Sustainable development goals

© Shams Asadi

Shams Asadi

Since 2015 Shams Asadi has been the Human Rights Commissioner and the head of the "Human Rights Office" of the City of Vienna. She followed the international studies "City & Regional Planning" at the "Vienna University of Technology" with a long-time activity in the field of urban regeneration and strategic urban development with focus on gender mainstreaming and diversity, and subsequently in the anti-discrimination office. Additionally, she is a member of the "Representation of the Laender" in the "Human Rights Advisory Council" of the Ombudsman Board, certified manager for public services, Austrian MiA award winner in the category "science and research" (MiA – award for the integration of female migrants in Austria), and board member of the cultural association called SOHO in Vienna. She also does scientific research and teaches in universities at home and abroad.

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"Human rights as a foundation and basis of SDGs":

• Presentation (PDF) (German)
• Text version (PDF) (German)

© Katarina Barunica Spoljaric

Katarina Barunica Spoljaric

Katarina Barunica Spoljaric is project manager in the organisation of the "United Nations Industrial Development Organization" (UNIDO). Being in this position, she is responsible for the coordination of the "Sustainable Cities Portfolio" in Asia and at the same time, she is the liaison officer for the "Climate Technology Centre and Network" (CTCN). Integrated urban planning as well as new energy technologies are part of her fields of expertise. Katarina Barunica Spoljaric is a graduate of the University of Vienna and has a master´s degree in architecture and urban development. Furthermore, she is a PhD student at the "Vienna University of Technology".

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Together with Florian Iwinjak

Presentation "The SDGs and UNIDO's Approach to Sustainable Cities" (PDF) 

© Statuarstadt Jihlava 

Rudolf Chloupek

Lord Mayor of the city Jihlava. Responsible for the "Local Agenda 21" and the project "Healthy City". As a politician, he was the Vice Lord Mayor over the course of the last 16 years, being responsible for the school system, culture, physical education, health care, and environment. He also was a city councillor, municipal council, chairman of commissions and committees, chairman of the supervisory board of the "tennis center Jihlava", board member of the hockey club "HC Dukla Jihlava" and of the "administration of the city forest Jihlava". Since 2014, he has also been a member of the regional parliament of the region Vysočina. For more than 30 years, he was active in the school system – as a teacher, primary school principal and in the education authority Jihlava. He studied technical analytical and physical chemistry at the "University of Chemistry and Technology" in Pardubice (1970-1975) and – later on – mathematics and chemistry at the "Faculty of Education at Charles University in Prague" (1982-1988). Furthermore, he completed the studies of school management (2000-2003).

© Daryana Damyanova

Daryana Damyanova

Since July 2013 Daryana Damyanova is senior expert in the directorate "European programmes and projects" of the Sofia municipality. She has experience in the administration and coordination of numerous projects about transregional and cross-border EU cooperation programmes and about international initiatives and campaigns. Currently she is the coordinator of the investment programme of the Sofia municipality that is funded by the operational programme “Regions in Growth 2014-2020” of the EU – a project amounting to a total of about 140 million Euros. She has a master´s degree in economic sciences and a baccalaureate in political sciences, acquired at the "University of National and World Economy" in Sofia.

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Presentation "Sofia's path to Sustainability" (PDF) 

© Miran Gajšek

​​​Miran Gajšek

Miran Gajšek studied at the "Faculty of Architecture at the University of Ljubljana" as well as at the "Faculty for Civil Engineering and Geodetic Survey". He was active in the fields of spatial planning and international affairs at the department of urban planning of the Republic of Slovenia, the ministry of environment and spatial planning, and the city administration of Celje. Since 2005, he has been the head of the department for urban planning of the City of Ljubljana. During his professional career, he regularly manages EU projects about regional cooperation and sustainable development. Additionally since 2000, he has also been the representative of Slovenia at the "European Council of Spatial Planners" (ECTP-CEU).

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Key Note "Ljubljana: Green Public Private Partnership":

• Presentation (PDF) (English)
• Text version (PDF) (German)

© Stadt Sarajevo

Tarik Hamzić

Tarik Hamzić was born in 1985 and he grew up in Denmark and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He graduated from the "School of Economics and Business" at the University of Sarajevo. Afterwards he worked for Siemens for 10 years, collecting interdisciplinary entrepreneurial experience, including expertise in the field of sustainable solutions for urban infrastructures. Currently he is the commercial director and IT representative in the youngest public enterprise of the capital "JP SARAJEVO". Due to his prior knowledge, he is actively involved in the planning of innovative and smart urban strategies and projects.

