Poland in Singapore

“Cities and Human Needs” webinar was a part of  “Provocations” - a series of monthly virtual discussions with foreign participants organized by the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) cluster in Singapore.

The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Singapore has been a member of the EUNIC cluster since 2021, taking part in public diplomacy projects aimed at promoting European cooperation in the field of broadly understood culture.

Natalia Olszewska focused during her presentation on the necessity of applying a humano-centric approach to city design, emphasizing the key role that ethics and neuroscience should play in this process. Smart city idea should not only lead to making the urban space more profitable. In Natalia’s opinion, a smart city means a conscious city that meets the needs of its inhabitants on all levels, starting from physiological needs, ensuring a sense of security, and belonging, to shaping a sense of value, and ensuring the needs of personal development and shaping social attitudes. She presented examples of her own projects where the neuroscience approach was successfully applied during the architecture design process.

After the presentation, there was a short dialog and Q&A session during which a Polish speaker answered the questions posed by the architect and urban planner Dr. Aurel von Richthofen and the audience.

The Culture I Smart City project, initiated by the EUNIC countries in Singapore, aims to create a platform for interdisciplinary discussions and looking for inspiration on the role and importance of culture in the discourse about smart cities.

The recording of the webinar will be available on the Culture I Smart City website:

https://www.goethe.de/prj/csc/en/programs/provocations-6.html