Semarang City earned the title of "Best Smart Living City" and "Best Smart Economy City" in the nomination of Indonesia Smart Nation Award (ISNA) 2018 early this month.
The award was presented by Tourism Minister Arief Yahya to the mayor of Semarang on May 3, 2018 in conjunction with the 471th anniversary of Semarang City.
The award becomes the motivation for the entire ranks and the people of Semarang City to further strengthen the concept of "smart city" which is expected to realize the ease and prosperity for the local community.
ISNA 2018 was the third time organized by Citiasia Inc. with the spirit to campaign smart practices in the implementation of the development process in Indonesia.
The award is given to areas with the best achievement in implementing smart city in accordance with the work field developed by the Citiasia Inc.
In addition to Semarang city, Yogyakarta currently has many applications or management information systems scattered across various regional apparatus organizations.
According to the mayor of Yogyakarta, Heroe Poerwadi, all these applications will be put together in one large module, so connection between applications with single data use will make it easier for the public to access various public services provided by the Yogyakarta City Government.
The government of Yogyakarta City expected that the integration process can be completed this year and the result will be called "Jogja Smart Service".
Poerwadi believes the connection between applications with the use of single data will make it easier for people to access various public services provided by the Government of Yogyakarta.
Later, the service will be integrated into one large module so the community will get one-door service.
The inevitability of the city that develops the "smart city" is the integration of services with the use of single data to overcome various problems that exist and to provide services to the community.
However, not all services can be done through the application or online, because of the rules of the central government, such as population services.
It is because there are some demographic services that require signatures or wet stamp, so not everything can be served online.
However, the mayor of Yogyakarta noted that the absence of regulations governing the "road map" for the development of "smart city" can become an obstacle when Yogyakarta wants to realize "smart city".
But the government of Yogyakarta City will still strive to realize efficient services and always facilitate the community, that means a smart city for them.
This year, Yogyakarta also belongs to 50 cities participating in
100 Smart City Movement, implemented by the Ministry of Communications and Informatics.
The follow up of the movement is the acceleration of the realization of "smart city" with the accompaniment of the relevant ministries.
Smart city projects have gained momentum over the last decade, as more municipalities across the country have launched a wide variety of digital transformation initiatives.
That said, some cities have achieved significant outcomes that enable them to improve services for citizens.
A smart city is an urban area that uses different types of electronic data collection sensors to supply information which is used to manage assets and resources efficiently.
This includes data collected from citizens, devices, and assets that is processed and analyzed to monitor and manage traffic and transportation systems, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, information systems, schools, libraries, hospitals, and other community services.
The smart city concept integrates information and communication technology (ICT), and various physical devices connected to the network (the Internet of things or IoT) to optimize the efficiency of city operations and services and connect to citizens.
Smart city technology allows city officials to interact directly with both community and city infrastructure and to monitor what is happening in the city and how the city is evolving.
Therefore, the Padang city government in West Sumatra has also strengthened the dissemination of information on the application of smart city in the community through focus group discussion.
This promotion is part of the implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed on the 100 Smart City movement with the central government.
The focus group discussion activity or seminar will be the center of activities to promote the smart city application in Padang, as it can involve all parties.
In addition, the promotion is conducted to introduce systems and programs based on the network to support the application of smart city.
Furthermore, the discussion aims to seek ideas and inputs of all parties related to the application of the smart city.
The focus group discussion focuses on disaster mitigation involving several experts, entrepreneurs, agencies, and community social groups, to assist in the creation of new innovations and for program development.
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(T.O001/A/KR-BSR/S012)
Reporter: Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
