Housing Development Corporation (HDC), in collaboration with Ooredoo Maldives and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has announced a 'Smart City' project is to be launched in Hulhumale' to offer innovative, smart solutions for urban challenges.
The 'Smart Cities' Project aims to offer innovative, smart solutions for urban challenges. It will be done through ensuring that the technological solutions introduced in Hulhumale' - the future smart city, remains inclusive and accessible to all of its population. Some of the activities planned for the coming year include a campaign to develop a sense of ownership and belonging within communities, and the usage of open data to enhance inclusive and data driven planning.
The 'Smart Cities' Project was announced at a ceremony held at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), to mark the new strategic partnership between Ooredoo and UNDP in the Maldives to strengthen the application of technology in the development field, and to promote social innovations.
At the ceremony, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Maldives Shoko Noda stated that the significance of cities in the future is marked by the fact that Sustainable Cities and communities have been recognized as one of the 17 global goals each country should aspire to achieve by 2030. Speaking at the ceremony CEO of Ooredoo Maldives Najib Khan noted that smart technologies are an enabler for social and economic progress and stressed on the direct impact of technology on the issues addressed by the Sustainable Development Goals.
In addition to smart cities initiatives, the MoU also looked into strengthening the cooperation between Ooredoo and UNDP in the Maldives, to work towards gender equality and women's empowerment, as well as using mobile technology to collectively achieve progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This MoU marks a continuation of the recent meaningful collaborations between Ooredoo and UNDP in the Maldives, to use their collective areas of expertise for broader human and sustainable development. In 2016, Ooredoo partnered with UNDP to conduct 'Miyaheli' - the first social innovation camp in the country. Three ideas were selected for development from hundreds submitted by youth across the country, to address and find solutions to developmental issues ranging from women and youth empowerment to sustainable development solutions.