Stockholm hosts the 21st Annual Global Forum and a theme "Shaping a Digital Future", which is the expertise offered by John Jung and the Intelligent Community Forum

Stockholm, Sweden Global Forum – November 11, 2012 – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) studies the world’s cities to discover and then share the strategies used to create an Intelligent Community able to cope with the connected Broadband economy. Jung will discuss the platforms communities can use to increase innovation and grow their local economy. Jung travels the globe outlining the steps needed to future-proof a community and those steps lead to significant economic benefits. “Innovation is one of the main building blocks for any community that wants to expand its economy and is one of the techniques we have seen used over and over in successful communities around the world,” says Jung.

One of the success stories tracked by the ICF is the community of Oulu, Finland. In 2012 it was chosen as one of the Top7 Intelligent Cities in the world. Oulu decided to embrace technology and diversify the city’s economy in fact Oulu built a reputation as one of Europe’s most innovative tech centers, developing many “firsts” in the global technology industry and in the past three years the city of 142,000 people created 7,000 new jobs. Oulu also worked to develop a climate that fosters innovation and the creation of new companies. Stockholm shares many characteristics with Oulu, which is located only 200 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, so both cities experience long, snowy winters, and government plays a large role in the economic life of both cities.

The Oulu story is part of a new book co-authored by Jung, entitled Seizing our Destiny and just released last month. The book profiles the Top7 cities of 2012 and provides extensive analysis of the lessons for other communities. For example, a ten percent growth in broadband penetration adds one to three percent to a country’s gross domestic product, or how 80 per cent of GDP growth comes from the introduction of new technology, or how 50% of productivity improvements in the private sector comes from the use of ICT.

The ICF provides the benchmarks that a community must focus on especially the five core criteria:

• Broadband service
• A knowledge-based workforce
• Digital inclusion
• Innovation and marketing
• Advocacy

The ICF measures whether a community has the heart and the head to succeed.

All the world’s communities are challenged to deal with the new economy where jobs, investment and knowledge increasingly depend on advances in communications. ICF identifies and explains the new economy, conducts research into best practices, and celebrates the best of the world's Intelligent Communities through its annual awards program.

The GLOBAL FORUM is as an independent high profile international think tank event dedicated to Business and Policy issues affecting the successful evolution of the Information Society.

About Intelligent Community Forum

The Intelligent Community Forum is a New York-based think tank that studies the economic and social development of the 21st Century community. In the 21st Century community, connectivity is changing the definition and experience of communities: threatening established ways of life while also offering powerful new tools to build prosperous, inclusive economies. The Intelligent Community Forum seeks to share the best practices and success of the world's Intelligent Communities in adapting to the demands of what it calls “the Broadband Economy” by conducting research, hosting events, publishing books and newsletters and producing an international awards program. ICF’s publications include Broadband Economies (2008), Future Cities (2009) Seizing our Destiny (2012) and an annual report on the year’s Top Seven Intelligent Communities. For more information, www.intelligentcommunity.org.

Intelligent Community Forum Contacts

John Jung
Co-Founder Intelligent Community Forum
Cell Phone: 011-1-519-575-6672
Email: [email protected]

Paul Brent
Senior Communications Specialist
market2world communications inc.
Phone: 011-1-613-256-3939
Email: [email protected]