News
Top Seven Intelligent Cities
/ 04.06.09
For the third time, Tallinn was chosen as one of the world’s seven
most intelligent communities from among 400 candidates. Tallinn is
being included among the most intelligent communities for the third
year in row – no one else has been able to achieve this.
"You
should shout your achievement from the rooftops and be in the
headlines of international newspapers," said John G. Jung, the
chairman of the Intelligent Communities Forum. "You should talk more
about yourself, so that people would know to come here in order to
become familiar with your city, and why not invest."
Stockholm was chosen as the most intelligent community this year.
The Forum considered the Swedish capital a good role model for how
technology can contribute to economic and social development.
Tallinn has been included among the most intelligent communities for
three years in a row - no one has ever achieved this before.
According to Jung, Tallinn's strengths include research and
technology, as well as the development and use of software. "Your
entrepreneurship is just as developed as in other intelligent
cities," he stated. "Many cities introduce WiFi and say, see, we're
a smart city. Or the fact that we have a university immediately
makes us into an intelligent community. You have the content and the
experience; people here have been dealing with technological
development for years."
Jung sets Tallinn as an example for many cities in the world. "In
addition to school children and students, here older people also use
computers; you have "smart businesses". In the end, it is also
important that you take the risks and responsibility in order to let
the entire world know about your wish to be a top mover and shaker."
The selection criteria for the Intelligent Communities Forum include
both the development level of the infrastructure as well as the
ability to be attractive to talented people. "If you can teach
children to be as smart as possible in school and to create a
culture that appreciates knowledge; and if you add good universities
and other conditions to this in order to retain well-educated people
and help them become knowledge-based entrepreneurs; then this is
positive in respect to the selection criteria," Jung said. "It is
also important that you have been able to demonstrate that you are
innovative and creative; you are the Skype-city and have created
various mobile applications and e-services. One of the selection
criteria is whether businesses or all the members of society are
taken into consideration - for instance, are technological
opportunities and innovations are available to everyone, even when
buying a soft drink? In other words - are you a good community for
all the members of that community?"
Jung advised Tallinn to do more marketing, because this enables more
investments to be obtained and a more positive image to be created
in the eyes of the world.
As far as which is more important in the selection - technology or
people - Jung answered that it is important for people to support
technological innovations. "Technology changes; in ten years, it
will be totally different than today, but if the community knows how
to implement technology to benefit itself and other people, then
this is the change we are seeking."
Smart Tallinn
The panel of judges were impressed by the fact that all Tallinn's
schools have computers and Internet connections, and wireless
Internet is available in more than 365 locations, of which 60 are
free. The Forum also considered Tallinn's strengths to be the
existence of high-tech institutions like Ülemiste City, the Tallinn
Technology Park and Cyber Defence Centre, as well as IT solutions
that make everyday life more convenient, such as e-tickets. The
conversion of the entire city's governance to the principles of
e-government is also important. Being open to developing new
innovative solutions and international connections in order to
accelerate innovation was also considered one of the strengths of
Tallinn's leadership.
In summary, the panel of judges found that after the economic
collapse following the Soviet period, Tallinn has become an
economically developed city, and this thanks greatly to the
introduction of innovative information technology solutions in
everyday life.
Source: Pealinn