How do we turn the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area into a Blockchain hub? That is what the Amsterdam Economic Board is researching together with the City of Amsterdam and StartupAmsterdam through a series of 6 meetups. Because Blockchain could be an important part of the solutions for the six urban challenges of our metropolis. The first meeting tried to find an answer to the question: "How do we ensure more adoption of Blockchain technology now that the hype seems to be over?

On December 4, the Mayors of over 40 cities were invited at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels to discuss the digital transformation. They are all part of the Digital Cities Challenge, an initiative of the European Commission to help European cities develop and implement policies that focus on smart, sustainable growth through the uptake of advanced technologies by local stakeholders, through building up local innovation ecosystems. The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area is one of the 6 Mentor Cities of this challenge, based on the region’s track record in the digital economy and the application of digital, data and smart cities innovations.

Life sciences professionals and members of the business community came together during the final Life Sciences Café of 2018. The subject; personalised prevention. Organised by the Amsterdam Economic Board in collaboration with EY, this series of events offer attendees the chance to learn about and discuss innovations and challenges in the sector, as well as to make new connections and inspire new collaborations.

A special partnership is born for the TechConnect Week (powered by the Amsterdam Economic Board) with TEDxAmsterdamEducation.

Port of Amsterdam, the municipality of Amsterdam, Waternet and TNO have joined forces in the pursuit of cleaner and smarter city logistics. Under the name 'Amsterdam Vaart', the parties are looking at the possibilities of construction transport over water. In addition, the port authority is involved in various sustainable initiatives in the field of urban distribution and circular construction. Commercial manager Kim Borgmann of Port of Amsterdam talks about these innovative projects.