to be improved by creating critical knowledge and research mass through cooperation with leading European research institutions in the field of the regenerative economy directly aimed towards the twin green and digital transitions.
