Citadel on the Move
Newsletter
Welcome to Citadel !!
Citadel on the Move is a European Commission-funded project that is empowering citizens across Europe to use open data to create “smart”, innovative web-based mobile applications that can be used in the region to improve lives. It is even starting to attract cities outside Europe, that are interested in this platform to share open data.
Building on the widely supported Citadel Statement, Citadel on the Move unites Europe’s leading local government organizations with Living Lab experts, specialist technology researchers and expert SMEs in a common effort to harness the power of user-driven open innovation systems to develop citizen-generated ‘smart city’ mobile applications that can be potentially used and shared in any European city – large or small.
For more and exciting information, PLAY the video below.
Citadel on the Move Launches City Associate Scheme in Sunny Samos
Samos, Greece, 29 June 2013 -- Citadel on the Move, an EU-funded Smart City project, announced the official launch of a new City Associate Scheme that will enable participating cities across Europe to open government data and test and deploy new cross border web-based mobile applications.
Uniting stakeholders from across Europe, the Citadel on the Move project is designed to respond to the global opportunity that the use of Open Data and Mobile App tools present to unleash the innovation potential of citizens to build the type of smart, ‘city’ services they want and need. ‘Citizens know better than anyone the types of services they need but they often don't have the tools to create them,’ said Geert Mareels, Project Coordinator and Flemish eGovernment Manager at Corve. ‘Citadel on the Move aims to answer this need by creating templates for web-based mobile applications that will enable anyone with basic IT skills to use open government data to make apps of their own.’
The Citadel on the Move Associate City scheme is designed to provide member cities first hand access to project guidelines and tools on how best to open government data in accessible and useable formats as well as to new web-based mobile application templates that local citizens can use to transform this data into innovative new services. Associate Cities will have the opportunity to trial and provide feedback on new apps created by the project before they are made open to the public. Associates will also receive a Citadel Associate City badge for posting on their website and an invitation to a special interactive Citadel Workshop on Open Innovation to be hosted in Gent, Belgium early next year (date and venue to be confirmed).
Founding members of the Scheme already include Palermo, Italy, Barcelona, Spain and Zagreb, Croatia. Following the recent release of its first series of cross border mobile apps, Citadel on the Move is now opening the Associate Scheme to additional European Cities. ‘Citadel wants to help more and more European cities to open their data and unleash the talents of their local innovators.’ Mareels said. ‘In formally launching our City Associate Scheme, the project hopes to advance the cross border integration of Europe by facilitating the creation of ‘smart’ mobile Services that can be shared and used anywhere.
For more information on how to ASSOCIATE YOUR CITY to Citadel On The Move, please click here.
White Paper published by prestigious Knowledge Centre in Singapore
The Singaporean Government's 'Centre for Livable Cities' has featured Citadel on the Move in its latest publication. The Centre's mission is to "distil, create and share knowledge on liveable and sustainable cities. CLC distils key learning points from Singapore’s experiences over the last half-century, while creating knowledge to address emerging challenges. It also shares knowledge with, and learns from, other cities and experts".
Citadel on the Move project coordinator, Geert Mareels, has been involved in a fruitful exchange with the CLC, sharing the expertise and fresh perspectives of Citadel's European experience with our far-eastern partners. Ultimately, Citadel provides a powerful case study on the need for Governments not only to open their data but to do so in a way which fires the creative and innovative potential of their citizens.
Since the inception of smart devices such as tablets and smartphones, multiple opportunities have opened up to ensure citizens can gain access to open data with the potential to one day access any service anywhere across any location or time on a handheld device, making information accessible and transportable. One major challenge is that unlike large cities, small and local cities do not have the resources or public purse to develop web-based mobile applications that can help carry smart city data and disperse it to its inhabitants. Citadel argues that there must be a common standardised approach to make open data accessible and to ensure no one or no community is experiencing an information deficiency.
To access the full article published by CLC Singapore, please click here.
Data Talks - Is Europe Listening?
On the 29th May, an expert panel at the Institute of European Studies, VUB, Brussels gathered together to discuss open data in the European Union. This panel formed the concluding event for the Institutes highly successful series of ‘Data Talks’. Panelists included Geert Mareels, E-Government Manager for the Flemish Government, Susie Ruston, Partner and Programme Manager at 21c Consultancy, Andrew Stott, Member of the UK Public Sector Transparency Board, and Richard Swetenham, Adviser for open data at DG CONNECT.
The discussion was opened by S. Ruston with a definition on open data and what it means to Government. She analysed findings from the Smart City project Citadel on the Move in order to map the concrete consequences and promises of opening up public data. G. Mareels followed with additional examples of other open data initiatives in Government, whilst A. Stott addressed key challenges that the public sector need to overcome in making its data open. R. Swetenham concluded the presentations with an overview of the recent PSI reuse directive from the Commission before opening the floor to questions from audience members from the university, government as well as large corporates in the private sector.
For more on The Open Data in the European Union policy forum click here.
Interesting information on open data and public spending is available in the following video. Click PLAY!
Apps & the City: The Changing Face of Urban Travel - a personal experience
Whilst on a recent business trip, it occurred to me that I would be lost without my smartphone. This is by no means the first time I have thought appreciatively of my phone but this experience stood out in my mind. I was typically late and rushing to make a flight. [...] To read the full article please see here
Meet the Team - CORVE
Geert Mareels - eGovernment manager for CORVE - is the Citadel on the Move Project Coordinator. Geert has led CORVE in the administration Egovernment and ICT management since 2004. He was a chief of staff and political advisor to a number of Ministers in the Flemish Government until 2004 and a member of the Board of the Institute for Broadband Technology until 2007. He is a member of the Flemish commission for protection of Privacy since December 2009 and was appointed a member of the coordination committee of the eHealth programme in April 2011.
Email: geert.mareels@bz.vlaanderen.be
Website: http://www.corve.be/english/index.php
"Sociable Smart City 2013" International Workshop
The workshop is part of the 9th International Conference on Intelligent Environments 2013. The aim is to see how social interaction through computing can develop urban areas. The event focuses on computing in modern cities and the use of mobile devices to create ‘smart cities’, ‘digital cities’ and ‘iphone cities’. It also covers the issues of city network infrastructures including optimising traffic and transportation flows. For more information, please see here.
Tuesday, Jul 16, 2013, 09:00 PM
National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Kentrikos Tomeas Athinon, Greece
Citadel on the Move
Website: http://www.citadelonthemove.eu/
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Twitter: @citadel_eu