50th Anniversary of Sophia Antipolis, The First Science and Technology Hub in Europe

PARIS,Feb. 11,2019 --

Jean LEONETTI,Mayor ofAntibes Juan les Pins,Presidentof theSophia AntipolisMetropolitanCouncil and of theSophia AntipolisJoint Association(SYMISA),unveiled thismorningthetimelineof eventsscheduledin2019as part of the50thanniversary of Europe's firstscience and technologyhub.

Thisseries ofevents aim not only to celebrate the progress made by the trailblazers whofollowed one another at Sophia Antipolis,but also to explore the challenges of tomorrow and set the course for the years to come,with a special emphasis onartificial intelligence.

1March2019:An eventinvolvingSophia Antipolis'sstakeholders

Today,nearly 40,000 people work at the science and technology hub.On Friday1stMarch2019,hundreds of women and men fromSophia Antipolis (residents,students,employees,etc.)willgather toform together a human logoas a sign of the hub's vitality.

April2019:The3IAlabel formalizing theexcellenceof thescience & technologyhubin the field of AI

The3IA Côte d'Azurproject,focusing on the issues of"Digital HealthandBiology"andthe"SmartCity",will be formally labelled in April 2019 by the Minister of Higher Education,Research and Innovation.

13June2019:Celebrationof the 50thanniversary

In the morning,inaugurationof the exhibition#BeSophia,an open-air,markedcourseembarking visitors on a journeythroughout thescience and technologyhuband shining a light on its history,strengths and values.

- In the afternoon,aforward-looking round-tablesessiononthe topic of"newtechnologiesandtheir role in tomorrow's society"will take place in the facilities of Skema Business School. Several top-notch speakers will be on stage to share their perspectives.

November2019:Secondeditionof theSophI.A Summit

After the success of the first edition of November 2018,with1,300participants to theconferenceson the variousapplicationsof AIhosted by50French and internationalexperts,a second edition of the SophI.A Summit is underway.

December2019:Laying of the first foundation stone of the'Ecotone'project and burying of a time capsulesealed until2069!

- A new gateway to the science and technology hub,this40,000sq. mdevelopment projectwill becarried outbyCompagnie de Phalsbourg,with thesupportof architects Jean NouvelandManal Rachdi. Ecological and definitely innovative,the complex will house,among other things,office and coworking spaces,including a replica of Xavier Niel's brainchild,the Paris-based Station F incubator - all of this on premises stretching over 27,000 sq. m of green space.

- To mark the end of this extraordinary year,a time capsule will be buried under the ground of the future 'Ecotone' site,and left there for the next generations to discover.

A series of itemsrepresentative of people's everyday life,ofinnovations,testimonies,messagesandvisionsof thefuturewill beplacedinsidethecapsulebefore it is sealed,and eventually opened 50 years from now,in 2069.

"In the late1960s,one could legitimatelydoubt the success ofthe creation of acenter forinnovation and high-technologylocatedin the middle of nowhere,in a regionmoreclosely associated with tourismthanwith industrial development.Yet,it all worked out.With nearly5,000researchersand2,500companiesthatemploy38,000workers within ascience and technologyhubfeaturing90%of green space,what looked like a challenge at firstproved to be an undeniable success,boasting today€5.6Bnin turnover.Thescience and technologyhubalso succeeded in attracting beyond our borders,as reflected byits188foreign companiesemploying nearly10,000people of67 nationalities.

Today,Sophia Antipolisiscelebratingits50thanniversary.Half a century during which theideaof cross-fertilization haskept enduring.The fact thatSophiaTech,thenewUniversity,chose to settle here,that the"Business Pôle"business incubatorand its many startupsareexpanding everywhereand,more importantly,that the firstEuropean science and technologyhubhas just beenawarded the3IAlabelis proof that the very idea ofSophia Antipolis,at the crossroads betweeninnovationandexcellence,is more relevant than ever,"says Jean Leonetti.