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Cloud technologies are crucial in the journey towards the smart cities of the future and in enhancing citizen engagement, according to expert speakers in the recent AWS webinar, hosted in conjunction with ITWeb.
AWS head of Middle East and Africa, Public Sector Business, Zubin Chagpar, shared cases of AWS innovations and partners who have implemented various citizen engagement innovations, as well as other innovations that are crucial in the realisation of smart cities in SA.
Deputy director general: CIO at the Department of Public Service and Administration, Mandla Ngcobo, shared a public sector perspective on policy frameworks and other enablers the government has implemented and is implementing in order to drive the smart cities and open engagement agenda.
Webinar host Aki Anastasiou welcomed attendees and thanked event sponsor, AWS, for enabling this crucial discussion around the adoption of cloud technologies in South Africa.
Key insights shared:
Anastasiou then moderated an informative and interactive panel discussion in which GovChat.Org founder and CEO, Eldrid Jordan; head of Research and Development at the Centre for Public Service, Pierre Schoonraad; Ngcobo; and Chagpar shared various insights on the important role played by open engagement between the public sector and the citizenry in the realisation and proper implementation of smart cities of the future, in South Africa.
The panel discussed, in great depth, the following issues:
- How to meet the digital citizen’s service delivery expectations and needs;
- How to effectively engage citizens in discussions and prioritisation for the enhancement of service delivery;
- How to adopt digital technologies on the journey to building the smart metropolitan centres of the future; and
- How e-participation tools such as social media, SMS, chatbots and apps can encourage better citizen participation and collaboration.
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