The City of Ipswich in Queensland has been recognised as a global leader in the application of digital innovation after being named among the world’s Top 7 Intelligent Communities at a conference in Taiwan.
Mayor Paul Pisasale said the prestigious accolade was recognition of Ipswich’s ability to think global and act local, embrace digital technology and adapt to change.
“Ipswich is once again recognised as one of the Top 7 Intelligent Communities of the world as assessed by the New York based smart cities think tank, the Intelligent Communities Forum (ICF),” the Mayor said.
“The City of Ipswich has chosen to lead an economic and social transformation agenda by educating citizens, fostering innovation and enabling new ways of working and living.
“We’ve been working hard to unlock the social and economic opportunities digital technology presents through the advancement of our Ipswich Smart City Program and this award reinforces that we are leading the way.
“We have developed a Smart City Program which takes a human-centred design approach, focusing on the needs of our community, industry, support services and visitors.
“The Ipswich Smart City Program is tenaciously focused on advancing jobs, growth and liveability for Ipswich and Queensland, as one of Australia’s fastest growing cities; we have a unique opportunity to define our future prosperity.
“The industries that have driven economic growth in our city for the past 100 years will not be where the opportunities for prosperity are in the future, so it’s essential we take steps now to keep Ipswich ahead of the game.
“One of our most significant on-the-ground successes to date has been Fire Station 101, which officially opened in March 2016 as the first fully council-funded innovation hub in Australia.
“In 2015 there were five recognised startups in Ipswich and now we have 75 startups developing a range of commercial opportunities and creating jobs.”
