Communities from Brazil, Canada, Taiwan and the United States become finalists for Intelligent Community of the Year to be named at the ICF Global Summit in November in Barcelona

(New York, NY, USA & New Taipei City, Taiwan – June 19, 2024) – In an announcement today at the end of a live conference in New Taipei City, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) named the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2024. The 22nd annual Top7 list includes cities and counties from Brazil, Canada, Taiwan and the United States. One of these seven finalists in the think tank’s annual awards program will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year at the ICF Summit in November. (www.icfsummit.com)

In alphabetical order, the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2024 are:

• Assaí, Paraná, Brazil
• Coral Gables, Florida, USA
• Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
• Durham Region, Ontario, Canada
• Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
• Hilliard, Ohio, USA
• Yunlin County, Taiwan

ICF Global Summit and Smart City Expo World Congress to Collaborate in Barcelona, 4-7 November

NEW YORK, NY, USA and BARCELONA, SPAIN - 18 June 2024 – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) and Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) announced today a partnership aligning two upcoming events in the smart city and Intelligent Community sectors. The ICF Global Summit will take place on 4 November 2024, immediately followed by the Smart City Expo World Congress from 5-7 November, both hosted in Barcelona, Spain.

The ICF Global Summit brings together the world’s foremost leaders, innovators, and thinkers dedicated to the future of intelligent communities and smart cities, who will exchange best practices and gain inspiration from panel discussions, keynotes, and workshops. Also showcased throughout the event will be the achievements of the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2024, one of whom will be announced as the Intelligent Community of the Year. Through this partnership, Summit registrants will be invited to extend their stay in Barcelona to attend Smart City Expo World Congress.

Becamex IDC and ITRI sign memorandum of understanding for technical exchanges and joint projects in 5G, open innovation and industry 4.0

(April 24, 2024 – New York City, NY, USA) – At the March 2024 Smart21 Conference hosted by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) and Smart City Summit & Expo (SCSE) in Taipei, Becamex, the leading industrial and urban real estate development group in Binh Duong, Vietnam, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan’s world-leading applied technology developer.

Becamex IDC, together with Binh Duong Government, develop Binh Duong Smart City, a Certified Intelligent Community that ICF named as 2023’s Intelligent Community of the Year. It was through ICF that Becamex entered into dialogue with ITRI that led to the signing of the MOU. ITRI is headquartered in Hsinchu City, which ICF named as one of its Top7 Intelligent Communities in 2014, and the organization has supported innovation in most of the 17 Taiwanese cities and counties honored in ICF’s Intelligent Community Awards program.

Communities from seven nations over five continents named as semi-finalists in ICF’s annual Intelligent Community of the Year Awards Program

(March 20, 2024 – New York, NY, USA & Taipei, Taiwan) – At the conclusion of a conference hosted by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), the ICF Taiwan organization and the ICF Institute in Taiwan, ICF today named the world’s Smart21 Communities of 2024. The announcement was made at the conclusion of the Smart Cities and Intelligent Communities conference, conducted as part of the Taiwan Smart City Summit & Expo in Taipei.

The selection of the annual Smart21 Communities of the Year marks the semi-finalist phase in ICF’s annual Awards Program. The program will conclude when ICF names the 2024 Intelligent Community of the Year at the ICF Summit in November. One of these 21 communities named today will succeed Binh Duong, Vietnam, the 2023 Intelligent Community of the Year.

(January 23, 2024 – New York City, NY, USA & Toronto, ON, Canada) – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) and the Urban Robotics Foundation (URF) announced today a partnership aiming to share best practices on robot integration in communities by local governments around the world. Through the partnership, ICF and URF will exchange content, expertise, and communication resources with each other’s networks, and collaborate on content including a webinar and an online course to be released later this year.

Annual Awards Program to culminate in October 2024 with the announcement of the 2024 Intelligent Community of the Year

(December 6, 2023 – New York City) - After announcing Binh Duong, Vietnam as the 2023 Intelligent Community of the Year, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) has opened nominations for the next cycle of its prestigious international Awards Program for cities and regions.

The honorees in the Awards Program are announced in three stages. In March 2024, ICF will name its Smart21 Communities, selected through analysis of data on hundreds of cities, counties and regions. The Smart21 announcement will take place during the Smart City Summit and Expo in Taipei, Taiwan, which will be attended by an economic development mission of ICF member communities. In June, New Taipei City will host the Top7 Conference, where ICF will name the seven communities selected by its independent analysts from among the Smart21. The 2024 Awards Program culminates with the announcement of the 26th Intelligent Community of the Year at the ICF Global Summit in late 2024.

The Intelligent Community Forum Names its First Vietnamese City for Development Excellence

(October 26, 2023 – New York City, NY) – For the first time in its 24-year history, the Intelligent Community Forum honored a Vietnamese city with its top award today when it named Binh Duong as the 2023 Intelligent Community of the Year. Binh Duong, located in the southern part of the country, had been previously named a Smart21 Community five times and to the prestigious list of Top7 three times since 2019. Mai Hung Dung, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee and Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee accepted the award for Binh Duong. The announcement was made during the annual Intelligent Community Awards Dinner in New York City, the culminating event of this year’s ICF Global Summit conference. (www.icfsummit.com)

“This year we witnessed an historic moment in the life of cities with Vietnam’s first Intelligent Community being named Intelligent Community of the Year,” said ICF Co-Founder Louis Zacharilla. “Binh Duong has methodically executed ICF’s Community Accelerator Strategy while participating in our annual awards. The city is a great example of the power of teamwork, focus on a clear and persistent strategy and a passionate dedication to creating a place that honors its people and is part of a nation preparing its citizens for the 21st Century. ICF’s Founders were also pleased to see Eindhoven, a former Intelligent Community of the Year, work with Binh Duong on adapting the Dutch city’s experience and best practices to Vietnam’s culture and transitioning economy. Binh Duong represents many things to other cities throughout the world, but mainly, it is physical, vibrant proof that ‘the middle of nowhere is no more!’”

(27 June 2023 – Stuttgart, Germany) – Three organizations announced a partnership agreement aimed at fostering smart city innovation and collaboration in key territories around the world during a conference last week in Stuttgart, Germany.

The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), the Eindhoven International Project Office (EIPO) and BABLE, the facilitators of Smart Cities in Europe, signed the partnership agreement during the 20 June Between Smart & Green event, hosted by BABLE Smart Cities, The Municipality of Breda and their EU-funded project, GreenQuays.

Communities from Australia, Brazil, Canada, the United States and Vietnam become finalists for Intelligent Community of the Year to be named at the ICF Summit in October

(New York, NY, USA & Durham Region, ON, Canada – June 20, 2023) – In an announcement today at the conclusion of a two-day hybrid live and online conference, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) named the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2023. The 21st annual Top7 list includes cities and counties from Australia, Brazil, Canada, the United States and Vietnam. One of these seven finalists in the think tank’s annual awards program will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year at the ICF Summit in October. (www.icfsummit.com)

In alphabetical order, the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2023 are:

• Binh Duong Smart City, Vietnam
• Coral Gables, Florida, USA
• Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
• Durham Region, Ontario, Canada
• Greater Geelong, Victoria, Australia
• Hilliard, Ohio, USA
• Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia