The City Experiment Fund (CEF), a regional UNDP initiative supporting sustainable urban transformation through strategic innovation, is bringing together over 40 participants from across Europe and Central Asia for a two-day kick-off bootcamp in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, on 10–11 April 2025.
The bootcamp marks the launch of collaboration with a new cohort of cities focused on advancing the Twin Transition – supporting digital and green transformation at the local level. Representatives from UNDP and municipalities will come together to explore new ways of tackling complex urban challenges, drawing on systems thinking, foresight, and strategic innovation.
Organized by UNDP with the financial support of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, through the Slovak Transformation Fund, and with generous support from the City of Bratislava, the event will take place at the iconic Primate’s Palace in the heart of the city.
Participating cities in this cohort include Stepanavan and Tashir (Armenia), Kavadarci and Gostivar (North Macedonia), Pristina and Obiliq (Kosovo[1]), Kovel and Nizhyn (Ukraine), and Pljevlja and Podgorica (Montenegro).
Over two days, the programme will guide city teams through a hands-on, collaborative process to reflect on their cities’ transformation goals, shape their innovation pathways, and identify strategic areas for action. Participants will engage in speculative scenario exercises to better understand emerging risks and opportunities, define the future direction of urban development through a systems approach, design transformation portfolios aligned with their main goals, and begin outlining practical approaches for delivering change on the ground. The bootcamp will also create space for peer learning, shared insights, and discussions around innovative financing and collaboration models.
This event is the beginning of a longer-term journey with participating cities, equipping them with the tools and networks needed to design and implement portfolios of innovative interventions that build stronger, greener, and more inclusive cities that are better prepared for the future.
[1] All references to Kosovo shall be understood in the context of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).
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