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Presentation "Sarajevo vs Sustainable Development Goals" (PDF) 

© Ulrike Haslinger

Ulrike Haslinger

Ulrike Haslinger has been working for the environmental protection department (municipal department 22) in Vienna since 1997. Initially the working focus was on nature conservation, most recently on technical and strategic work for "International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora" (CITES). Since 2004, she has been working in the coordination office for sustainability in Vienna. It is part of the intra-Austrian coordination mechanism and deals with implementing the SDGs. "ÖkoKauf Wien" and "ÖkoBusiness Wien" as central programmes serve important impulses for a more sustainable public procurement and orientation of the Viennese economy. A comprehensive strategic consideration of the nutrition system has emerged as an additional focus in recent years.

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Text version "Sustainable development in Vienna" (PDF) (German) 

© Florian Iwinjak

Florian Iwinjak

Florian Peter Iwinjak is strategic relations officer at the "United Nations Industrial Development Organization" (UNIDO) in Brussels and is responsible for the relationship with key partners like Austria, Germany, or the EU. At UNIDO he held various positions, amongst others he worked in the Liaison Office in Brussels for six years. Before that, he worked for the "United Nations Development Programme" (UNDP) as well as in different sectors in Spain, China, and Brazil. He has a master´s degree in export-oriented management, in international development studies as well as political sciences and speaks a number of languages.

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 Together with Katarina Barunica Spoljaric

Presentation "The SDGs and UNIDO's Approach to Sustainable Cities" (PDF)

© Mirka Jozić

Mirka Jozić

Having studied economics, after completion of her training she started her professional career in the private enterprise "Klariko voće d.o.o." and afterwards changed to "Zagreb Holding". She became head of the department for economy, work and entrepreneurship in 2013. Since 2017, she has been managing the newly established department for economy, energy, and environmental protection.

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Summary "Implementation of global goals of a sustainable urban development" (PDF) (German) 

© Statutarstadt Jihlava

Soňa Krátká

She works for the city of Jihlava, is the coordinator of "Local Agenda 21" and the project "Healthy City". In the last 18 years, she coordinated projects in fields of sustainable development, strategic planning, family policy, education, and personal development. She worked in public administration, economy, and at universities. She completed her studies of public administration and regional economy with the minor "pedagogy of economic specialised courses" (1994-1999) at the "Faculty for political economy" at the "University of Economics, Prague".

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"Statutory city Jihlava":

• Presentation (PDF) (Czech)
• Translation of the presentation (PDF) (German)

© Fürthner

Thomas Madreiter

Since January 2013 planning director Thomas Madreiter has been the head of the competence centre "superordinate urban planning, smart city strategy, participation, gender planning in the Chief Executive Office of the City of Vienna", Executive Group for Construction and Technology. Prior to that, after various stations at the "Vienna University of Technology" and in the City of Vienna, he was head of the Municipal Department 18, Urban Development and Planning, from 2005 to 2013. In 2012, he controlled the formation of the Municipal Department 20, Energy Planning. Since 2010, he has been coordinating the Smart City Vienna.

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Presentation "Smart City Vienna – smart solutions for a liveable city" (PDF) (German)

© Martin Nesirky

Martin Nesirky

Martin Nesirky is director of the "United Nations Information Service Vienna" (UNIS). Before that, he held a leading position in the press and public relations of the OSZE. He was in Moscow and Seoul for "Thomas Reuters". Additionally, London, East Berlin and Den Haag rank among his earlier operations sites.

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Presentation "Sustainable development goals: 17 goals in order to change our world" (PDF)

© Archiv MP

Marie Petrová

Architect. Experience in project planning. Worked in state-owned, private sector and non-profit areas. In the Ministry of Environment she has been concentrating on the sustainable development of cities since 2003. Chairwoman of the "Working group for the Local Agenda 21" of the "Governmental Advisory Committee for sustainable development" – a platform that determines the methods and the evaluation for the sustainable development of municipalities. She was a founding member of the "LA21 European Roundtable" (within the project ICLEI, 2006 – 2012) that was created for the purpose of a best practice exchange between European countries in the field of funding the sustainable development on a local level.

