05. 11. 2025
Author: Zuzana Novotná
PRESS RELEASE: Students from Brno presented their project at a global conference in Barcelona
November 5, 2025, Brno – Four students from Bosonožská Elementary School in Brno successfully presented their security drone project to an international audience at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2025 in Barcelona, the world's most important event focused on urban transformation and innovation.
The presentation took place on November 4 in the Czech pavilion (P3 D100), where the Czech Republic presented itself on an area of 416 m². Under the leadership of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, five ministries, four cities, a dozen institutions from their ecosystems, 35 innovative companies, and seven universities joined forces here. The children's expedition from Brno also took part in the grand opening of the Czech pavilion. Together with representatives of ministries, cities, and companies, they symbolically cut the ribbon and opened the Czech exhibition.
The Brno students earned their place at the congress by winning the URBIS Challenge HackaTEEN 2025 competition, organized by the South Moravian Agency for Public Innovation JINAG. The competition took place as part of the URBIS Smart City Meetup 2025 fair in June and offered young people the opportunity to find smart solutions to real problems in the cities where they live. Over two days, 21 teams comprising student parliaments with more than 100 elementary and high school students from across the Czech Republic presented their visions of "smart cities."
The winning team, Město v pohybu (City in Motion), impressed the jury not only with their idea itself, but also with the way they presented it to the audience. The children approached their presentation as a short skit, naturally drawing the audience into the problem they wanted to solve. Only then did they present their innovative solution—a safety drone that can be summoned via a mobile app, accompanies users on risky routes, activates lights and a siren in case of danger, and can automatically contact the emergency services. The use of drones can thus significantly increase safety in cities.
"The city of the future should be safe, clean, and environmentally friendly," said 14-year-old Adam Žofka from the team. His classmate Viktorie Skálová added: "Technology should make the world a better place and people's lives easier."
Their project, which combines modern technology, artificial intelligence, and empathy, perfectly captures the mission of the HackaTEEN competition. That mission is to connect technical thinking with humanity and give children the opportunity to see that innovation can have a real impact.
The story of HackaTEEN was presented on the official People-First stage by Dagmar Peřinová, who also became the co-patron of the Czech participation in the congress. In her presentation, entitled "How to empower young people to shape the future of their cities," she demonstrated how young people can participate in jointly building smart cities and developing the places where they live.
"In Barcelona, we presented the Czech Republic as a country with an open mind and heart, where innovations based on cooperation, dialogue, and humanity are created," says Dagmar Peřinová, the main organizer of HackaTEEN and head of the participation team at the JINAG agency. “The children became a proud part of our representation, which showed that technology and people are not in conflict, but on the contrary, can work together to create a beautiful and sustainable world,” added Peřinová.
The competition connects schools, technology, and public administration, giving young people the opportunity to experiment, create, ask questions, and seek answers to real-world challenges. "The goal is to introduce children to the philosophy of smart cities and give them space to transform their ideas that improve life in the cities where they live and in the schools where they study," added Dagmar Peřinová.
Smart cities are not a distant vision of the future. They are a reality that we are already creating together and living in today. Every new application, shared data, green roof, or citizen participation in decision-making moves cities toward greater sustainability, safety, and humanity. It is people—and especially children—who are a natural part of this transformation. Their ideas, courage, and ability to see the world differently remind us that technology only makes sense when it serves people and improves their lives. The story of HackaTEEN demonstrates that the future of smart cities begins in the minds of children who have the courage to change the world, as they are not afraid to see it differently.
About Smart City Expo World Congress
Smart City Expo World Congress, held annually in Barcelona, is the world's largest platform for urban innovation. This year, it welcomed more than 25,000 visitors from 130 countries, 1,100 exhibitors, and 600 speakers. The congress brings together so-called city changers – city representatives, scientists, innovators, and politicians whose goal is to find solutions for a sustainable future for cities. This year's edition will take place on November 4–6, 2025, at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via exhibition center.
More information: www.smartcityexpo.com
More about the HackaTEEN project: www.hackateen.eu
MPO press release: https://mpo.gov.cz/cz/rozcestnik/pro-media/tiskove-zpravy/cesi-lamou-rekordy-nejvetsi-narodni-expozice-otevira-brany-na-smart-city-expo-v-barcelone--290261/
Contact person:
Dagmar Peřinová
Deputy Director and Head of the JINAG Participation Team
Email: dagmar.perinova@jinag.eu
Tel.: +420 606 551 509