Smart Dubai participates in Urban Planning meet in Bhutan

A delegation from Smart Dubai led by Director General  Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr took part in the International Conference on Urban Planning and Wellbeing in Thimphu, Bhutan.

 The Kingdom of Bhutan was guest of honour at the most recent World Government Summit, held in Dubai in February 2017. Inspired by Dubai’s successful transition to smart technologies and commitment to happiness as an end-goal, the Kingdom formally invited Smart Dubai to attend the Conference and showcase the emirate’s unique experience and approach to spreading happiness in the community by shedding light on Dubai’s Happiness Agenda.

 “Smart Dubai is a government entity formed in November 2015 and given the responsibility of making Dubai the happiest city on Earth,” said Dr Aisha. “With that objective in mind, we have consistently worked to leverage the power of technology, boldly embracing breakthroughs such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence, and developing plans and strategies to use them in the most productive manner, and make current and future generations’ lives simpler, easier, and happier.”

“Dubai realised very early in the game that the true worth of technology is defined by how much it can improve people’s everyday lives and spread happiness in the community,” H.E. added. “We are honoured to have been invited to the Kingdom of Bhutan to share our journey in smart city transformation with likeminded individuals and organisations, all while exploring what other cities and experts have achieved to promote happiness in society.”

Dr Aisha delivered a thorough presentation following Bhutanese Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering’s official inauguration of the Conference, focusing on how countries can design their cities, and enable them to increase the happiness of their citizens – particularly highlighting Dubai’s experience with the Happiness Agenda.

 In her presentation, she outlined the Happiness Agenda Portfolios, elaborating on the Agenda’s strategic objectives, namely: Discover basic and higher needs; Create and influence policies and approaches to focus on happiness; Build awareness and influence the city to prioritise happiness; and measure happiness by designing and implementing a predictive happiness impact score and a citywide happiness index.

Dr Aisha highlighted other initiatives Smart Dubai has undertaken to promote happiness in the city, including the Happiness Champions initiative, which has enlisted 47 champions from 42 entities, as well as the Happiness Meter, which serves to quantify and measure happiness in Dubai, and the Dubai Paperless Strategy, which seeks to eliminate paper from government operations and digitize all applicable government transactions by December 12, 2021.

Dr Aisha went on to give a presentation on developing a Happy Cities Agenda, based on Dubai’s successful experience. The Agenda is a chapter in the Global Happiness and Wellbeing Policy Report 2019, compiled by the Global Happiness Council that Dr Aisha chairs.

“Happy Cities emphasise some foundational concepts, such as the notion of a smart city being one that is ‘socially smart’, focusing on social benefits, maintaining efficiency and sustainability in achieving happiness, and using data and technology where possible,” she explained. “Two sets of themes emerge here, presented in the form of practical tools for city officials, the first of which looks at how happiness is associated with the design of a city, while the second lays out the enablers of happiness in the city, which are often associated with the outcomes of actions and policies.”

 Smart Dubai’s participation at the International Conference on Urban Development and Wellbeing 2019 continued with a panel discussion on sustainable smart cities, led by Smart Dubai’s City Experience Advisor Dr Ali Al Azzawi, which brought together prominent speakers from the Netherlands, Japan, India, Brazil, and the USA.

The Conference is organised in Bhutan’s capital Thimphu by the Centre for Bhutan & Gross National Happiness (GNH) Studies, whose director has visited Dubai on numerous occasions. It aspires to generate new dialogues with smart-city stakeholders, including policymakers, mayors and city administrators, urban planners and architects, industry players and leaders in civil society. Discussions at the event cover theoretical visions for better cities, academic studies targeting specific urban issues, and practical applications of sustainable urban initiatives to improve infrastructure, services, and happiness for citizens and residents.

Meanwhile, Smart Dubai has unveiled a new artificial intelligence (AI) use case in the healthcare sector as part of its AI Lab initiative, conducted in collaboration with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and IBM.

The use case adds a milestone on Smart Dubai’s roadmap, which seeks to harness artificial intelligence to propose practical solutions, develop sophisticated services, and improve people’s lives. It is part of the AI Lab programme, which seeks to explore advanced technological solutions to improve quality of life in the emirate and accelerate smart transformation in the services sector.

Agencies