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Presentation "Sustainable cities – systems approach in the Czech Republic" (PDF) (German) 

© Wojciech Piątkowski

Wojciech Piątkowski

Graduate of the "Krakow University of Economics" (1996), Faculty Economy, with the specialisation "regional and urban economy". In 2016 he completed the postgraduate studies "city and urbanity – how a good city can be developed" at the "Faculty of European Studies" of the Jagiellonen University Krakow. Since 1997, he has been working in the municipal department for urban development. From 2010 to 2015, he was the head of the department for strategic planning and investments. He is working on projects in the field of strategic planning of urban development, like implementing and monitoring the development strategy of the city of Krakow, as well as on the elaboration of strategic programmes.

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Presentation "Kraków Development Strategy. Krakow 2030." (PDF) (English/German)

© Alena Sirka-Bred

Alena Sirka-Bred

Alena Sirka-Bred holds a law degree and she has been working for the city administration of Vienna (in different functions) since 1997. Since 2017, she has been responsible for the Chief Executive Office – European and International Affairs – the first contact for all international, bilateral and multilateral activities of the City of Vienna as well as service centre for partners at home and abroad.

© Erich Unterwurzacher

Erich Unterwurzacher

Since 2012 Erich Unterwurzacher is the head of the directorate within the "Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy" that controls the implementation of the programmes and projects of the structural funds and the cohesion policy in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Before that, Erich Unterwurzacher was responsible for the administration of financial fundings for candidate countries on the Balkans and Turkey. Between 1996 and 1999, Erich Unterwurzacher was working for the "Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development" (IEA/OECD) in Paris, in this function he was responsible for energy security issues – a place where he had already worked from 1987 to 1991. Between 1991 and 1994, he was working for the "European Bank for Reconstruction and Development" (EBRD).

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Text version: "The urban dimension of the EU cohesion policy and its contribution to the goals for a sustainable development" (PDF) 

© Petr Vilgus

Petr Vilgus

"We include the citizens in the urban planning, together we discover places with potential and advocate for more liveable places to live. Even though it is a difficult path, it is successful. In the 8^th district of Prague we develop places like Palmovka for example. This place is considered dangerous, unpleasant, and hopeless by many people. However, I see it differently. We are changing Palmovka together with the municipal authorities of the capital Prague, construction companies, business people, associations, and citizens. A concept that is unique in the Czech Republic so far is being developed there – a so-called "Business Improvement District".

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Together with Ondřej Kolínský

Presentation "Sustainable Development Goals in Prague 7 & 8" (PDF) 

© František Vosecký

František Vosecký

A genuine Letná citizen (Letná – part of 7^th district) who was working as a marketing consultant before becoming a district deputy of the 7^th district for the first time four years ago. After that he became a city councillor for the "Local Agenda 21" and for business support. In the town hall he introduced the nationwide first public programme for the support of start-ups and prospective entrepreneurs, as well as a project in which students and primary school pupils can collect experience with the public budget by managing a small sum for a certain amount of time. He is a board member of the Czech Green party. 

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Together with Petr Vilgus
Represented by Ondřej Kolínský, coordinator "Agenda 21", Prague 7

Presentation "Sustainable Development Goals in Prague 7 & 8" (PDF)

© Foto Wilke

Thomas Weninger

Dr. Thomas Weninger is secretary general of the "Austrian Association of Cities and Towns" since December 2006. He studied political sciences at the University Vienna and started his professional career at the "Institute for Advanced Studies" ("Institut für Höhere Studien" – IHS). Further career stages were scientific assistance at the "Institute of Conflict Research" ("Institut für Konfliktforschung" – IKF) and the "KDZ – Centre for Public Administration Research". Between 1993 and 1994 Weninger was secretary general of the "Austrian Corporation of Political Sciences" ("Österreichische Gesellschaft für Politikwissenschaft" – ÖGPW). Subsequently he changed to the Chief Executive Office of the City of Vienna where he worked in the coordination office in the area of European integration and international affairs. Between 2003 and 2004 Weninger was head of the department "knowledge management and coordination" in the Chief Executive Office from where he changed to the top of the Municipal Department 27 (EU strategy and economic development). Alongside his professional commitments, he completed the "Master of Legal Studies" at the "Danube University Krems".

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Presentation "SDGs as a chance for Austrian cities" (PDF) (German)