Digital Masterplan for Dublin by 2013

Life

27 November 2012

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Naoise Ó Muirí, has pledged to develop Digital Masterplan for the city by June of 2013. The aim of the plan is to develop Dublin as a "world centre of digital excellence".

Speaking at a leadership forum in the city where 50 leaders from major technology companies, government agencies and universities met to direct and shape the digital future of the capital, the Lord Mayor said "Dublin cannot wait for national Government action".

"Our future economic success, our ability to attract talent and investment and our competitive branding internationally mean we have to use and apply digital technologies now. Put simply this is about jobs and the quality of life in our city; we have begun to deliver public Wi-Fi in the city but we must and will do more."

Acknowledging the work already underway in the city under various initiatives of local government, business and higher education, from Big Data to energy conservation to citizen engagement Dublin, the Lord Mayor said that the city was already proving its capacity to develop intelligent and smart solutions to urban challenges using technology.
The Masterplan will provide a common focus for these initiatives but would also use international best practice and citizen opinion to push for major new initiatives that would create an "everywhere digitally connected and sustainable city, from home to workplace, from streetscape to public park and from healthcare to education," said the Lord Mayor.

The plan is to be modelled on similar digital development plans already in place in New York, Barcelona and London. The Lord Mayor discussed opportunities for co-operation internationally when he recently met with the Mayor of Barcelona at the Smart Cities World Congress. "We have already committed that Dublin will play a leading role in the City Protocol Society which links major leading world cities which are proving the value of digital technology in city life. I am determined that we would become one of the first partner cities to Barcelona to deliver on the Global Mobile agenda. Our international branding depends on being a digitally connected and sustainable city," said the Lord Mayor.

The announcement of the plan came with a challenge from the Lord Mayor, where he said that the coming months would allow for consultation on the Masterplan. This would allow for actions that could demonstrate how digital technology can transform the city and the lives of its people.

"Today I am issuing Digital Challenges which are invitations to companies, organisations and citizens to deliver an action that would improve lives and services using digital technologies. Already for example we are working with Trinity and Intel to explore new approaches to citizen engagement. We are hosting next February the 8th World Forum of Cities against Poverty and are inviting participation and examples of how digital technology can tackle here and in the developing world the causes and consequences of poverty. But today I am also throwing down digital action challenges."

The Masterplan will cover all aspects of economy and living. A starting point would be the evaluation of the current state of Digital Maturity within the Dublin City Region and prior to the launch of the Forum Intel and Maynooth committed to delivering the first report of Dublin’s Digital maturity.

 

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