#Data

On Tuesday, 8 September, forty-five participants gathered for the first CityFlows webinar on the topic of crowd-management in response to corona. Speakers came from three partner cities: Eelco Thiellier, Project Manager Crowd Monitoring System Amsterdam (CMSA); Valentino Sevino, Mobility Planning Director at City of Milan’s Environmental Mobility and Territory Agency (AMAT); and Aina Pedret, Mobility & Tourism Specialist at the City of Barcelona.

The participants were CityFlows project partners (37%), crowd-management researchers or academics (17%), crowd-management professionals working for public authorities (13%), crowd-management professionals working for companies or start-ups (10%), non-professionals interested in the topic (13%), and other (10%).

The meeting represented a successful launch of the EIT-KIC CityFlows webinar series which will continue with additional webinars in October, November and December.

Following a brief introduction to the CityFlows project, Eelco Thieller shared how the City of Amsterdam has quickly adapted its crowd monitoring infrastructure to respond to the corona crisis. Eelco showed the techniques that are used and how they are instituted throughout the city in crowded locations, or “hot spots”, such as shopping districts and market areas, the Red Light District, and in parks and at event locations. The focus is always on managing crowds or flows of people in the most privacy-preserving way with infrared sensors being a good example of how this is done in Vondelpark. Eelco also described the predictive models that were developed using the data which are helpful with determining what crowd-management actions should be undertaken by the City to ensure the health and safety of the residents and visitors.

Valentino Sevino shared a broader perspective on how the City of Milan has used data and modelling to respond to the corona emergency. Valentino showed how the modal-share in the city had drastically changed since the end of February through June as a result of the corona crisis. This shed light on levels on congestion throughout the city and showed a large reduction in all modalities during the lock down. Following the lock-down, public transport began operating at 25% which then required the city to undertake a complete rethinking of the mobility system with the goal of focusing on more temporal distribution, promotion of remote working, and promotion of active transport through street space reallocation to non-motorized transport. The data collected enabled them to predict and plan for different scenarios, especially considering the goal of abiding by social distancing guidelines during rush hours.

Aina Pedret from the City of Barcelona responded to the first two presentations by reflecting on the global challenge of ensuring confidence and safety for people in response to corona. To ensure this confidence and safety for both locals and tourists, the City of Barcelona is developing an application showing real time data of busyness at “hot spots”. And similar to the City of Amsterdam, the City of Barcelona is using cameras to monitor and manage occupancy and crowds at busy locations such as markets.

The webinar ended with an open discussion facilitated by Dorine Duives, CityFlows Principle Investigator at TU Delft.

Did you miss the webinar? It is possible to watch the recording via https://vimeo.com/460939134

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CityFlows is an EIT-KIC project aims to improve the liveability of crowded pedestrian spaces through the use of Crowd Monitoring Decision Support Systems to manage pedestrian flows. The project is led by AMS Institute and brings together crowd-management and mobility practitioners and researchers in Amsterdam, Barcelona and Milan. The CityFlows project tests and evaluates various innovative crowd monitoring techniques in real-life settings where large crowds meet, such as mass events, tourist spaces and transfer hubs. The CityFlows project also prepares a CM-DSS for market launch which incorporates state-of-the-art monitoring techniques.
Join us for one or all of the next CityFlows webinars:
• Tuesday, 13 October, 2020 – 12:00-13:00 CET
• Tuesday, 3 November – 15:00-16:00 CET
• Tuesday, December 1 – 15:00-16:00 CET

Are you a practitioner or researcher working on a relevant crowd-management project and would like to share your work and findings with the CityFlows network? Send a short email explaining your project to CityFlows Communications Officer, Cornelia Dinca via cornelia.dinca@ams-institute.org.

How can Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) and Blockchain contribute to a more transparent, sustainable and inclusive future?

As we launch the DLT4EU programme, we are having a panel discussion on the potential role and pitfalls of DLT in Europe. In the panel Indy Johar from Dark Matter Labs will join Piret Tõnurist, Innovation Lead at OECD - OCDE, and Ludovic Courcelas, Government Strategy Lead at ConsenSys. Together they will discuss how DLT and blockchain can encourage a more circular and democratic society.

Join us for this public online event on September 17th from 6pm CET.

More info on the DLT4EU programme: https://www.metabolic.nl/projects/dlt4eu/

The use of data in urban areas is becoming more and more important in reaching Sustainable Development Goal 11: making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. During this webinar, we will look at the world of the Urban Data in both the Netherlands and India.

