Countdown: final preparations for the market of digital possibilities

The countdown to the start of the Digital Summit on November 20 and 21 in Jena has begun. Preparations for this major event are in full swing at numerous locations in the city: in the Volkshaus for the Federal Government's Digital Summit, at the University of Jena, the Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences Jena, the StadtLab, Kassablanca and the Kino am Markt for the free, open-access market of digital possibilities. All program content, exhibiting companies and event locations can be found on the website www.digitalgipfel-jena.de(link is external).

Focus: sustainable materials

More than 50 exhibitors will be presenting digital solutions of the future at these five locations of the Market of Digital Opportunities on Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. More than 100 workshops and presentations are planned, where visitors can join in the discussions and help shape the future. There will be a special focus on sustainable materials at the exhibition stands. For example, rented wooden pallets will be used for the exhibition furniture, which can be reused for other events after the Market of Digital Possibilities. Four four-ton trucks delivered the 210 pallets and around 19 tons of wood. Eleven pallet trucks and four forklift trucks are being used to move everything into place. At least three kilometers of cable are being laid.

Road closures and traffic restrictions

In order to secure the Digital Summit and the Market of Digital Opportunities, Carl-Zeiß-Platz will be fully closed on both days from 7 am to 6 pm from the junction of Ernst-Abbe-Straße / Lutherstraße to Jahnstraße / Blumenstraße. Access to the underground parking garage at the university campus will be possible from Bachstraße. In addition, the parking lane in Carl-Zeiß-Straße from house number 6 to house number 11 will be closed on 20.11. and 21.11.

Getting to the Market of Digital Opportunities / shuttle buses

Visitors to the Market of Digital Opportunities are requested to use public transport if possible. Free shuttle buses will run between the various locations. The first bus will start at 7.30 a.m. on Monday at Paradies-Bahnhof (Knebelstraße 11 stop) and then stop at Volkshaus (Carl-Zeiß-Platz stop), Westbahnhof (Westbahnhofstraße) and Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule (Carl-Zeiß-Promenade stop). Buses will run on this route approximately every half hour on both days until 5.45 pm.

Visitors arriving by car are requested to use the multi-storey parking lots in the city center or the parking lots slightly outside (Seidelstraße, Am Gries). Due to the preparations for the Christmas market, the Eichplatz parking lot will only be available in a reduced area.

Announced meetings on November 20 and 21

A total of four assemblies have been registered with the city of Jena. Cooperation talks have taken place with all those who have registered and orders have been issued. These assemblies will result in various restrictions on road traffic:

• On Monday between around 8am and 10am, the Johannisplatz / Wagnergasse open space will be affected. It will not be possible to drive through Johannisplatz.

• The Carl-Zeiss-Promenade (in front of Ernst Abbe University) will be affected betweenaround 9 and 10 am. The registered route runs from Carl-Zeiss-Promenade via Tatzendpromenade, Magdelstieg, Westbahnhofstraße, Ernst-Haeckel-Platz, Schillerstraße and Leutragraben to Johannisplatz. As it is planned that this march will take place on the footpath, there is expected to be little or no impact on road traffic.

• The march is planned to take the following routebetween around 10 am and 1 pm: Johannisplatz - Krautgasse - Ernst-Abbe-Platz underpass - Ernst-Abbe-Platz - streetcar underpass - Leutragraben - Teichgraben - Holzmarkt - Löbdergraben - Fürstengraben - Johannisplatz. Intermediate rallies will take place on the public areas of Ernst-Abbe-Platz, Löbdergraben in front of the main university building and on Fürstengraben in front of the ThULB.

• The open space Johannisplatz / Wagnergasse will be affectedbetween around 1pm and 3pm. It will not be possible to drive through Johannisplatz.

• From around 5.30 pm to 7 pm, the open space Am Pulverturm will be affected.

• On both days, rallies are planned around the Ernst Abbe monument on Carl-Zeiß-Platzfrom 8 am to 6.30 pm, followed by a silent vigil at night.

Lord MayorDr. Thomas Nitzsche invites all citizens not to miss this unique opportunity at the Market of Digital Possibilities:

"Together with the numerous digital, high-tech and start-up companies and the University of Jena and Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences on site, we can once again show at the Market of Digital Opportunities that future issues of digitalization are already being addressed from Jena today."

Head of Digitalization Benjamin Koppe points out:

"Together, the Digital Summit and the Market of Digital Opportunities are a unique opportunity for Jena to further raise its profile and make a name for itself as a digital location throughout Germany. In addition to all organizational issues, all security-related processes have now been worked through and we as a city are well prepared thanks to the cooperation of all stakeholders and partners. All the threads must interlock to ensure traffic, order and safety. Whether police, fire department, municipal order, traffic authority or event management - I am grateful for the commitment of all colleagues involved. Now it's time to look forward to the summit and our guests."