An Associate Event under Ireland’s Presidency of the European Council
Theatre Royal, Waterford City 6 – 7 October 2026
Tuesday, 6 October 2026
The Irish Experience of Sustainable Urban Development, Town Centre First and the mainstreaming of New European Bauhaus into Cohesion Policy
Venue: Theatre Royal, Waterford City
Moderator: Dr Conor Norton
| Timing | Session |
|---|---|
| 09.00-09.30 | Registration and Welcome Coffee |
| 09.30-09.40 | Welcome to Waterford City Mayor Liam Brazil of Waterford City and County |
| 09.40-09.50 | Welcome to the Southern Region Councillor Bobby O’Connell, Cathaoirleach of the Southern Regional Assembly |
| 09.50-10.20 | Keynote Address by Video Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission |
| 10.20–10.40 | THRIVE – The Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme David Kelly, Director of the Southern Regional Assembly |
| 10.40–11.00 | The Viking Triangle Case Study of Heritage and New European Bauhaus as a Tool for Urban Regeneration Morris Conway, Senior City Architect, Waterford City and County Council |
| 11.00–11.30 | Coffee break |
| 11.30–11.50 | Importance of Mainstreaming New European Bauhaus in Cohesion Policy Iulia-Mirela Serban, Head of Coordination of Programmes, DG REGIO, European Commission |
| 11.50-12.10 | National Policy Context: The Irish Experience of Mainstreaming the New European Bauhaus into Cohesion Policy Stewart Logan, Senior Advisor, National Strategic Planning, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage |
| 12.10-12.30 | Academic Research on how National Policy including the Town Centre First Policy assisted in Mainstreaming New European Bauhaus Stephen Wall, PhD Researcher, University College Dublin |
| 12.30-13.10 | How the Irish Model Mainstreams New European Bauhaus in Urban Regeneration and compact growth and how this could be replicated In Europe Moderated by: Enda Hogan, Assistant Director, Southern Regional Assembly Panel: Iulia-Mirela Serban, Head of Coordination of Programmes, DG REGIO, European Commission Stewart Logan, Senior Advisor, National Strategic Planning, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Stephen Wall, Architect and PhD Researcher, University College Dublin Michael Quinn, Director for Economic Development, Tourism and Place Making, Waterford City and County Council Dr Robin Stubbs, Head of Department of Architecture and Built Environment, South East Technological University |
| 13.10-13.30 | Integration and collaboration with Research, Innovation and Higher Education Institutions can enhance urban regeneration Dr Robin Stubbs, Head of Department of Architecture and Built Environment, South East Technological University |
| 13.30-13.40 | Wrap up of Day 1 Sean McKeown, Chief Executive of Waterford City and County Council |
| 13.40-13.50 | Invitation to lunch and to join the Walking Tour and Dinner Dr Conor Norton, Moderator |
| 13.50-14.50 | Lunch and Networking Venue: Dr Mary Stangman Large Room, First Floor, City Hall |
| 15.00-17.00 | Walking Tour and Site Visits A. Reginald’s Tower B. King of the Vikings Experience C. Medieval Museum D. Tir na nÓg @ Lady Lane E. The Bishop’s Palace |
| 18.30 | Networking and Dinner Venue: Tower Hotel Waterford |
Wednesday, 7 October 2026
Building on the success of the Irish Model by utilising the New European Bauhaus as a policy lever for EU funding and the implications for future MFF and Budget
Venue: Theatre Royal, Waterford City
Moderator: Dr Conor Norton
| Timings | Session |
|---|---|
| 09.00-09.30 | Registration and Welcome Coffee |
| 09.30-09.40 | Welcome and Opening of Day 2 Professor Veronica Campbell, President, South East Technological University |
| 09.40-10.00 | European Affordable Housing Plan and New European Bauhaus Eamon Ryan, Chair of the European Housing Advisory Board and Former Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and for Transport |
| 10.00-10.20 | Human Rights and Equality in Urban Regeneration Projects aligns with The New European Bauhaus Ian Murphy, Public Sector Duty Manager, Irish Human Rights & Equality Commission |
| 10.20-10.40 | Meaningful Consultation and Participation opportunities for all, to create more transformative, sustainable and inclusive urban regeneration for the future Mayor John Moran of Limerick City and County |
| 10.40-11.00 | Heritage and the New European Bauhaus as a tool for Urban Regeneration Máire Henry, Architect, Urban Strategist and Founding Director, dhb Architects |
| 11.00-11.30 | Coffee break |
| 11.30-11.50 | The New European Bauhaus Facility Sophia Vlieger de Oliveira, Policy Officer for New European Bauhaus, Joint Research Centre, European Commission |
| 11.50-12.20 | Integration of Research, Innovation and the NEB Facility; Strengthening Ireland’s Regeneration Model for the future Eileen Crowley & Eleni Feleki, Assent Consulting and URBACT Urban Regeneration Experts |
| 12.20-12.50 | Integrating the NEB Facility into Ireland’s Urban Regeneration Model: Looking Towards the Next MFF Moderated by: Dr Matt Kennedy, Global Head of Client Transformation, IDA Ireland and Member of the NEB Facility Expert Group Panel: Sophia Vlieger de Oliveira, Policy officer for New European Bauhaus, Joint Research Centre, European Commission Dr Karl Murphy, European Union Affairs Officer and National Contact Point for the European Urban Initiative and URBACT programmes Dr David Ryan, Vice-Principal for Sustainability, South East Technological University Conor O’Neill, Senior Executive Engineer and Town Regeneration Officer, Waterford City and County Council |
| 12.50-13.10 | Next Steps for Ireland’s Urban Regeneration and Compact Growth Agenda Philip Cheasty, National Contact Point (NCP) for Horizon Europe Custer 5 – Energy, Nuclear Fission, and Fusion Energy, (NCP) New European Bauhaus Research and Innovation and NCP for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission and Enterprise Ireland |
| 13.10-13:30 | Final words & Wrap Up Councillor Gillian Coughlan, Head of Irish Delegation, Committee of the Regions |
| 13.30- 14.30 | Fairwell Lunch & Networking Venue: Dr Mary Stangman Large Room, First Floor, City Hall |