Valencia, Attractiveness of the host region

1. 2.a Valencia, Attractiveness of the host region Valencia is a city of contrasts where the visitor will find an excellent combination of history, culture and avant-garde. Its increasing urban development has provided Valencia with an ideal infrastructure to host cultural and sports events, trade fairs and business activities. With a mild weather (over 300 sunny days per year), many beautiful natural areas, a rich gastronomy and wide range of hotel accommodation, Valencia has become a very attractive destination for an increasing number of people who are either seeking personal and professional development or simply wishing to enjoy a holiday break In a city such Valencia, having 2,000 years of history, the visitor can soak up the artistic and architectural atmosphere of the modern and the medieval styles which meet in the old town. For instance, La Lonja –a XIII century site declared in 1996 World Heritage Site by UNESCO- is one of the most famous monuments of gothic civic architecture in Europe or the Conjunto Catedralicio (formed by the Valencia Cathedral, the Miguelete Tower and the Basilica de la Virgen) is a remarkable group of medieval religious buildings Among the oldest buildings found in Valencia, some of them -through architectural projects- have been given a new lease of life and a change of use, such as the Palacio del Marqués de Dos Aguas, now holding the National Ceramics Museum; the Mercado de Colón, a commercial art gallery; El Almudín, an art exhibition center; El Monasterio de San Miguel de los Reyes, home to the Valencia public library Valencia is also capable of harmoniously combining its heritage’s distant past with innovative, avant-garde constructions such as wide known Santiago Calatrava’s City of Arts and Sciences, Norman Foster’s Conference Centre, Kazuyo Sejima and RyueNichizawa’s extension of the Valencia Institute of Modern Art and José María de Paredes’s Palau de la Música. All these extraordinary buildings have definitively placed Valencia at the heart of the European architectural vanguard. 4/20

2. 2.a Valencia, Attractiveness of the host region Cultural life in Valencia is very rich and varied, counting on events like the Valencia Bienal arts festival, the Mediterranean Film Festival, the Campus Party, the Festival of Eclectic Music, the Young Film-Makers Festival, the Jaume I Research Awards or the Ensems Festival. On the other hand, the offer of museums is very wide; the most important ones are The Museum of Fine Arts (the second biggest collection of paintings in Spain after Madrid’s Prado), The Reales Atarazanas, the Casa Museo de Blasco Ibáñez, the Valencia Institute of Modern Art (IVAM), the Valencia Museum of Enlightenment and Modernity (MUVIM), the Valencian Centre of Mediterranean Culture and the Palacio de la Exposición. But Valencia is not only culture and history: green areas and natural sites are numerous in its urban centre. The Parque de Cabecera, covers 334,000 square meters. The dried out river bed of the Turia has been converted into a magnificent park with 10 km. of vegetation and facilities for athletics, baseball and basketball, cycle paths and a playground. Regarding natural sites, Albufera de Valencia -declared a Special Protection Area for Birds in 1994 by a European directive- is an area of outstanding natural beauty. Business life and activities in Valencia are of a growing importance because of its strategic location, its communication infrastructures and the modern facilities offered such as the Valencia Conference Centre (www.palcongres-vlc.com) or the Feria Valencia trade fair centre (ferias.feriavalencia.com). And last but not least, the climate and the geographical location have converted sport events in a milestone for Valencia. This underlines the great capacity of the city to host world sports events such as the sailing’s 32nd America’s Cup in 2007 (recently elected among 60 candidate cities), the sailing Copa de la Reina or the Motorcycle Grand Prix that is taking place at the Ricardo Tormo circuit until 2011. 5/20

3. 2.b Hotels 5* and 4* hotels close to the proposed venue Valencia offers a full range of accommodation that is at the traveler's disposal both through tour operators or individual bookings. More than 6.750 hotel beds are available among the five and four stars hotels. The following list provides those five and four star hotels close to the Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences: 6/20

4. 2.b Hotels 5* and 4* hotels close to the proposed venue 7/20

5. 2.c Transport: Air Valencia: Manises International Airport Distance from downtown: 8 km Valencia is easily reachable from major European cities through direct flights 8/20

6. 2.c Transport: Sea Port of Valencia Valencia has one of the most active ports in the Mediterranean area and it has become a cruise stopover point of international importance Transport: Land Accessibility network An extensive network of motorways, coach and rail connections links Valencia with main destinations is Spain and Europe 9/20