3 speakers will teach us more about how to use urban data in the urban planning process. How do you manage data, and how do you standardise it? This webinar focuses on innovation in the field of Urban data. The speakers are:

Professor Inder Gopal, visiting professor – Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Indian Urban Data Exchange;
Mr Bert Beentjes, senior strategist at the Netherlands' Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency (Kadaster); and
Mr Albert Seubers, Director of Global Strategy Smart Cities at Atos and member of the Board of Directors of the FIWARE Foundation.

Reserve your spot
Register for the accessing Urban Data webinar now! After registering, you will get more information.

This webinar is organized by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom relations, the Future City Foundation (Fiware) and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.

'The early focus on contact tracing apps for covid-19 was understandable: a vaccine is still many months away, assuming we can even find one that will work. Apps stepped into the breach as a potential panacea—even though many insiders have consistently argued that they are only one of a number of tools we have to fight the virus.'

And are they working? Will people use it? The article shows that France and Australia have some struggles in making the technology work while also trying to get people adopt the app. Eventually, technology will work. Success is however dependent on the willingness of usage by the people.

Join the discussion!
Are you interested in the Dutch plans for a covid-19 contact tracing app? What kind of ideas do they have to enthuse people to use the CoronaMelder? Or would you like to know how other cities and countries convinced people to use such technology? Join us on the 3rd of September 2020 in an online session! More info: https://amsterdamsmartcity.com/events/how-to-get-people-to-actually-use-contact-tracing

One very exciting smart city initiative we’re working on is called ModelMe3D - a brand new city information modeling platform for future city makers. As a virtual white board, MM3D empowers designers and stakeholders to plan, collaborate & share. Since its entirely web based you can create your first project in seconds, and each scene comes with data rich 3D context of real city locations. Interested? Grab a sandwich and join us Friday 04 September @12:00 for a live demo here: https://bit.ly/MM3D_Webinar

In our daily lives, we became dependent on just a few tech companies, usually located in the USA or in China. Should we become independent and develop our own tech sector? Last Friday, the 19th of June 2020, the fifth edition of the Tech for Society series was launched in Pakhuis de Zwijger: a livestream series about the role of technology in a society that is currently under pressure of the Covid-19 crisis. The central theme of this edition: ‘the European Tech Sector’.

Why is it so important to have a tech sector ‘of our own’? Sander van der Waal, Future Internet Lab Lead of Waag explains the role of technology. He uses the metaphor of an iceberg. At the top, there is the technology people see in their daily lives. Phones, wifi, internet, they are there and work fine. Beneath this citizen perspective are a lot of layers we can’t see. There is a technology stack, in which you’ll find the infrastructure, the internet cables, GPS, datacenters, operating systems and more. Below the stack you find the development process, the choices companies made. After that is the foundation. This is the part with assumptions, values and peoples’ rights. The figure shows that technology is a lot more than we think. It has a lot of layers and what to put in the layers, makes sense.

Zooming in on the stack, you can define three variations. 1: a private stack, dominated by tech companies driving by profit and the people as consumers. 2. A state stack, closed tech, dominated by states and surveillance of citizens. 3. A public stack, putting European values into practice, make technology open, with a participating role for citizens. Sander doesn’t think it is necessary to develop a European tech sector. There would be risk we would develop a European private sector and one can doubt if that is really a step ahead. Maybe a little one because we won’t be dependent on US companies, but in this case people still don’t play an active role.

Source: Waag

The big five

The biggest companies we are depending on, are called the big five. Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft dominate the tech industry. Most of them collect our data and make them into a business model. According to Jochem de Groot, director Corporate Affairs, Microsoft does search for the societal debate about technology. They are talking about the public value of their technology. For example in AI, Microsoft calls for more rules and regulations. This way they also hope that it is easier for citizens to hold sovereignty. Microsoft also launched an open data campaign.

Sander: ‘Open data can be a step in the right direction. However, be careful with it. Data are often relatable to people. There is more open data available, but we have to be careful if we can find out to whom te data belong. Once leaked, data never go back. When it comes to tech, Europe is mostly known for the GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation. This is a standard and also important in the USA. More current technological developments put the citizen central. And also the developments of open source are getting bigger. Open source helps to decrease the dependency of individual companies.’

