The talk of smart tech has evolved into the talk about smart cities, but has this discussion included more than technology? Although cities are about their citizens, the latter are often left out of the concept of smart. Shouldn’t we abandon the technology push strategy and concentrate on the needs and capacities of citizens to make cities really smart?
In this session we will explore the concept of smart citizens. What makes a citizen smart? For a large part this will depend on his or her relationships with other entities in the city: smart is about connections. In what way is he or she part of a community? How does a smart citizen relate to the government? And how does a smart citizen use technology?
Together we will discuss these questions around three main topics: community, government and technology. We use the citizen as the perspective and starting point for the discussion. At the end of the session we hope to have created a starting point for further think about smart citizens and the formulation of a Smart Citizen Manifesto.
With among others: Marleen Stikker (Waag Society), Fleur Bakker (Meneer de Leeuw), A’yen Tran (Change by us) and Tim Cambell (Urban Age Institute).
- This is a program at the Eye Film Museum and is part of the Picnic Festival.
- Pakhuis de Zwijger in co-production with Waag Society and World Smart Capital.