Madinah shines at the Global Smart City Forum

The city has once again demonstrated its total commitment to the SDGs at the Global Smart City Forum, in Riyadh.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Madinah Urban Observatory at Madinah Region Development Authority launched the Madinah Region's State of Sustainable Development during the Global Smart City Forum in Riyadh. An event that brought together worldwide experts and technology companies to reflect on the future of cities. Only Madinah participated with its own pavilion in the forum, due to its unique character. And once again, the city shone with its own light.

The Madinah Region's State of Sustainable Development covers seven main sectors: economy, urban development and housing, transport, connectivity, and mobility, infrastructure, environmental management, and quality of life, urban planning and land use, social aspects of the sustainable development, and city visitors.

The report is aligned with Madinah's human-centered smart city strategy, where sustainability is one of the key outputs. With the presentation of the report, Madinah showed its impeccable data-driven approach towards United Nations' Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals realization.

Furthermore, the Madinah Region's State of Sustainable Development report, supports setting the compass towards the right direction in implementing the smart city use cases. Madinah is a pioneer in SDG localization, nationally and internationally.

Agreements to move forward.

But the launch of the report is not the only evidence of Madinah's commitment to its citizens that took place during the Forum. During the event, Engr. Abdulrahman Ibrahim Chief Data and Innovation Officer Madinah Region Development Authority, signed no less than three Memorandums of Understanding, with the sole objective of moving Madinah in the right direction. The first of them, with Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), aims to share experiences in data, smart city, and AI strategies, provide mutual technical support in the relevant fields and co-organize events and workshops. The second, signed with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, seeks as well to share data and experiences regarding Smart cities, and proposes conducting research and studies in the relevant fields regarding the topic. The third agreement, signed with Pilgrims Experience Program (PEP), is aimed at collaboration in data exchange and smart city applications.

Medina has 1.5 million inhabitants, making it the fourth most populated city in Saudi Arabia. Every year it receives 9 million visitors, most of them pilgrims.

The city's North Start vision states: "We will create the most tranquil, generous, and dynamic smart city in the world". If the forecasts come true, soon, 30 million people a year will visit the city, in search of that space of progress, designed for reflection and recollection.