A discussion on education, healthcare, and the idea of what a “community” will be in 2031 - and how these changes have been accelerated during the time of COVID-19. With guests Joost Helms, Director, Eindhoven International Project Office and Dr. Rick Huijbregts, Vice-President, Strategy & Innovation, George Brown College.

What do Intelligent Communities know that others do not? Intelligent Communities like Espoo (Finland), Dublin (Ohio, USA), Eindhoven (The Netherlands), Tallinn (Estonia) and the current Intelligent Community of the Year, Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) are no longer just “smart cities.” They have gone at least one level higher. In our Moment of Truth podcast series, we ask them when they realized that they had gone from “smart city” to Intelligent Community, and what exactly it means to them. We also ask how they managed to get there.

What do Intelligent Communities know that others do not? Intelligent Communities like Espoo (Finland), Dublin (Ohio, USA), Eindhoven (The Netherlands), Tallinn (Estonia) and the current Intelligent Community of the Year, Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) are no longer just “smart cities.” They have gone at least one level higher. In our Moment of Truth podcast series, we ask them when they realized that they had gone from “smart city” to Intelligent Community, and what exactly it means to them. We also ask how they managed to get there.

In his new book, Me and Telecommunications, Mr. Sangin, who before 9/11 had been living outside of Afghanistan (courtesy of the Taliban) and is once again in 2021 living outside it, has chronicled his life and the struggles of his nation. He played a key role in that nation’s advances, having returned in 2002 to build a telecommunications infrastructure that connected the nation, enabled rare democratic elections and made it so that women and kids could surf the Web and learn about the world around them. He also made it possible for every Afghanistan resident to have a cell phone (there are multiple carriers today in Afghanistan) and ended forever the embarrassing situation which found Afghans having to go to Pakistan to make a phone call!

Economic developers from municipalities and counties discuss the changing nature of investment attraction, business stimulation and support, and the collaboration with other agencies and sectors needed to develop the economy of an Intelligent Community in a world being restructured by digital technologies. Moderated by John Jung, Co-Founder, ICF.

In this freewheeling conversation, municipal CIOs and IT experts discuss the challenges of deploying reliable and secure information technology systems to support operations, deliver services and improve decision-making – within the limits of municipal budgets.  They explore the opportunities to expand capabilities and reduce costs provided by the latest technology developments.

Winnipeg is the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba, located in the center of the North American continent. Winnipeg’s economy is dominated by agriculture, energy, manufacturing and a growing tech scene. 

Syd Kitson is Chairman and CEO of Kitson & Partners, a Florida-based real estate company specializing in the creation and development of master-planned communities and commercial properties.

What do Intelligent Communities know that others do not? The Answer: Epistemic Humility.

I know. It’s cryptic. I’ll explain later.

Peter Torrellas is the vice president and partner for Digital Cities and Infrastructure at Siemens Advanta, the digital transformation consultancy and professional services arm of the global technology powerhouse. In this role, he leads a team of diverse innovators and visionaries in consulting,  professional services, solutions, and software development to enable the vision of our public and private sector clients on their digital journeys.