For the second consecutive year, Stratford has been named one of the top seven intelligent communities of the year.
The milestone was announced by Intelligent Communities (ICF) Forum officials at the Pacific Telecommunications Council’s annual conference in Honolulu, Hawaii last week.
Mayor Dan Mathieson was on hand for the announcement, joined by Coun. Kerry McManus – who sits on the Rhyzome Network board – and economic development officer Randy Mattice.
“It’s good news,” Mathieson told the Gazette upon his return to Stratford last week. “It further pushes us into the ICF competition and allows us to build on our strengths we presented last year in our application.”
It will also give the city a chance to improve Stratford’s social and economic situation based on the use of technology in the community, said the mayor.
While Stratford will be shooting for the top, hoping to be named the world’s smartest city at the ICF conference in New York this June, the biggest challenge faced by the city is accepting the fact that there are others in the world who are also excelling, and using that to our advantage, said Mathieson.
“We think we’re doing a great job here, but there are other communities around the world, and in the Top 7, that are doing exception work in their communities too,” he said.
“It allows us to learn about the best practices of others and then try to bring them to our own community.”
For example, Mathieson learned of a digital literacy program at the conference, which is in place in Cleveland, Ohio. It focuses on teaching seniors how to use technology – one area identified as lacking locally after last year’s ICF bid.
Sharing a spot on this year’s Top 7 shortlist are two other Canadian cities – Quebec City and Saint John, NB. This is a good indicator, said Mathieson, that the Great White North is positioning itself well in the digital economy.
“It plays off the strategy we talked about at Canada 3.0 ... of wanting to become a digital nation by 2017,” he added.
Other Top 7 finalists include Austin, Texas, Oulu, Finland and Taichung City, Taiwan. The only other city other than Stratford on the list two years back-to-back is Riverside, California.
The highlight of the conference for Mathieson was the chance to highlight what is going on in Stratford and its potential.
The mayor noted it was also pleasant to have the city’s achievements to date validated by many professionals in the field, many of whom told him the city is moving in the right direction.
Stratford was also used an a model, with much discussion focusing on Asian countries who have fallen behind in the digital economy and are struggling to find a place.
“It was around the fact you don’t need a 30-year or 40-year timeline to do it,” explained Mathieson. “Communities like Stratford, who set on a course in 2006, have been able to build on it.”
A big benefit of attending the conference – aside from boosting Stratford’s profile at the ICF level – was the economic development opportunities.
On a small scale, the mayor learned about “next generation 911” which allows cities to use their own fibre optic and WiFi networks to establish 911 call centres, using their own equipment and staff.
Currently, most cities – including Stratford – contract such services out to other companies in off-site locations.
In the bigger picture, delegates from Stratford learned plenty key economic development trends, from site selection to what companies are looking for in communities today, and key drivers in the knowledge economy.
There was also an opportunity to speak with academics from around the world about what programs are being offered at their institutions and why.
That information will be passed on to the University of Waterloo Stratford campus, said Mathieson.
“Something I heard from a lot of people is that they are impressed that a city of our size is doing what we are doing and is making the investments we have,” he said. “I heard educators from US and international schools say we must be on the right course.”
