Smart Dubai collaborates with ITU at Malaysia meet to finalize first Smart City Index after joint piloting phase

UAE, May 4, 2016 - Smart Dubai, the government office driving Dubai’s citywide transformation into a smart city, in conjunction with its strategic partners in Dubai, successfully completed its pilot phase for the initial Smart City Index with the ITU, a specialized United Nations agency; and held official discussions to further revise the first global standard set of smart city KPIs, to measure smart city transformation across 3 main topic areas; namely economy, environment, society and culture. 

The discussions were held as part of the ITU-T Study Group 5 on Environmental and Climate Change Meeting from 20-27 April 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The delegation from Dubai was led by Nasser Al Marzouqi, from TRA, who is also UAE representative to the ITU and currently Chairman of ITU-T Study Group 20 & Vice-Chairman of ITU-T Study Group 5; Noora Al Suwaidi, Head of Strategy & Performance Management at Smart Dubai Office; and Dr. Okan Geray, Strategic Planning Consultant at Smart Dubai Office. 

At the conclusion of the ITU-T Study Group 5 on Environmental and Climate Change Meeting, Dr. Aisha bin Bishr, Director-General of Smart Dubai Office praised the delegates who represented Dubai and said, “We are proud of the opportunity to work with the ITU and since April 2015 our teams have been collaborating closely with our strategic partners in Dubai to contribute to the development of the first global Smart City Index. The index will be the global blueprint for smart city transformation in the near future, with Dubai as the first pilot city. Through the Smart City Index, we are encouraging leaders across the globe to uplift their cities, with people’s quality of life at the center. Dubai has successfully completed its first pilot phase for the Smart City Index, and has contributed the results of the on-site KPI validation visit by ITU and further suggestions regarding revision of existing and also addition of new KPIs.”

Bin Bishr continued, “Climate change and sustainability are real issues today and as city leaders, we recognize that we must take action now to preserve the cities of the future. That is why sustainability and quality of life are at the heart of the Smart City index. The Index will help cities around the world grow smart in a sustainable manner that will protect the environment and contribute to the best possible quality of life for everyone.”

In conjunction with the ITU-T Study Group 5 meeting at Kuala Lumpur, the 11th ITU Symposium on ICTs, the environment and climate change was held. During the symposium, Noora Al Suwaidi, Head of Strategy & Performance Management at Smart Dubai Office made a presentation entitled ‘Transforming Cities for People’s Happiness’ and also participated in a panel discussion representing Dubai. She said, “The symposium raised awareness of the potential for ICT to address environmental challenges and encourage all stakeholders to integrate smart solutions for the sustainable future of smart cities and urban living. It is a privilege to work with the ITU in the global smart and sustainable city index that will benefit Dubai and the other smart cities around the world.”

“At the Malaysia meet, we worked closely with delegates from the ITU and other UN agencies such as The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to discuss and revise the KPIs to help cities achieve smart and sustainable development goals. Significant deliberations were made to address the issues faced by cities at varying levels of development,” concluded Dr. Okan Geray, Strategic Planning Consultant at Smart Dubai Office.