Paul Tang is member of the European Parliament for the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D). He just came back from a demonstration at the office of Facebook against personalized adds. In the European Parliament a majority says these personalized adds should be forbidden. Paul: ‘Someday this is should be a law, because the European Parliament has legislative power. Sometimes these decisions can take a long time, because of member states, lobby organizations and various interests. The good thing of this power, is the influence it has on Europe, but also on the rest of the world. However, sometimes I am shocked by all the work that still has to be done. We set up criteria for the usage of algorithms a while ago, but they are not yet put into practice. When it comes to the digital playing rules, we have a lot of work to do.’

Opportunities for Europe

If the lack of tech giants in Europe is an issue and we want to create a European tech sector as a solution to our dependency on American tech giants, are there developments going on that might be opportunities that might contribute to a European tech sector? ‘Quantumcomputing’, Jochem from Microsoft says. ‘Here we really have an opportunity to create an ecosystem and be unique. As Microsoft we would like the Dutch government to invest in this.’ According to Paul Tang, ‘the market for personalized data is fully dominated by the American giants. There are possibilities in the EU for non-personalized data. For example, in the Internet of Things. Bianca Wylie, open government advocate and Tech Reset Canada co-founder: ‘When I advise companies about their future, I always tell them to get away from behavioural data. Go for clean tech, robotics, infrastructure or health tech, but don’t make your business depend on the surveillance economy. Grow other sectors with an alternative vision.’

Bianca also spoke about the opportunities Covid-19 bring to the tech sector. ‘There is an opportunity but a threat as well’, she says. ‘We have to watch the emergency that is taking place now when it comes to procurement. Keep an eye on the democratic process. But this time is also an opportunity to get rid of the tech that is not successful but costs a lot. Check the existing infrastructure. Not working? Let it go! And value human capital. We need teachers, doctors, people who do contact tracing. Build tools that help them.’

Paul: ‘The personalized ads ask for the collection of more data. We have to ban this. I think that selling products is a different business model. It shows a clear relation between producer and consumer. The system in which the people give data, get free products with advertisements is vague and manipulative. Skip this business model and make space for new ones.’ Jochem (Microsoft) doesn’t want to comment on this, because this is mainly about his competitors. He does stress that is important to create space for a market in tech, there have to be possibilities to compete. The government has to set the framework. For example with GDPR. Values for AI could use such a framework as well.’

Data sovereignty is a long lasting wish of a lot of countries. GAIA-X could play a role in this. GAIA-X is an initiative by France and Germany to strengthen the digital sovereignty of Europe. It will make Europe less dependent on China and the USA. Sander is also critical: there is a risk of copying existing models. But we need a completely different data strategy, the system is no good.

About the steps we have to take, the three men agree: we need more influence of Europe, all from another angle. According to Paul, Europe has to win back soeverignty and call a halt to their development. Jochem wants European unity to become a powerful block that can set a framework. Sander: ‘Only with the cooperation in Europe we can build alternative data models’.

According to Amsterdam Smart City, the discussion of this evening is exactly the discussion that needs to take place. Collecting data is very useful to work on the challenges in our cities. But we have to be aware that these data are in the hands of the private sector. And that free usage comes with a price. Can we work on public values with the data? This asks for a collaboration between the public and

private sector, something we work on every day. Amsterdam Smart City always puts public value first: innovating together and transparent, using each other’s expertise, with the resident at the centre.

Do you want to watch the full episode? You can watch it here (in Dutch):

[##### Tech for Society #5: Waar is de Europese techsector?

Waarom zijn er geen Europese techreuzen meer?

Pakhuis de Zwijger](https://dezwijger.nl/programma/waar-is-de-europese-techsector)

The world is turned upside down since the corona crisis. This gives us the space to think about a complete ‘reset’. How can we restructure existing dysfunctional systems? In this RESET series, Pakhuis de Zwijger will showcase the perspectives of a variety of thought leaders who will reflect on this present-day situation.

Marleen Stikker, director of Waag, is sharing her insights about the future of our digital information systems. How can we restructure existing dysfunctional systems? Together with Sander van der Waal of the Future Internet Lab at Waag, they debate how citizens should be more informed and get more involved with the ongoing digital revolution that takes place all around us. Later in the programme Bianca Wylie, Open Government advocate and co-founder of Tech Reset Canada, joins in and talks on video about her recent experience with people getting involved in Toronto’s digital development plans. The panel is chaired by Jurgen, who makes sure some very important issues are discussed.