7. 3 Availability of high level regional and local representatives Since this opportunity has gathered the efforts of all the political, economic and social actors at regional and local level, the conference will count on the availability of high level representatives at both regional and local level. This opportunity to host and to help organise the next conference has caught the attention of higher level regional and local agents in our area and presently we count on the full support of Generalitat Valenciana, the regional government; the City of Valencia; IMPIVA, the Valencian Institute of SME´s; La Ciutat de Arts y Sciences; the Universidad Politécnica; La Albufera National Park; the Valencia Port Authority, amongst others. 4 Mobilization of local constituency and pressCivil Society for the innovation Both regional and local actors will guarantee the wide participation and deep commitment of main social regional and local actors such as Generalitat Valenciana, the regional government; the City of Valencia; IMPIVA, the Valencian Institute of SME´s; La Ciutat de Arts y Sciences; the Universidad Politécnica; La Albufera National Park; the Valencia Port Authority, amongst other. These joint efforts of regional and local actors to promote and exchange experiences about economic development, innovation and tourism will also contribute to a achieve a better communication of the event through the coordinated actions of the different press departments. This support allows us to offer not only the venue for the conference, the social programme and parallel activities but also a wide range of extra services that will contribute to improve the quality of the event. 10/20

8. 5 City of Arts and Sciences, 11/20

9. 5.a City of Arts and Sciences, The City of Arts and Sciences is an unrivalled setting for staging ceremonies and events. It is an avantgarde site where the unmistakable architecture of Santiago Calatrava can be seen in the L’Hemisfèric, the Prince Felipe Science Museum, L’Umbracle and the Palace of the Arts, while the L’Oceanogràfic stands out for the spectacular design of the roofs of the main buildings, the work of Félix Candela. This is a unique complex, and now an international benchmark venue, whose 5 emblematic components feature ideal installations for staging events of all kinds. L’Hemisfèric Designed to evoke a giant human eye, the IMAX cinema has an extensive area called the “Perimetral Ring”, a versatile space ideal for staging many kinds of functions. The entire building is surrounded by pools of water that reflect its unique design. L’Umbracle Conceived as a large avenue located at the south of the complex, L’Umbracle comprises a central treelined garden from which the City of the Arts and Sciences can be seen in all its magnitude, housing a large car park on the lower floor. Prince Felipe Science Museum A fine building comprising some 24,000 m2 including indoor and outdoor areas for holding events, conferences and conventions. Highly spectacular spaces that combine the beauty of the architectural surroundings with the Museum’s own exhibitions. L’ Oceanogràfic Europe’s major marine park, conceived as a natural space with a surface area of 110,000m2, which represents the most important marine ecosystems on our planet. Arranged around a large central lake, it features special sections where architecture, design and interior decoration blend in perfect harmony with huge aquariums, providing a backdrop for such singular and emblematic venues as the Red Sea Auditorium and the Underwater Restaurant, as well as the Oceans and Lonja Restaurants. These offer top-level cuisine and are available for gala dinners and cocktail events. Palau de les Arts This majestic building makes use of the most modern technologies, taking on the image expected of a ground-breaking, state-of-the-art facility, and standing out as a cultural catalyst placing the Valencian Community, with its long-standing musical tradition, in a prominent position amongst the regions of the entire world: the finest infrastructure available in the international circuits for opera and large-scale musical performances. 12/20

10. 5.b + c City of Arts and Sciences, Arqueria Lounge Red Sea Amphiteater Underwater / La Lonja restaurants 13/20

11. 6.a + b Social and special interest programmesReceptions and dinners Lunch: City of Arts and Sciences Opening reception: Valencia may offer several unique venues to welcome the participants. - Conference Centre, Designed by Norman Foster, avant-garde versatile building, ideal venue to organize events during the day or at night - La Llotja de la Seda, (the Silk Exchange) Built in the 15th century, this group of buildings was originally used for trading in silk. It is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture whose grandiose Trading Hall illustrates the power and wealth of a major Mediterranean mercantile city along the history. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/782 - MUVIM The Valencia Museum of the Enlightment and Modernity takes the visitor on a journey through enlightenment history and thought to the scientific and architectonic vanguard. - Huerto Santa María, Puig Just 14 km away from the city centre, El Puig de Santa María, is an historical location where in 1237, the legendary battle of El Puig took place, between King James I and the Muslim troops. www.huertodesantamaria.com Accompanying social programme: Guided visits to historical & modern Valencia will be arranged for accompanying persons 14/20

