Global thinktank, the Intelligent Community Forum, has recognised the cities of Adelaide and Sunshine Coast as Top 7 finalists in its prestigious 2020 award to be announced in June.
In October, Adelaide earned its spot among the ICF’s ‘Smart21’ as the first step to greater recognition as an Intelligent Community. Adelaide is positioned well in the smart city space, for its world leading Ten Gigabit Adelaide fibre optic network and for embedding smart technology into the city’s infrastructure.
City of Adelaide Lord Mayor, Sandy Verschoor said it was a huge honour to be recognised in the Top 7.
“For over a decade, we have been strategically investing in projects which now position Adelaide as the most connected city in Australia. The cornerstone of this achievement is Ten Gigabit Adelaide – our new, Australian first, ten gigabit per-second data network,” she said.
“As a city, we’ve built active and collaborative relationships across all levels of government, universities, and the private sector. This has supported innovation and entrepreneurship, fuelling investment and economic growth.
“As we look to finalise our 2020 – 2024 Strategic Plan we’ll continue to focus on our smart city agenda, on creating even greater digital capabilities and connectivity and ensuring we’re recognised as an affordable and innovative place to do business.”
Each of the Smart21 Communities demonstrated how their workforce’s development, innovation ecosystem, digital inclusion, engagement and sustainability, were all underpinned by digital connectivity as the key enabler of economic growth.
Examples of how the City of Adelaide and its community are using and leveraging digital connectivity for sustainable growth were a central aspect of the City of Adelaide’s submission.
It’s the second successive year of achieving a Top 7 spot for the Sunshine Coast. The acknowledgement also follows the region being named a global Smart21 community for 2020, which was the sixth time this achievement was reached.
Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson said making the Top7 Intelligent Communities list for the second time reinforces the impact and value to the community of the region’s economic, environment and community strategies, and their emphasis on sustainability in all its forms.
“The Top 7 award demonstrates we are continuing to deliver world-class initiatives, together with the community, across the six indicators of broadband, knowledge workforce, innovation, digital innovation, engagement and sustainability,” said Mayor Jamieson.
“Our region’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, which has expanded 65 per cent in the last four years, reflects the dynamic network of education programs, business incubators, co-working spaces, advocacy events and meet-ups which support and encourage entrepreneurial talent, new ideas and creativity.
“At the end of the day, that is what being Australia’s most sustainable region: healthy, smart, creative - is all about.
“Connecting people and ideas that benefit the wellbeing of our communities is a hallmark of our council’s approach. Securing a place in the Top 7 Global Intelligent Communities’ list recognises the value of our efforts in this regard.”
The ICF accolade is about much more than being a smart city. The seven cities nominated all demonstrate evidence of strong government and business and community collaboration.
Other cities that made the Top 7 include Hamilton and Markham (Canada) Tallinn, (Estonia) and Hudson and Westerville in Ohio, USA.
More information is available here.