The system is broken
Marleen states that the current system doesn’t function properly, we must come up with other systems. All kind of technology is surveilling us. There is this idea you can solve any problem with technology, that technology is the solution. But look at the Corona crisis, an app cannot solve a problem. They collect all this information and trade privacy for technology. They try to take control over our lives, to control the data. But we have to decide about our privacy. We do not need all this tracing. It is a false trade off to say, ‘I have nothing to hide’. It’s wrong to give up privacy in return for technology.

Sander van de Waal joins in and explains that people need to get involved and get back their trust in technology. For this, it’s important to inform people and specially to help members of parliament get a better understanding about all this technology behind the digital roadmap. Compare it with an iceberg: we can only see the part above the surface. But what is happening underneath the surface? There are all kinds of technology layers underneath, hardware, backdoors, data, the whole stack. It is not just the app itself but underneath is a design process. Who is working on that? What is the foundation? Where are we optimising for? How are we going to gover in? And how are fundamental rights and values part of process? This should be implemented in the design from start. Look at surveillance: it is a business case for big Silicon Valley companies. The business models are built on collecting data and invading privacy. How can we avoid that? We should have an inclusive process.

Technological Stack
Sander further explains the foundation beneath all this digital technology, the Technological Stack. With its many layers underneath the surface, this public stack has different layers that need to be understood by the public to be able to make the right decisions about data, privacy and who controls these processes.

Sander continues to explain the importance of all related data, metadata, and the use of algorithms. Who controls it? Same for the Protocols and Standards. Who decides? Next is Security. An increase in infrastructure also needs an increase in cybersecurity. The technology needs to be secure. Last is when we go again back to the surface, the part that is above the iceberg: the service itself. We should choose implementations that put the user at the centre. When we use a service, we should be able to look inside the black box. We should be able to see what goes on inside. The visible tip of the iceberg is the citizen perspective: the user experience. We can only get a grip on digitalization if we see the design as a collective responsibility. This is ourcall to action: people should be informed and be aware of the entire PUBLIC STACK.

Open standards
Marleen then replies and points at the need for people to know what is going on and get involved. It’s important that we have a debate, make sure we have technologies that people can TRUST. Even politicians not always know enough about this structure.

Marleen continues: to have informed citizens. We need to make sure the technologies we use are safe and kept to standards. We spend a lot on IT, but we need to spend it differently, set standards to vendors to abide by public standards and spend research and innovation money ONLY if the technology is Open Source. The money should be invested in open, common space. It should not be invested in patents and intellectual property, but in a common good. Using public money to build a public internet. This whole movement for the next generation internet, is part of the 21st century economics. Where you move away from extractive economic models and move towards regenerative models. It is part of a much larger, sustainable development movement.

Tech Reset Canada
An example is how Bianca Wylie, Open Government Advocate and co-founder of Tech Reset Canada, mobilised citizens to oppose plans to let Google be in control of Toronto’s Smart City plans. Marleen and Sander then continue to discuss related topics like the lack of democratic oversight, how private companies usually have a goal of maximizing profits for just their shareholders, how private companies should not control public space.

Collective Power
So, the question is: How can we develop smart cities in a democratic way? People should be aware that they DO have collective power. Marleen’s greatest fear is that people forget that they have this power. I think we are at a critical time to rebuild our institutions. You do not need to be an activist, but act as a participant, a designer, step in and take your responsibility. In helping to define the future. Take for example the NHS ‘Corona’ app, which turns out to share collected data behind everyone’s back to the new data company of PayPal founder Peter Thiel. Isn’t this a real example of how NOT to trust your own institutions? Technology needs to be handled by trusted partners within the community. It needs to be well tested. What about misuse of collected data, even in a later stage? Who is watching? And then there is the issue of function creep: what was designed for just a temporary, single purpose use can later develop into something more, other uses, or over longer time then initially intended. Who controls this?

Do you want to watch the full livestream? Visit the website of Pakhuis de Zwijger: <https://dezwijger.nl/programma/from-now-on-according-to-marleen-stikker>

The discussion of this evening is exactly the discussion that needs to take place. Amsterdam Smart City beliefs in innovating openly and transparent, with always placing people and citizens central in our approach. We do this together with partners like Waag and Pakhuis de Zwijger, who have the expertise to not only engage but co-create with citizens.

Friday 5 June 2020, the fourth edition of the Tech for Society series was launched in Pakhuis de Zwijger: a livestream series about the role of technology in a society that is currently under pressure of the Covid-19 crisis. The central theme of this edition: ‘Dataism’, defined as the believe that the world can be captured in data and algorithms. This concept makes us question its practical possibilities and how we could understand the world around us using data. How should we?

