FAIRFIELD — Fairfield received a prestigious honor in February when it was named one of the most innovative cities in the world by the Intelligent Community Forum.

The organization named Fairfield to its list of “Smart21 Communities of 2023” during a virtual conference on Feb. 23. Fairfield was one of five cities in the United States to be named among the Top 21, which also included cities in countries such as Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and more.

ICF gathers nearly 200 prosperous smart cities in the world. ICF studied and assessed hundreds of cities around the world to select the best practices of the world's Intelligent Communities based on six factors including broadband connectivity, knowledge workforce, innovation, digital equality, sustainability, and advocacy.

Ignite, along with the City of Fredericton are pleased to announce that Fredericton has been named one of the world’s Top7 Intelligent Communities by the Intelligent Communities Forum (ICF). New Brunswick’s Capital City joins the Regional Municipality of Durham in Ontario as the only other municipality in Canada to make the list, which includes cities and counties from Australia, Brazil, Taiwan and Vietnam, as announced on June 21, 2002. In alphabetical order, the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2021 are:

Binh Duong (VNA) – Binh Duong smart city of the southern province of the same name was named in the 2022 Top 7 Intelligent Communities worldwide at a ceremony on June 21.

The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) and Binh Duong province jointly hosted the 2022 Top 7 Intelligent Communities Conference & Announcement: After the Pandemic: How Digital Innovation Drives Growth in Our Communities.

ESTEVAN - Estevan has been selected as a Smart 21 Community for 2022 by the Intelligent Community Forum.

The exciting news was announced during the grand opening of the Southeast Innovation Business Development Centre on May 18.

Estevan became the first community in Saskatchewan to make it to the top, and city Coun. Rebecca Foord, who is also a part of the city's innovation council, said they are now trying to make it to the top seven and then hope to be named the No 1 Intelligent Community for 2022.

Whanganui District Council’s approach to climate change has helped the city win international recognition as a leading model for economic and social development – for the seventh time.

Whanganui has again been named a Smart21 City by America-based think tank the Intelligent Community Forum and is the only New Zealand community to make this year’s list.

The East Central region of Minnesota has been named one of the Smart21 Communities of 2022 by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), a global movement that seeks to build prosperous and inclusive futures for communities. This prestigious honor recognizes the advances made by the region in recent years.

“We are thrilled to be recognized as a Smart21 Community,” said GPS President Sandy Voigt. “This honor shows the importance of collaborative efforts across the region and would not have been possible without the support of so many people and organizations across East Central Minnesota.”

Manitoba's capital is snatching up another prestigious title, this time for its digital brains.

The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) has named Winnipeg this year's World’s Top Intelligent Community. This award is bestowed onto a community for its competitiveness in the digital economy.

WINNIPEG - Winnipeg has been named the most intelligent community for 2021 by an independent think tank, beating out contenders in Australia, Brazil, Russia, and Vietnam.

The title was bestowed on Winnipeg by the Intelligent Community Forum, marking the first time Winnipeg has been selected by the ICF. Winnipeg has placed in the top seven three other times in 2014, 2015, and 2016.

For the second time since 2017, Moscow made it to the final stage of the Intelligent Community Awards rating. It involves the cities that show best practices in the development of communications, experts training, the use of innovation, digital inclusion, the involvement of residents in city management, and the maintenance of sustainability principles. The prestigious international rating is issued annually by the Intelligent Community Forum.