26–27 NOV. 2020
Draft URP 2020 Agenda
Version 23 November 2020
All times are Central European Time (CET)
The agenda brought together keynotes and circa 150 speakers and conference participants from more than 40 countries. The Book of Accepted Abstracts (PDF) summarizes contributions to the event.
The URP2020 conference has been carried out using a Mobile Event App (MEA) at
Within MEA, registered users find the detailed program and all presentations.
An overview of the program for downloading is available here and summarized below:
>> For the plenary sessions, including opening and keynotes, interpreting was provided from English to German and German to English. – All parallel Sessions were in English. Interpreting from English to German was provided for indicated Sessions.
Thursday | 26 November 2020
09:30 – Technical check and pre-program in conference app
10:00 – Grand Opening Session
Conference Chairs Dr. Stephan Bartke, German Environment Agency & Prof. Dr. Sigrun Kabisch, UFZ
Minister Anja Karliczek, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Burkhard Jung, Mayor of Leipzig and President of Deutscher Städtetag
10:15 – Panel Discussion:
The Transformative Power of Politics, Cities and Science for the Common Good
Minister President of Free State of Saxony Michael Kretschmer
Prof. Dr. Silke Weidner, BTU Cottbus, advisor to German government on Leipzig Charter
Prof. Dr. Georg Teutsch, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ
11:00 – Climate neutrality: Bridging the gap between political vision and practical reality
Maria Vassilakou, Member of Horizon Europe Mission Board for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities and former Deputy Mayor of Vienna and Executive Councillor for urban planning, traffic & transport, climate protection, energy planning & public participation
11:30 – Driving Urban and Regional Transitions – the role of science, research and innovation
Margit Noll, Chair of the Management Board of the JPI Urban Europe
11:40 – Research and Innovation to Address Urban-Rural Partnerships Challenges
Dr. Stephan Bartke, German Environment Agency, Stadt-Land-Plus synthesis project
Prof. Dr. Sigrun Kabisch, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ
11:50 – Research & Innovation Pitches
Elevator pitches introduce the variety of selected Stadt-Land-Plus projects & URP2020 posters.
12:15 – Poster Session and Lunch Break
Talk to the poster presenters, explore the various information and interactive tools of the Mobile Event App and take a break.
13:30 – Parallel Sessions
Track 1 Governance of urban-rural linkages:
Track 2 Land-use management regional scale
Track 3 Resilience and extreme events
Track 4 Regional circular economies
Track 2 Land-use management regional scale
15:00 – Change Rooms and Coffee / Tea Break
15:30 – Parallel Sessions
Track 1 Governance of urban-rural linkages:
Track 2 Land-use management regional scale
Track 3 Resilience and extreme events
Track 4 Regional circular economies
17:00 – Change Rooms and Grab a Coffee / Tea
17:15 – Parallel Sessions
Track 1 Governance of urban-rural linkages:
Track 2 Land-use management regional scale
Track 3 Resilience and extreme events
Track 4 Regional circular economies
Track 5 Digitalisation
Smart Villages – Catalysts of inclusive development? -26-
18:45 – “Leipzig and the Leipzig Charter – on the Way to a Sustainable City”
Short Film by the City of Leipzig
Friday | 27 November 2020
08:00 – Technical check and pre-program in conference app
08:30 – The Temptation of Urban Rural Partnerships in Transitional European Countries
Prof. Dr. Borislav Stojkov, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Geography. Full member of the Academy of Engineering Sciences of Serbia
09:00 – Change Rooms and Grab a Coffee / Tea
09:15 – Parallel Sessions
Track 1 Governance of urban-rural linkages:
Track 2 Land-use management regional scale
Track 3 Resilience and extreme events
Track 4 Regional circular economies
10:45 – Change Rooms and Coffee / Tea Break
11:15 – Parallel Sessions
Track 1 Governance of urban-rural linkages:
Track 3 Resilience and extreme events
Track 4 Regional circular economies
Track 5 Digitalisation
12:45 – Building Sustainable Urban-Rural Partnerships: Co-Productive Tools for
Transcending the Binary Divide
Prof. Dr. David Simon, Professor of Development Geography, Royal Holloway University of London and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS)
13:30 – Closing Ceremony
Concluding remarks and outlook by conference chairs
14:00 – End of Live Program
Continue exploring the various information and interactive tools of the Mobile Event App to stay in contact with other participants.
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Hybrid Conference