The conference, organized by the ValgrAI Foundation in collaboration with the Torrent City Council, took place in the Sala Cívica of l’Antic Mercat. The objective was to analyze the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in public management, citizen services, administrative modernization, and emergency prevention.
The event gathered institutional representatives, university experts, public officials, municipal technicians, and citizens. Real-world AI applications were discussed in areas such as improving municipal services, recovery after the DANA (heavy rainfall), and the use of predictive systems for climate emergencies.
The inaugural ceremony featured the participation of the Mayoress of Torrent and provincial deputy responsible for Artificial Intelligence, Amparo Folgado; the Director General of Local Administration, José Antonio Redorat; the Autonomous Secretary of Institutional Policy, Carlos Gil; and the Director General of the ValgrAI Foundation, Vicent Botti. Representatives from the five Valencian universities, the Generalitat (Regional Government), the Diputación de Valencia (Provincial Council), mayors, councilors, public employees, municipal technicians, and residents also attended.
During her speech, Folgado advocated for artificial intelligence as a tool to enhance citizen services and strengthen the efficiency of public services. The Mayoress stated that “technology only makes sense if it improves people's lives” and pointed out that AI can help simplify procedures, reduce waiting times, better organize information, and provide faster responses to residents.
Folgado emphasized that artificial intelligence “is not here to replace people,” but to complement the work of public employees and improve the quality of services citizens receive. The Mayoress also highlighted the role of the Diputación de Valencia in disseminating knowledge about AI among Valencian municipalities.
The Director General of ValgrAI, Vicent Botti, underscored the importance of bringing knowledge about artificial intelligence closer to public administrations and citizens. For his part, José Antonio Redorat valued the collaboration between administrations, universities, and specialized entities to promote useful, responsible, and accessible digitalization for all municipalities, regardless of their size or technical capacity.
The Managing Director of the ValgrAI Foundation, Ana Cidad, presented the balance of the Digital-IA program, which has trained 11,659 people throughout the Comunitat Valenciana and surpassed 19,000 training participations. The program has already reached 321 Valencian municipalities, many of them small towns or localities far from major urban areas.
Cidad noted that Digital-IA has demonstrated that artificial intelligence can be a tool at the service of all citizens, regardless of their place of residence. The program targets young people, the elderly, the unemployed, teachers, freelancers, small businesses, public employees, and the general public, with the aim of reducing the digital divide.
The conference also included technical presentations on practical applications of artificial intelligence in public administration. Jordi Linares, a professor at the Universitat Politècnica de València, explained how AI can help optimize internal processes and facilitate decision-making in city councils, while Rafael Berlanga, a professor at the Universitat Jaume I, presented the REVITALIA project as an example of applying this technology in municipal management.
Among the topics covered was also the restoration of photographs damaged by the DANA using AI-based tools, as well as the use of predictive systems to improve climate emergency prevention, a particularly relevant issue for municipalities affected by torrential rainfall episodes.
The conference concluded with a round table titled ‘How AI is being used in city councils’, moderated by Vicent Botti, which included participants such as Juan Pablo Peñarrubia, Head of Innovation at the Diputación de Valencia; Ana Cidad; Rafael Berlanga; and Fernando Gallego, Head of the Technological Modernization and IT Service at the Torrent City Council.
Gallego cited the municipal project Torrent Connecta as an example, an intelligent telephone assistance system implemented by the City Council to ensure no resident is left without a response and to facilitate access to municipal information through new technological channels. Gallego stated that “what we are doing is adding a new tool to provide a better response to the citizen, without ever losing the human touch”.
