Bhubaneswar : 2nd runners up in Smart Cities Contest at SCEWC, Barcelona.

Hello there !! 

Bhubaneswar city was the  2nd runners-up in Barcelona Smart City Expo World Congress. Bhubaneswar as a finalist in the World Smart City Awards 2016 is a great achievement The city   competed with 250 entries from 45 countries at the Smart City Expo World Congress and was included among the six finalists in the “Innovative Global South " category.

 

CM of Odisha said “ The uniqueness of Bhubaneswar apart from its urban planning and world class amenities is the focus on equitable and sustainable growth of all sections of the society. This focus on social equity which is the hallmark of our government was reflected in Bhubaneswar's proposal ‘Achieving Social Equity through New Urbanism in Action.‘

This proposal was adjudged among the best in the world. It embodies the model adopted by Smart City Bhubaneswar for achieving equity by making all citizens, young and old, rich and poor , men and women equal stakeholders in every aspect of the city 's development.”  Not too many years ago Bhubaneswar bore the brunt of the Super Cyclone with destruction and devastation everywhere.

The sixth edition and the largest  of the Smart City Expo to date closed its doors in Barcelona Spain on Thursday. The three days events  included 600 cities represented along with 574 exhibitors and around 14,000 visitors at the Expo. Leading companies in the mobile communications sector showcased their latest solutions to construct "Smart Cities". 

Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE  showcased their innovations and technological solutions used to build interconnected Smart Cities at the aptly-named Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC). The theme of the 2016 SCEWC held  from Nov 15 to 18, was "cities for citizens", focusing on how to empower citizens in their towns through the use of mobile technology in order to save valuable resources and improve the quality of life.

Other major themes tackled at the Smart City Expo were ways of saving energy, environmental management techniques, security in the city, and sustainable tourism. All of this is dealt with by using mobile technology and networks to share information and data and to allow for faster and more efficient service management. 

Some experts said that Smart Cities were "a platform that allows government and industry bodies to drive initiatives and these initiatives can follow up on different programs." And they compared "smart city" to a living organism with an "intelligent operation center, which is like the nerve center of smart cities, which controls and connects all kinds of information.

 

China was the guest nation at the event and the Chinese ministry of housing and urban development received an honorary prize at the Global Smart City Award held on Wednesday in recognition of the technological and human development of China's cities. 

As per media reports from Dubai, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry participated and showcased  its online platform DubaiStartupHub on IBM Cloud recently launched in cooperation with IBM as part of the Chamber's efforts to enhance the innovation environment of the emirate under the umbrella of Dubai Smart City initiative. 

Reports said the DubaiStartupHub, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa region, consolidates the concept of a smarter community by offering comprehensive information and services as this digital tool helps place the start-ups on the bustling business map of Dubai. 

It also provides the latest information and event updates related to technology and start-up and serves as a key source for Dubai business leaders and investors to connect and build new relationships as well as access to the latest business opportunities with start-ups while enhancing entrepreneurship and innovation in the emirate.  

It was stated by smart city officials  that forthcoming congresses would have intelligent cities as their central theme. Among these events will be the New York Smart City in May 2017, Smart Island in Mallorca, Casablanca Smart City, and Smart City Buenos Aires, among others.