On May 26, 2021, Academic Director of the Smart City Management Program of the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg University (GSOM SPbU), Associate Professor of the Department of Public Administration Ekaterina Sokolova will take part in the First All-Russian Forum "Happy Cities" and will make a presentation on the topic "Who will build Happy Cities: Training Specialists in the Smart City Management”.

The Happy Cities Forum will be held for two days — May 26 and 27. The purpose of the event is to attract development leaders from business, public activists and government officials to the topic of creating an environment for a comfortable and happy life for citizens. This year, the Forum will be attended by heads of city administrations, representatives of the academic community, psychologists, book authors and editors. The program and broadcast of the performances will be available on the event after registration.

The organizers of the Forum are the national initiative "Living Cities" — an international community that brings together about 700 experts and practitioners of urban development from 240 cities around the world.