Belfast is a leading pilot city in a €7.9 million European project that aims to transform historic urban areas through innovation.
Belfast City Council has teamed up with the Maritime Belfast Trust to deliver the exciting ‘Hub-In’ project along the Maritime Mile in the city’s Titanic Quarter from 2020 to 2024.
Along with seven other cities in Portugal, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Slovenia and Romania, Belfast is exploring how innovation can spread public benefits from urban regeneration projects in historic areas, thanks to funding from the European Commission – Horizon 2020.
In Belfast, the project will focus on the Maritime Mile along the city’s waterfront, which encourages people to explore Belfast’s maritime and industrial heritage. It connects key attractions, public realm, sculptures and viewing points on both sides of the River Lagan – and the project will allow us to consider innovative ways to further animate and enrich this space.
By working with neighbouring communities around the Titanic Quarter, and right across the city, we’ll support people to develop entrepreneurial and digital innovation skills and foster new business opportunities to help further transform our heritage waterfront into a dynamic destination and hub of innovation.
The four-year project also provides a valuable opportunity to share knowledge and best practice on a European level – and to showcase how we’re applying innovation to Belfast’s tourism and culture industries to benefit local communities and the wider economy.
The Hub-In project is supported by a number of other Belfast partners including Catalyst, Belfast Metropolitan College, the Department for Finance’s Innovation Lab and Future Screens NI to develop a programme of Hub-In activities including entrepreneurship support, training, community engagement and trials of innovative technology and new approaches.
More information
You can find out more about the Hub-In network at https://energy-cities.eu/project/hub-in and the Belfast Hub-in project at https://hub-in.oldcotest.eu/pilot-cities/belfast. You can also follow EUHUBIN on Twitter and Facebook.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 869429.
Heritage and innovation workshop –
A roadmap for the Belfast Hub-in
On 23 November 2021 we held a Belfast Hub-in roadmap workshop at Titanic Belfast with 37 representatives from the city’s heritage, public, creative industries, academic and voluntary and community sectors.
Our main objective was to generate and capture ideas on how local creatives can bring their unique perspectives to support the Maritime Mile’s sustainability, preservation, and enhancement through innovation – and for these ideas to support the development of the Belfast roadmap.
Themes discussed at the event included local people and families; skills and education; heritage and information sharing; connectivity and infrastructure; process and values; digital technologies; music and arts; and environment and sustainability.
The Belfast Hub-in team is now reviewing and refining the workshop ideas to align them with the wider European Hub-in project.
Thanks to everyone who gave their time and ideas on the day.