12. 6.c Social and special interest programmesVisits of interest Technological Park of Valencia Presentation of REDIT, Technological Institutes Network of the Valencian Region. www.REDIT.es The Valencian Government established the Network in April of 2001, as a private, self-governing and non-profit association that would create synergies in the areas of Research, Development, and Innovation (I+D+I) among the sixteen Technological Institutes that comprise REDIT. Combining a wide variety of technological services and integrated and efficient innovations with the experience of its Technological Institutes, REDIT has created a valuable nexus for its companies. REDIT offers its participants a complete network of highly qualified individuals and advanced technological infrastructures driven towards promoting a solid and competitive industrial web. REDIT is formed by sixteen Technological Institutes of the Valencian Community. Using this method of organization, REDIT meets the demands of the traditional sectors (textiles, footwear, furniture…) as well as of the new technologies. The Technological Institutes are private non-profit institutions mainly comprised of private companies. Presently, REDIT is made up of 6,700 associated companies and 13,000 customer businesses, and 30% of the latter are located outside of the Valencian Community. As a result, the Technological Centres of REDIT stand out because of their proximity to the productive textile market found in the Valencian Community and especially to the small, medium, and family-owned businesses. City of the Innovationwww.upv.es/cip The City if the Innovation is a model of cooperation conceived by the University with the aim of focusing all the scientific potential to the service of the research and industry development. In 140.000 m2, located in the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, has space for more than 20 research Institutes of the University and enterprises. Institute of Biomedicine Príncipe Felipe, CIPF.www.ochoa.fib.es CIPF came into being in 2002 as the local authority’s greatest investment to date in the sphere of biomedical research. Its mission is to create an environment in which investigators, from all over the world, feel challenged and inspired to carry out high quality research. CIPF’s principal objective is the identification and validation of new molecular targets and the synthesis of compounds against these targets, through research in: Biomedicine, Regenerative Medicine, Genomics and Pharmacoproteomics. CIPF is housed in a modern building designed by the Valencian architect Ramón Esteve which covers 32,000 m2 with a usable area of 28,280 m2. CIPF is a meeting point for international science, an ultramodern space where one meets with the most advanced contemporary scientific research and facilities. 15/20

13. 6.c Social and special interest programmeVisits of interest La Albufera National Park Guided visit to La Albufera natural park, close to the city, where it will be possible to watch the natural fauna in this protected area. Visit to the different running projects such as: ECOLIGHT (Life Environment) that aims to reorganise of the public lighting system to avoid light pollution due to an inadequate use of lighting devices www.ecollum.org ECORICE (Life Environment) defines an innovative management model for one of the main remainders generated by the harvest of rice: rice straw with the aim to reduce the impact of its incineration www.eco-rice.net ENEBRO (Life Natura) whose main objective is to recover 55 hectares of sand dunes, including the sea juniper habitat and the restoration a large network of temporary ponds and to raise awareness in regards to the preservation of these habitats. www.lifeduna.com Port of Valencia – America´s Cup 2007 Guided visit to the Port of Valencia to know the works under development for the world sailing America´s cup that will be held in 2007 as well as the different projects related to research and innovation: SIMPYC (Life Environment) Its main goal is to integrate the port cities into its environment and achieve a sustainable urban development in accordance with the economical welfare produced by the port activities, the responsible administrations (local authorities and port authorities) must develop joint working tools. www.simpyc.info EUROSTIBA (Leonardo) The main aim of this project is to develop a specific formation system for port agents by the means of defined professional and training standards that may facilitate the European certification GESINPORTS (Interreg III C) Best practices exchanges focused to environment, security, formation and competitiveness as well as the creation of regional observatories in the partner regions to follow the performance of the installations www.gesinports.org 16/20

14. Annexe 1 IMPIVA Valencian Institute of SMEs The Valencian Community is one of the most dynamic regions of the Mediterranean area and the second most important Spanish region in terms of industrial activity. The Valencian Institute of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (IMPIVA) is the public entity of the regional government responsible for implementing its industrial promotion policy in the sphere of small and medium-sized enterprises. Created in 1984 at the initiative of the regional Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the aim of IMPIVA is to drive forward the process of innovation in the industries and enterprises as a fundamental strategy for enhancing competitiveness. In order to fulfil this objective, IMPIVA offers a series of services and annual action plans aimed at supporting industrial SMEs, while at the same time promoting a network of technical support infrastructures for innovation in the form of Technological Institutes and the European Business Innovation Centres (BICs), locally known as CEEIs. The Technological Institutes of the IMPIVA Network offer SMEs in the Valencia Region a specialised range of advanced technological services, and carry out a whole series of strategic lines of research, development and innovation aimed at responding to the needs of SMEs, and contributing to improve their competitiveness. Through the REDIT Association, IMPIVA will formulate the development of a series of initiatives geared towards generating synergies in terms of research, development and innovation, to be carried out by the Technological Institutes. Technological Institutes are mainly sectorial in nature, specialising in the leading sectors in Valencian industry: Shoes, ceramics, wood and furniture, textiles, toys, metal/mechanical industry, the agro alimentary sector, the electrical industry, computers, plastics, construction materials, packaging and transport. In other areas, its objective is to promote new areas of activity and encourage the application of specific technologies such as biomechanics and optics. The aim of the IMPIVA network is to facilitate and support the creation of new enterprises, or lines of diversification of existing enterprises, that contribute an innovative activity to the region in which they are located. European Business Innovation Centres are set up as non-profit associations and stakes in them are held by bodies of local and regional administrations and various economic, financial, business and social entities. The cornerstones around which the activities of Valencia’s regional BICs are structured are: boosting local resources to stimulate and promote the creation and development of innovative enterprises, and promoting innovation as a strategic factor with the aim of contributing to the modernization of the Valencian business fabric. The BIC network in the Valencia Region comprises four CEEIs in Alcoy, Castellón, Elche and Valencia, which in turn are associated with the Spanish ANCES network (National Association of Spanish CEEIs), and the European EBN Network (European Business Innovation Centres Network). 18/20

