The Smart City Research Institute initiative has institutional support and an ambitious roadmap

According to the public relations of the Smart City Research Center of Iran, the annual celebration of the Smart City National Day was held on November 25, 2021, coinciding with Farabi's commemoration day due to the Utopia theory of this philosopher, in the conference hall of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.

The first celebration of the Smart City National Day was held on Thursday, November 25, 2021, coinciding with the day of commemoration of Hakim Farabi, the preacher of Utopia theory, in the conference hall of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Dr. Amin Faraji, The President of the Smart City Research Center of Iran, while introducing this research center as a reference of the Smart City in Iran and the Secretariat of the Smart City National Committee, emphasized the role of participation and cooperation of actors in achieving and advancing smart evolution goals with an Iranian approach.

Continually, Engr. Mahdi Chamran, the honorable chairman of the Islamic Council of Tehran, mentioned smartening as one of the most important recent challenges for Tehran’s municipality and the city. Emphasizing the need for the smartening of various organizations, especially the municipality of Tehran, he pointed to its effects in solving many urban problems such as pollution and traffic due to the presence of citizens in the city.

Among the other speakers at the ceremony, Dr. Sirus Vatankhah, Head of the Presidential Transformation and Development Cooperation Center, while announcing the cooperation and support of the Presidential Center for Transformation and Development of the Smart City Research Center of Iran, considered the smart city is necessary for the country's development. And he emphasized it.

In the other part of the ceremony, Dr. Mohammad Farjoud, Managing Director of Information and Communication Technology Organization in Tehran Municipality, mentioned the empowerment of the government, legislation for digital transformation, increasing the role of local government and, citizen participation as four basic elements in advancing the goals of the smart city.

Engr. Hossein Eslami, head of the Tehran ICT Guild Organization, does not consider the smart city to be a city full of information technology, but rather a place where the city becomes more efficient with digital solutions for housing and employment. He also addressed the role of the smart citizen as the most important player in the smart city arena, calling him a creative, flexible, and participatory citizen.

"Smart City Agenda", "Smart City Ecosystem Map" and "Smart Cities Ranking Website" are the three achievements unveiled at this event.

Engr. Amin Gharibi, Vice-President of the Smart City Research Center of Iran, explained the details of the project: "We conducted a comprehensive review of international standards in the field of smart cities (such as ITU, ISO, Deloitte, Giffinger and etc.) and based on that, we launched a platform for ranking in the field of smart cities."

"Next year, when the Smart Cities Award is going to be presented, will be based on the ranking of this system," he said.

Engr. Gharibi mentioned the unveiling of a smart city ecosystem map as another achievement of the Smart City Research Center of Iran, noting that "a comprehensive bank of Policymakers, regulators, investors, start-up companies, accelerators, banks, financial institutions and etc. have been created in this system."

The Vice-President of the Smart City Research Center of Iran called the smart system plan a roadmap for the realization of the smart city.

Another part of the event was a panel entitled "Smart Governance and Smart Transformation" with lectures by Dr. Mehdi Alian, University Lecturer and Research Assistant of Smart City Research Center of Iran, Engr. Ali Asghar Ghaemi, Member of the Islamic Council of Tehran, Dr. Goshtasb Mozaffari Secretary-General of the Asian Mayors Assembly, Dr. Asadullah Rashedi, Parliamentary Director-General of the Ministry of Energy, Dr. Mostafa Safdari Ranjbar, Faculty Member of the University of Tehran, Engr. Homayoun Yazdanpanah, Advisor and Assistant Mayor of Isfahan in the field of Smart City, Dr. Shapoor Nazarpour, former head of the Council Research Center Islamic City of Tehran, Dr. Hadi Rezaei Rad, Faculty Member of the Bu Ali Sina University of Hamadan, Dr. Farhang Fassihi, Head of Oil Industry Technology and Innovation Park, Engr. Mahmoud Karimi, CEO of Planet, Dr. Mostafa Amini, Researcher, Engr. Hatef Khorramshahi CEO of Kherad Group, Dr. Mehdi Arabzadeh Yekta, a consultant and strategist in the field of digital transformation, and Dr. Mostafa Morshedi, a researcher in the field of digital transformation and entrepreneurship, were present.

The outcome of these meetings was summarized in two main points, first, the primacy of governance over the governments of national and local governments, and second, the emphasis on the role and active presence of citizens as the most effective and main factor in city smart transformation.

We hope, this event will be held annually with sections such as the Smart City of the Year Award from 2022.