U4SSC Country Hub - Austria

“Additionally, as smart cities are a dynamic environment, it is also important to adopt flexible technologies. Realizing this, the United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) was established in 2016, to provide an open platform for discussions on how smart cities can be envisioned. The U4SSC also takes these discussions a step further by exploring how emerging technologies like blockchain, digital twin, virtual reality, can further support digital transformation and our journey towards smart cities.

While the U4SSC, through its various Thematic Groups, develops reports, case studies, guidelines and offers guidance for cities to become smarter and more sustainable while accelerating their digital transformation, this initiative also provides for another very unique mechanism known as the U4SSC Hub.

I would like to take this opportunity to tell our audience here that Austria proudly hosts the first U4SSC Country-Hub at the Austrian Economic Centre! As I mentioned towards the beginning of my remarks, collaboration and knowledge transfer is key to digital transformation. In this context, the U4SSC-Hub, serves as a one of a kind platform which supports cooperation between public and private sector for driving digital transformation across all sectors in smart cities and communities. Through the establishment of this U4SSC-Hub, we are extremely blessed to be engaging with relevant private sector entities, United Nations, SMEs and academic institutions – all of which work together to realize the smart city goals and facilitate knowledge transfer. We also regularly participate in the ongoing Thematic Group activities of the U4SSC to provide inputs to deliverable based on our experience with the Hub.

As a part of our Hub activities, we also organize Webinars such as this one to further disseminate knowledge that we have gathered through our work on smart cities and digital transformation.

I am very indebted to the U4SSC Partners for choosing us as the first U4SSC-Hub.

I would like to conclude my address by making one statement: Knowledge is one thing that cannot reduce in amount if we share it with others.

This is the very principle of the work of our Hub as we are proud to collaborate with ITU and other U4SSC Partners.”