On Friday, October 10, 2025, REA North participated in the Urban Forum “Perspectives of Sustainable Cities” held in Zagreb. The event focused on current trends in sustainable urban development and discussions on the challenges and opportunities faced by stakeholders at the European, national, and local levels. The Forum was organized by the Association of Cities, and its programme covered topics such as urban development in the EU context, financing urban growth, and the green transition and climate change adaptation.
Ilija Beljan, Junior Project Manager at REA North, presented BauNOW project with detailed description of REAN’s pilot investment – development of VIREAS, a virtual assistant for energy renovation based on artificial intelligence. This interactive digital tool is designed to assist citizens who are planning to renovate their homes or invest in renewable energy sources.
Through a simple user interface, VIREAS provides reliable and easy-to-understand information on energy renovation procedures and techniques, basic legal and technical requirements, as well as available financing options. It was emphasized that the tool is designed for citizens without prior technical knowledge, enabling them to obtain clear and relevant information through simple, everyday-language queries. Communication takes place via an intuitive text-based interface, where the user asks questions and VIREAS provides answers based on official and publicly available sources.
