Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Centre Organises Workshop to Discuss Future of Smart Cities

Smart City Workshop Held to Study Uses for New Technology in Abu Dhabi Emirate

Abu Dhabi, 14 December 2015: The Emirate of Abu Dhabi recently hosted a Smart City Workshop, organised by the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC), for the senior leadership of multiple government entities to discuss both the vision for a Smart Abu Dhabi as well as the collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach that will be necessary to enable it.

Mr. Abdulkarim Al Raeesi, Director of Strategy & Planning at ADSIC opened the workshop by welcoming the attendees and beginning the conversation about the latest global trends and best practice in developing, fostering and growing Smart Cities. Existing Smart City initiatives in Abu Dhabi were also discussed, but the focus of the day was the future application of technology to develop Abu Dhabi as a premier Smart City - and how that will create a better life for citizens and residents of the Emirate.

Commenting on the occasion, ADSIC’s Director of Strategy & Planning said, “Building sustainable smart cities is one of our key strategic priorities in line with our efforts to achieve comprehensive e-transformation in Abu Dhabi through a robust and world-class ICT industry that is efficient and performs optimally, therefore this workshop was a productive platform to engage our government constituents through international subject-matter experts.”

“Abu Dhabi is rapidly adopting Smart City technology to improve our internal processes and offer better services for our people, but we can do much more by continually increasing collaboration between government entities.”

“The rapidly rising and unprecedented international trend toward urban living presents some amazing opportunities, but it is also a challenge for urban planners. We have to be more efficient, more responsive and generally smarter about how we develop our society and infrastructure to ensure that quality of life and the overall satisfaction of the people of the Emirate continues to improve. Smart City technology will enable that future,” said Jonathan Woodsal, Senior Partner at Makenzie International.

Attendees at the Smart City Workshop discussed the positive ramifications of Smart Cities on the environment - from paperless government services to more efficient traffic management to smart metering that allows utility providers to plan their production to more closely match demand. Financial benefits were also examined, and multiple examples from around the world were shared that clearly showed how investment in Smart Cities can lead to efficiency and automation in old, costly systems through minimal upfront investment in cutting-edge technology.

“Smart Cities link government services in new and exciting ways. To achieve the full benefit of the technology, we have to work together in ways we may never have thought of before. That is what makes workshops like this one so important; it allows multiple government entities to discuss the opportunities for collaboration and enact new ways of serving the community,” said Yorgen Lartz , Senior Partner at Makenzie International.

The day concluded with a series of interactive breakout sessions and engaging exercises that addressed on the challenges currently faced in the Emirate and the technological solutions that could remedy or improve them.