The international Open & Agile Smart Cities network (OASC) partners with SmartCT, an organisation working with cities & communities in the Philippines to support them on their digital transformation journey.
The two organisations will work together to promote the uptake of citizen-centric smart cities and the benefits of using open-source building blocks and open standards to create and grow local innovation ecosystems in fast-developing cities in the Philippines.
Driven by congruent goals to enable open, agile, and citizen-centric communities, the cooperation between SmartCT and OASC will lead to increased cooperation between cities & communities in the Philippines and the OASC community of member cities.
“We are excited to launch our cooperation with SmartCT to work together for a sustainable digital transformation of cities & communities in the Philippines”, says Davor Meersman, CEO of OASC. “Our more than 150 members worldwide are eager to share best practices on how to enable digital interoperability, trusted and secure data-sharing and a citizen-centric smart city that solves local challenges in a global context of social impact and sustainability.”
While technology is a key tool for local communities to solve pressing challenges posed by climate change or crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, cities particularly in developing countries have not yet developed the necessary capacity. But they can benefit from what has already been developed in communities like the OASC network. They can re-use specific building blocks that are entirely based on open standards and open source, adapt them to specific challenges and reap the benefits of data-driven solutions and provide better services for their citizens.
“We at SmartCT believe that data and citizens should be at the heart of every smart community endeavour”, says Kris Villanueva-Libunao, Executive Director of SmartCT. “Smart cities and community solutions already exist, but they do not necessarily reflect what works best for developing nations’ problems – overpopulation, low technology, poor infrastructure, weak governance, and socio-economic disparity. Together with Open & Agile Smart Cities, we see the Philippine communities and other developing communities ethically and responsibly advancing smartness and digitalization at scale.”
As a next step, Open & Agile Smart Cities (OASC) and SmartCT will organise a webinar in September and work towards projects with tangible outcomes for cities in the Philippines. Sign up to the OASC newsletter to stay on top of the latest news.
About OASC
Open & Agile Smart Cities (OASC) is a global network bringing together cities and communities to drive the sustainable digital transformation of public administrations. We are generating tangible impact for cities and technology vendors by defining a minimal common ground for interoperability and advocating for the application of open standards. Together with our member cities and partner organisations, and based on our core values – openness, agility, and cooperation – we are building the foundations for a global market where digital services can scale. More information: www.oascities.org
About SmartCT
SmartCT creates a movement transforming how we plan & do smart cities by incorporating openness, fairness, & collaboration at all stages of the process. We are building a coalition of local governments & tech companies with shared responsibilities & standards on public digital & data infrastructure. Through our combined advocacy efforts & grassroots programs, we are redefining what it means to be smart by putting citizens & data at the heart of any smart initiative – strengthening the foundations of being smart beyond developed communities. More information: www.smartct.org and www.facebook.com/SmartCTorg/