As part of the Smart Cities Global Network (SCGN) initiative and in collaboration with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), Smart Dubai hosted the second in a series of networking events titled ‘SCGN Talks’ at its headquarters in the Dubai Design District (d3) on Tuesday, October 22, 2019.
Bearing the theme ‘Data for Better Cities’, the session explored various approaches to delivering data science that benefits cities, supports the digital transition towards smart cities of the future, and enables public-private partnerships to build a data marketplace that wields a positive impact on the community.
The event follows a successful inaugural ‘SCGN Talks’, which took place in March 2019 in collaboration with the Swedish Trade and Invest Council – Business Sweden, and explored the concept and prospects of a cashless society.
Smart Dubai’s Director General Her Excellency Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr said: “As the government entity tasked with transforming Dubai into the world’s happiest and smartest city, Smart Dubai is committed to organising events that bring together international experts and decision makers to focus on and explore key elements in smart-city building. With that in mind, we launched the Smart Cities Global Network to be the largest international network of smart-city stakeholders.”
“The ‘SCGN Talks’ series falls under the Network’s umbrella, exploring emerging technologies and smart-city development,” Dr Aisha added. “After a successful first edition in March, where we explored the concept of building a cashless society with our partners from Sweden, this second edition provides insight into how Smart Dubai and the Australian Government are leveraging the power of Data to generate value for their respective cities. The event also offers an ideal opportunity to discuss the subject of data maturity on a city-wide scale, and share success stories and lessons learned in that regard.”
H.E. Dr Aisha delivered the welcome speech, kicking off the plenary opening ceremony.
H.E. Ian Halliday, Consul General of Australia to Dubai, and General Manager of Austrade for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, followed and said, “It was great to showcase Australian smart cities and data capability at the Smart Dubai Global Smart Cities Network, a platform that will further enhance collaboration across our two countries.
Australian experts from the government, education and private sector shared their experience in the design and implementation of data-centric technology solutions to improve the productivity, efficiency and liveability of future cities. Australia currently has three cities in the top ten most liveable cities in the world EIU index: Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.
As Australian cities and Dubai continue to grow a vibrant smart cities ecosystem in a digital economy, there is a strong need to foster greater partnerships with key players in urban transformation and promote digital innovation to ensure smart cities are citizen-centric.
There is a great opportunity for the UAE and Australia to complement each other, leveraging on each other’s strengths to co-develop smart urban solutions.”
The day’s agenda continued with a keynote presentation delivered by Hamda Bin Dumaithan, Acting Director of Strategy and Regulatory Affairs, Smart Dubai Data.
A panel discussion then explored the necessary requirements needed to drive full, city-wide collaboration on matters of data. The Smart Dubai team explored a list of subjects and initiatives in that regard, starting with the Open Data Strategy, with a focus on the Dubai Pulse platform – the backbone of Dubai’s digital transformation. The discussion moved on to discuss open and shared data frameworks, delving into data laws and policies, before presenting the Private Sector Strategy and efforts to bring the private sector onboard with data-related efforts. The team explored themes from technology and governance to the community, establishing their role in building a data marketplace, all while analysing data commercialisation and monetisation as means to build a data economy and a data ecosystem.
The day concluded with two presentations, the first of which shed light on case studies involving data use for smart cities from the Australian Government. This was followed by a presentation on AI Ethical Principles and Guidelines, created to set clear guidelines on the ethical use of AI, and prevent having a fragmented, incoherent approach to AI implementation. The presentation additionally covered the AI Self-Assessment Toolkit, which was built to enable AI developers or operators to evaluate the ethics of their AI systems, using Dubai’s AI Ethics Guidelines.
Smart Dubai’s Smart Cities Global Network is the largest international network of smart city stakeholders, bringing together partners involved in advanced technology, Fourth-Industrial-Revolution breakthroughs, smart living, and spreading happiness in the community with tech-enabled, human-centric services. The network is available online and has so far enlisted more than 300 members, including representatives from governments, the private sector, research centres, academic institutes, and the media.