Miriam Rasch, researcher and teacher, wrote the book ‘Frictie. Ethiek in tijden van dataisme’. The book talks about dataism, which Miriam describes as a belief that everything in the world can be captured with data. It is the idea that collecting data shows you certainties and predictions about the world and this way, directs people and the society as a whole . Miriam calls it a ‘religion’, since ‘dataism could exclude other views.' Data look objective and neutral. Believers of this concept, therefore, see it as a necessity to make decision-making processes data-driven.

Martijn de Waal, researcher in the Lectorate of Play & Civic Media of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, recognizes this dataism in the world. As a kind believer of dataism himself, Martijn looks at the concept as a way to organize information and shape the world around us. ‘However, the central role of collecting data now, as done by platforms such as Facebook or Amazon, is too big. It is pretended as if data are objective and truthful. But collecting data is done via platforms with all kinds of underlying values, that are not always visible.’

Which kinds of values? And are these public values? Can the data work for people?’

At the Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture in Shenzhen in China, Martijn attended the exhibition ‘Eyes of the City’, where he found three interpretations on the usage of data:

1. Using data to map the lives of people and with the data, force them to live life according to rules and punish them if you do not oblige the rules. One of the main examples is face recognition in China.
2. Luxurious capitalism. Collecting large amounts of data on citizens and use these to offer services. Even services people don’t know they need until they are offered to them. For example, offer a coffee to people on the streets at the moment you know they would like a cup of coffee due to the data that you collected about them. There is a downside for people working in the platform economy who have to be available, according to the data.
3. In Shenzhen, companies got into contact with migrants living in a certain area. Together they collected data about bottlenecks in their lives. It helped people to show authorities they exist. The data collected are not objective, but it could be a starting point for discussion.

Policy based on data, data based on policy

In research, the usage of data is really important. Even more when policies are based on the data obtained during these studies. However, according to Caroline Nevejan, Chief Science Officer at the City of Amsterdam, you have to be transparent about the sources you used, data that are collected, and start a discussion about which statements could be seen as true or false. In a democracy everybody has to take a part in this process, which is of extreme importance in a world full of propaganda and fake news. In one of her researches, City Rhythm, she analyses the real world and the digital world and the interaction between these two. She addresses questions such as; can we trust data and can we use data for good? How can the digital world can become a part of the physical world? An example of this is, can people who like gardening can use the help of people who don't like gardening, but do like measuring and predicting growth of plants?

Arjan Widlak, director of the Kafka brigade, researches bureaucratic dysfunctioning: ‘Bureaucracy is a great asset, it ensures that all kinds of values materialize - such as legal certainty, integrity, but often this goes the wrong way. Some organizations do the opposite of what they should do. There is indifference without a much needed check.' The Kafka Brigade wants to come to manageable knowledge and people that care about bureaucracy. What kind of system are we creating when we digitalize the government? We are caught in a system of possibilities and impossibilities, where principles of responsible IT should be defined and carried out.

How do we make sure that these principles are put into practice?

Arjan: 'For example, when you drive too fast, you will be flashed. This is done automatically, as is the determination of the fine and the envelope that will be sent to you. It seems like there are no humans involved in the process. Although we might not all understand how this system works, we have a high trust in the way it functions. You have done something wrong and result is a fine. The confidence in the operation of the system is great because it functions without people and people are unreliable. But ultimately people are involved. There is a policy behind this process and people decide what is legal and what is not. Certainly, due to affairs and scandals, it is not certain whether the confidence in these techniques is still so big. So data are not objective. These are human creatures. You cannot take the people out, then you will lose ethics and the discussion about what is wrong or right.'

Constutional state and education

Caroline: ‘Data collecting functions in the constitutional state, in the city. Collect, acquire, return data has to be done according to certain laws. You can also go to court if this is done wrong. The European Rules for Data Protection (GDPR) are essential for the protection of personal data collected by companies. Companies now say, give us more rules because this works for us. We can do better business. So business runs better in a democracy’ .

Caroline continues: “Another aspect we have to look at is how data scientists are trained. What do they learn? It is staggering to see how data science education in university only has one course on responsible innovation. In collecting data we only talk about ethics, never about the rule of law. Business is always about social entrepreneurship, never about trade unions. In education, we create data scientists who have only one side of the knowledge, but get all the power. Because we did not teach the system designers how to think about democracy, power and the inequality of power.”

