4 Indian Cities namely Bengaluru, Faridabad, Indore and Hyderabad feature among the 36 global cities selected by World Economic Forum (WEF) for pioneering a new global policy roadmap for smart cities. They will be developed by G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance.
i.The 36 cities have been selected from 22 Countries & 6 Continents.
ii.Cities such as London, Moscow, Toronto, Brasilia, Dubai and Melbourne have figured in the list. The full list of cities can be accessed here.
Key Points:
i.COVID-19 has accelerated adoption of new technologies by cities, as Governments all over the world are struggling to manage the pandemic with limited resources.
ii.The 36 “Pioneer Cities” will adopt 5 policies – Privacy Protection, Better Broadband Coverage, Accountability for Cyber Security, Increased Openness of City Data, and better Accessibility to Digital City Services for Disabled and Elderly people.
iii.The G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance will give the 36 cities procedures, laws and regulations to use new technology responsibly.
iv.The “Pioneer Cities” launched their activities at a Global Event organised by Smart City Expo World Congress which is the World’s premier smart cities event.
Pioneers of Change Summit 2020:
i.The WEF’s Inaugural “Pioneer of Change Summit” is taking place virtually on 16-20 November, 2020. They will discuss topics such as digital business, sustainable production, infrastructure, health, new work models, financial innovation and frontier technologies.
ii.More than 750 leaders from Government, Business and Civil Society from 90 countries are participating in the Summit.
G20 Global Smart City Alliance:
The G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance was established in June 2019 in conjunction with the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan.
Objective:
To establish and advance global policy norms to accelerate best practices, mitigate potential risks, foster greater openness and public trust.
Founding Partners:
The founding set of Institutional Partners include Presidents and host nations of the Group of 20 (G20) in 2019 (Japan) and 2020 (Saudi Arabia), the Smart City Mission of India, Cities for All, Cities Today Institute; Commonwealth Local Government Forum, Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network among others.
Recent Related News:
i.According to the Third Edition of “The Future of Jobs Report 2020” released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), COVID-19 and Technological Advances will disrupt around 85 Million Jobs by 2025.
About World Economic Forum (WEF):
Founder & Executive Chairman – Klaus Schwab
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
