Quebec City has been named one of the world's 21 "Smart Communities" for the second year in a row. This award is presented by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), an independent New York City-based think tank dedicated to developing the digital economy. The announcement was made by Louis Zacharilla, one of the ICF's founders, at a ceremony in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Applications from some 400 cities and regions were evaluated.
Each year, the ICF selects a theme to guide the process of determining the "Smart 21 Community" members, as well as the winner of the "Intelligent Community of the Year" award. For the 2012 edition, ICF selected the theme of "Intelligent Communities: Platforms for Innovation". The ICF will be focusing on that criterion as it seeks to discover which of the world's cities and regions have created a unique and profitable innovation context for their local communities.
The nominees had to demonstrate the positive impacts of innovation on various aspects of the information technology and communications (ITC) sector, including infrastructure, investment, education level, business growth and improvements to local residents' quality of life.
The Top 21 for 2012 includes four cities/regions from Europe, ten from North America, three from Latin America and four from Asia. The winners also include Barcelona (Spain), Frankfurt (Germany) and Austin (Texas).
"The Quebec City metropolitan region is currently undergoing an economic resurgence, making it one of Canada's rising stars, in part because research and innovation now play such a central role in our economy. Once again this year, Quebec City's presence among the world's smart elite illustrates the talent, boldness, creativity and ambition that fuel the research and business communities across the region," said Carl Viel, President and CEO of Quebec International.
Next step
Quebec International is currently preparing a second application aimed at propelling Quebec City into the ranks of the seven finalists for the "Intelligent Community of the Year" award. The Top 7 will be announced on January 18, 2012.
About QI
Quebec International contributes to regional economic development and promotes Quebec City's international standing. As the pre-eminent regional economic development agency, Quebec International fosters business growth, supports key economic clusters and attracts talent and investment. For further information, please visit www.quebecinternational.ca.