15. Annexe 2 AVANTIC Strategy for Telecommunications and Technological Knowledge Society • Avantic is the Strategy to consolidate the advanced Telecommunications and the Technological Knowledge Society in the Valencian Community (2004-2010). • It is an initiative of the Valencian government to impulse the Valencian region towards the Technology and Knowledge Society, consolidate its vanguard and prescriptive position in the European scope, and to guarantee a greater competitiveness and a sustainable development, as well as quality levels of life and social cohesion as an advanced society. For that reason, the Valencian Government impels within Avantic two new strategic plans to advance even further towards the new Technological and Knowledge Society, in the specific aspects of telecommunications (PEVTA) and in the Information Technologies and Knowledge Society (PETIC). Also, within avantic a group of horizontal Programs are included due to they affect common matters in both plans. • Avantic is composed by 3 main blocks: • Two strategic plans: PEVTA (Valencian Strategic Plan of advanced telecommunications) and PETIC (Strategic Plan for the Consolidation of the Technological and Knowledge Society). Plus horizontal or cross programsare identified and defined for both plans and the management structures and change management. • PEVTA: •  The development of the concept of advanced Telecommunications Valencian Model was based on the new telecommunications scenario at European, Spanish and our regional levels as well as the elements that compose it: the Intelligent Convergence, the Valencian System of Advanced Telecommunications, the infrastructures, networks and services of corporative telecommunications and the Telecommunications and the Valencian sector of R&TD. • The programs that form PEVTA count with the same structure: objectives and lines of performance of each program and, for each of them, objectives and predicted performances. PETIC: • Evaluates the plans of modernisation based on IT impelled by the Valencian Government, making special emphasis in the obtained results, and analyses the most significant references both in other Spanish regions and international scopes. • Describes the concept of Technological and Knowledge Society, analysing the contextual situation for its development (economy, enterprise and administration) to reflect the current positioning of the Valencian region in this new paradigm of the Technological and Knowledge Society . • Raises the new model of action of the Valencian Government, the leadership role that must exert the strategic Administration and the strategic lines that will sustain the development of the plan: to impel an environment where the Knowledge Society prosper and the progression towards the Intelligent Administration. 19/20

16. Annexe 2 AVANTIC Strategy for Telecommunications and Technological Knowledge Society AVANTIC currently counts with 53 projects, most of them very innovative, because of their objectives and their implementation: ACCV, the Certification Authority of the Valencian region that provide digital sign to citizens; Alcoi Ciudad Digital (ACD) the represents the paradigm of digital city; ALTERBAN proposestechnological alternatives of broadband; Ciudades Inteligentes is a project that aims to develop an intelligent digital platform that facilitates a comprehensive offer or services addressed to citizenship, evolving towards a more integrated collaboration between private and public sectors and other Public Administrations). CompeTIC improves the competence of the Valencian SMEs; Comunitat Móvil, which main objective is to provide mobile coverage GSM/GPRS across the hole region as well as to facilitate the establishment and expansion of UMTS mobile phones; CSIRT CV is the Response Centre to face the computer security incidents of the Valencian region; CVINT is the Virtual Centre of Research and Development of New Technologies. GESCOVA aims to designand set up the most efficient solutionsin the improvement of the procedures and resources of the Valencian Public Administrations; Internauta related to digital literacy, aims to train 225.000 citizens; i-PYMES which main goal is to reach intelligent SME through the optimisation of the knowledge provide by ICT in order to create Intelligent Productive Environments (EPI); m-GOVERN is setting up a mobility platform in order to providethe access to the Public Administration through mobile devices; SIMAC, Multi-channel Integrated System of Citizen Care; etc. For further info: www.avantic.es 20/20