The City of Amsterdam has won an award in the ‘Best Government Emerging Technologies’ category of the World Government Summit Awards in Dubai. The award went to the City of Amsterdam for its outstanding approach to innovation in general, and for the public-private Amsterdam Smart City programme, which forms a strong basis for the development of a smart city, in particular. The category recognises governments that are experimenting with emerging technologies to provide more efficient and effective services to their citizens and that have proven results in adding greater public value and transforming the lives of people.
The annual award is designed to motivate various consortia to promote creative smart initiatives and partnerships with the aim of providing innovative smart solutions to common global challenges. Amsterdam is currently at the forefront in this field. The City is running a lot of pilots and a long-term strategy is in place to continue developing its structures, with the aim of cementing Amsterdam’s pioneering status as a smart city.
At the closing ceremony of the World Government Summit 2017 on 14 February 2017, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and Emir of Dubai, presented 17 winners with awards. Nina Tellegen, Director of the Amsterdam Economic Board and responsible for the Amsterdam Smart City programme, accepted the award for Amsterdam.
Tellegen said: “This is an incredible compliment for the Amsterdam Smart City programme. Very often, Smart City programmes are initiated and run by city governments. In Amsterdam, we believe in a different approach. We organise smart, public-private collaboration between municipalities, knowledge institutions, corporates, startups and citizens. This leads to more creative, innovative and sustainable solutions. This is what works in Amsterdam and it’s what we need in this complex time.”