Overview
DIGITAL DIVIDE : Only 50% of world population have access to the internet.
LIMITED CAPACITY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS : to make effective use of new technologies for the benefit of all.
LACK OF PUBLIC OVERSIGHT : In the absence of national and local regulation, data on individuals and communities is extensively recorded.
TECH-CENTERED : Weak inclusion of human rights and sustainable development aspects in smart city programmes.
“Smart cities are about people not computers. The mission is not to invest in technology for its own sake, but to do so strategically, to make life measurably better for the people who live in our cities.“
ー H.E Paul Kagame – President of the Republic of Rwanda
Objectives
“People-centered smart cities” ensures that deployment of technology and innovation is used to ensure sustainability, inclusivity, prosperity and human rights in cities. It supports national and local governments with their digital transition, applying a multi-level governance strategy to help build skills and capabilities to develop, procure and effectively use digital technologies in an ethical and inclusive way to make sure that no one is left behind.
The programme:
1. Puts a people-centered, sustainable and inclusive local digital transition as a critical policy topic on the agenda of high-level political forums and mainstream people-centred digitalisation in global dialogues on smart cities and human rights.
2. Ensures that investment and financing are directed to people-centered smart cities to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs with a specific focus on developing countries, small and medium size cities and grassroots urban communities.
3. Enhances the capabilities of governments in all levels to adopt digital technologies for inclusion and sustainable urban development in the achievement of the SDGs. It helps governments adopt a human-centred, privacy-enhancing, and rights-preserving approach in the development of their digital strategies by developing new trainings, skills and policy frameworks.