Martijn: ‘Yes, people in Silicon Valley work in a one-dimensional way. But this will change. There is more and more attention for ethics because students also ask for it. They want to contribute to society.’

Arjan: 'It is interesting how this also goes for the background of civil servants. This has a major influence on how the government functions. A long time ago, as a civil servant it was common practice to know something about constitutional law. You had to understand that values get meaning to each other.' Caroline: ‘Place this standards frame to the forefront again. Democracy and privacy by design. This makes it possible to discuss the interpretation of meaning.’

What can the current timeframe learn us?

Miriam: ‘We learned the value of not using tech all day. I hope we can remember it.’

Caroline: ‘Ask more questions every day. Even if you take something for granted.’

Arjan: ‘Yes, ask more questions. We can strive for privacy by design, but what does that mean? I plea for critical citizenship.’

Martijn: ‘This time showed us a revaluation for public space and values. Public space is suddenly used a lot more. What can that look like online?’

According to Amsterdam Smart City, the discussion of this evening is exactly the discussion that needs to take place. Collecting data is very useful to work on the challenges in our cities. But we have to be aware that these data are not neutral and we have to have a discussion about the issues and if the data are necessary to help solving the issues. Can we work on public values with the data? This asks for a collaboration between the public and private sector, something we work on every day. Amsterdam Smart City always puts public value first: innovating together and transparent, using each other’s expertise, with the resident at the centre.

Do you want to watch the full episode? You can watch it here (in Dutch):

[##### Tech for Society #4: Dataïsme: Is de wereld te vangen in data?

Wie heeft gelijk als de computer het fout heeft?

Pakhuis de Zwijger](https://dezwijger.nl/programma/dataisme-is-de-wereld-te-vangen-in-data%20%20%20)

With growing numbers of pedestrians and cyclists returning to city streets, keeping a safe distance of 1.5m can be a challenge in many urban areas due to the way public space (or lack of it) has been designed.

The Social Distancing Dashboard, a project led by scientists from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), in collaboration with the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute), helps to raise awareness about constraints posed by the design of public space and contributes to decision making for COVID-19 related interventions in urban planning.

The Dashboard creates city maps that show on a street and neighborhood level if social distance rules can be respected when moving in public space. It offers an overview of different factors – such as the width of the footpath and location of bus stops – affecting our ability to respect social distancing rules.

The dynamic and color-coded maps are open access and available for use by e.g. policymakers, charged with making decisions on public health and city planners, tasked with making COVID-19 related interventions in the urban space. The dashboard is also intended to raise awareness amongst city residents – especially those in risk groups – who want to navigate the city streets as safely as possible.

Read the full article here: https://www.ams-institute.org/news/social-distancing-dashboard-provides-roadmap-city-dwellers/

Or go straight to the Social Distancing Dasboard: https://covid19.social-glass.tudelft.nl/#14/52.3722/4.88072

We hoeven u niet meer te vertellen dat data ons inzicht kan geven in hoe een (deel van een) gemeente er voor staat (zie webinar Data & Beleid). En we willen tegelijkertijd onze publieke waarden beschermen in de slimme stad (zie webinar Belangen borgen in de digitaliserende gemeente). Maar hoe kom je aan data die je nodig hebt om beleid te meten, te voorspellen en te monitoren? Er is natuurlijk open data, maar als dat niet voldoende is dan zijn er tal van andere toepassingen om data te verzamelen.

Om u een indruk te geven wat er allemaal mogelijk is en op de markt is, organiseren we een pitchcarrousel op woensdag 29 april om 15.00 uur met 4 bedrijven die u wegwijs maken in het verzamelen van de juiste data voor uw beleid.

Meld u hier aan voor de pitchcarrousel

Dit kunt u verwachten

• 4 pitches van producten/diensten waarmee uw gemeente (realtime) data kan verzamelen voor een (deel van een) beleidsvraagstuk.
• Concrete smart city oplossingen voor de uitdagingen waar gemeenten of provincies tegenaan lopen (fysiek, sociaal en economisch).
• Meet & Greet met pitchers in virtuele subzalen en ontdek de mogelijkheden voor uw vraagstuk.

Realtime Omgevingsbeleid
Deze pitchcarrousel is onderdeel van het project Realtime Omgevingsbeleid waarin we onderzoeken hoe inzicht in data de manier verandert waarop beslissingen worden voorbereid en genomen. Dat doen we samen met een netwerk op van bedrijven en overheden. De volgende partijen doen er al mee of hebben serieuze interesse: Civity, DHM Infra, ELBA\REC, Kennedy Van Der Laan, VodafoneZiggo, Provincies Zuid-Holland en Utrecht, gemeenten Zwolle, Apeldoorn, Amersfoort, Krimpen aan den IJssel.

Hoe kunt u deelnemen?
Deelnemen is gratis en eenvoudig: klik hier om u te registreren voor de pitchcarrousel. U krijgt woensdagochtend een link om deel te nemen aan het webinar. Voor het webinar maken we gebruik van Discord. Als u zich registreert dan ontvangt u ook een uitnodiging voor de komende webinars.

Wilt u graag uw product of dienst pitchen?
Neem dan contact op met Wendolijn Beukers (wendolijn@future-city.nl). Zet in uw email kort uiteen wat uw product of dienst inhoudt en hoe een gemeente met uw product/dienst data kan verzamelen en met welk doel. Wij maken een selectie van inzendingen. Over de selectie wordt niet gecorrespondeerd.

Door corona-volg-apps, social distancing-apps en surveillance drones laait de discussie op over privacy en het borgen van andere publieke waarden. Wie heeft het eigenaarschap over data, wat vinden we acceptabel en onder welke omstandigheden? Kortom hoe ben je slim én borg je tegelijk ook de publieke belangen? In het webinar ‘Belangen borgen in de digitaliserende gemeente’ onderzoeken we de ethische kant van smart city, en legt Anita Nijboer (partner bij Kennedy Van der Laan) uit hoe we de democratische waarden in de smart city kunnen borgen.

Datum: woensdag 22 april
Tijd: 15.00 – 16.00 uur
Uitgevoerd: via Webex, aanmelden via https://future-city.nl/webinar-22-april/

Hoe kunt u deelnemen?
Deelnemen is gratis en eenvoudig: klik hier om u te registreren voor het webinar: https://future-city.nl/webinar-22-april/ U krijgt woensdagochtend een link om deel te nemen aan het webinar. Voor het webinar maken we gebruik van Webex. Als u zich registreert dan ontvangt u ook een uitnodiging voor de komende webinars.

Na aankondiging van het kabinet om tracking- en tracingapps in te zetten ter bestrijding van het coronavirus, tekenen diverse partijen uit de regio het manifest Veilig tegen Corona. Veel problemen worden opgelost met data en nieuwe technologieën, maar hoe blijft onze privacy intact? Hoe creëren we een veilige digitale samenleving waar iedereen van profiteert?

Marleen Stikker: "Dit soort data moet je niet laten verzamelen door private partijen, zoals Google. Het moet transparant en er moet goed toezicht op mogelijk zijn."

Lees verder:
https://amsterdameconomicboard.com/nieuws/bescherm-onze-gezondheid-maar-ook-onze-privacy

Tune in this afternoon for the second edition of the European Commission’s Intelligent Cities Challenge webinar series in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

Presenting alongside Barcelona, The City of Amsterdam will share its Wij Amsterdam (We Amsterdam) platform for crowd-sourced social initiatives combating the crisis. The platform was built by repurposing open-source code developed in previous innovation projects. Since its launch on March 27, more than 290 social initiatives have been shared on themes such as care, loneliness, education, and work.

For more information and to register visit https://www.intelligentcitieschallenge.eu/covid-19-webinars

Bas Boorsma explores what can we learn from the accelerated digital transition triggered by COVID-19.

Do you like to work on complex urban issues involving multiple stakeholders and with direct effect for the Amsterdammer? From AI and data science, to smart mobility and circular economy, there are a number of opportunities to join the CTO innovation team.

Check out these current opportunities:

AI developer
Back end developer
Business developer (AI Team)
Data engineer
Data scientist (Smart Mobility Program)
Front end developer
Full stack developer
Project manager (MaaS & shared mobility)
Technical information analyst (Smart Mobility Program)
Tech lead circular economy

For complete information and application procedure, refer to the City of Amsterdam’s website: https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/werkenbij/externe/

Or mail us for any questions: innovatie@amsterdam.nl

Thursday 26 March, 3 PM (CET)

Following the success of the first Future City Foundation (a FIWARE iHub) online get-together with Wim Willems, Councilor of the City of Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, and more than 90 Smart City enthusiasts, this week’s online get-together on Thursday, 26 March at 3 PM (CET) goes international with the participation of the FIWARE Foundation.

Together with its members and partners, the Foundation as a global ecosystem is driving the definition and open source implementation of key open de-facto standards that enable the development of portable and interoperable Smart Solutions in a faster, easier and affordable way. It hereby avoids vendor lock-in scenarios whilst also nourishing a sustainable and innovation-driven business ecosystem.

Participation is free, all you need to do is bring your own drink and snack and you will be good to go.

REGISTER NOW: https://future-city.nl/join-the-online-get-together-with-future-city-fiware/

FIWARE Foundation CEO, Ulrich Ahle, will be joining the get-together to talk about FIWARE. The FIWARE Catalogue offers a curated framework of open source platform components that can be assembled together and with other third-party platform components to accelerate the development of Smart Solutions. It hereby enables a landscape of diverse but interoperable Smart City solutions. Ulrich Ahle will give a short talk on how FIWARE is changing cities worldwide and how municipalities and companies can apply FIWARE solutions. His talk will be followed by a Q&A session where it will be possible to ask Mr. Ahle questions.

We look forward to an interactive online event, after which we will raise our glasses together!

How Do You Participate?
Registration is free and simple: Register on the website for the event: https://future-city.nl/join-the-online-get-together-with-future-city-fiware/
You will then receive an email with the link to take part at 3 PM (CET) on Thursday (26 March). Participation is free of charge and the online event will be in English.

Who is Organizing The Event?
Together with its partners, the only FIWARE iHub in the Netherlands is hosting the online get-togethers.

REGISTER NOW: https://future-city.nl/join-the-online-get-together-with-future-city-fiware/

Omdat wij zelfquarantaine belangrijk vinden, maar borrels ook, organiseert Future City elke donderdagmiddag om 15 uur een online-borrel. De eerste is aanstaande donderdag 19 maart. Voor zolang het duurt (en laten we hopen dat dat niet lang is). Het concept is simpel: wij organiseren een online-lezing, u neemt uw eigen drankje en hapje mee.

Eerste spreker: wethouder Wim Willems
Donderdag 19 maart is de spreker van de eerste borrel Wim Willems, wethouder in Apeldoorn en voorzitter van de bestuurlijke G40 themagroep Smart Cities. Hij maakt sinds zijn aantreden in het voorjaar van 2018 van Apeldoorn een smart city en deelt die ervaring graag met ons. Tijdens de lezing is het mogelijk om vragen te stellen en die worden door wethouder Willems beantwoord. Het wordt dus een interactief-online-event. Na een half uur heffen we samen het glas.

Hoe doet u mee?
Aanmelden is gratis en simpel: Klik op deze link: https://kennislab.typeform.com/to/EpzrOe en u ontvangt op donderdagochtend een mailtje met de link hoe u om 15.00 uur kunt deelnemen.

Wie organiseren dit?
We organiseren deze online-borrels vanuit de Future City Foundation en nemen zo een aanloopje naar de City Deal ‘Een slimme stad, zo doe je dat’ die we opzetten op verzoek van het Ministerie van BZK en stedennetwerk G40. Wilt u meer weten over die City Deal? Klik dan hier: https://future-city.nl/citydeal/

A groundbreaking technology project offering solutions to people concerned about the control of their personal data has just concluded after three years of pilot projects in Amsterdam and Barcelona.

DECODE, an EU Horizon 2020 project delivered by a consortium of 14 European partners, has developed new technology that allows people to decide who they share their data with, and on what terms.

For urban innovation and digitalisation efforts to succeed, a municipality needs to think through its internal organisation and governance structures. Few ingredients more sharply define the difference between success and failure than having the right governance structures in place.

We asked member city leaders from the Cities Today Institute to share their organisational structure and governance choices. What does their mandate look like? How do they operate across silos? And what to do with the traditional IT manager?

Nieuwe technologietalkshow met o.m. wethouder Rutger Groot Wassink, CTO Amsterdam Ger Baron en techfilosoof Martijntje Smits.

Algoritmen zijn overal en bepalen steeds meer in ons dagelijks leven. We gebruiken het voor de beste smartphone foto's, maar ook bij misdaadpreventie en het opsporen van fraude bij de sociale dienst. Maar hoe neutraal is deze onzichtbare spelverdeler? Hoeveel van onze voorliefdes of vooroordelen nemen deze systemen over? En hoe krijgen we hier grip op? In onze nieuwste talkshow - Next Level - spreken we over de impact van technologie op onze samenleving.

Photo by Charles on Unsplash.