Smart City Consortium Formally Established to Give Professional Advice on Building Smart City in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, 15 March 2016 – Today, the Smart City Consortium Inauguration Ceremony (the "Ceremony") was successfully held at The Excelsior Hong Kong.er 200 guests from government departments, academia, IT and Smart City sectors attended the Ceremony and witnessed the historic moment. It is our honour to have the Guests of Honour officiated at the Ceremony, including Dr. David Chung, Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology; Mr. Eric Ma, JP, Under Secretary for Development; Ir. Allen Yeung, Government Chief Information Officer and Mr. Yang Cheng Wei, Deputy Director-General, Department of Youth Affairs, Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR.

In the welcome speech, Mr. Eric Yeung, Convener of Smart City Consortium (SCC) expressed that he was honored to be recommended by the Founding Board as the Convener of Smart City Consortium. "SCC is a professional organization in Hong Kong to promote building of smart city; it is a platform that pulls the experts and stakeholders together to provide their professional advice to the Government for formulation of smart city policies and measures. With the active pursuit of Internet Plus and Belt and Road initiatives in Mainland China, building of smart cities across the country is in full swing," said Eric. "In such development process, system planning, key standard formulation and standard application implementation are most important. Therefore, I wish we could leverage Hong Kong's international expertise and make positive contribution to the building of smart cities in Mainland China."

Dr. David Chung, Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology mentioned in his keynote speech that he was pleased to witness the establishment of Smart City Consortium. "In this year's Policy Address and the Budget, Hong Kong Government has mentioned substantially the policies and measures related to building smart city, with an aim to build a convenient and safe city. Technology development not only relies on R&D professionals, but also participation of all stakeholders in the society. Therefore, the Government will join forces with the industry, academia, research and development sectors to build a smart city in Hong Kong." Dr. Chung said.

Another officiating guest, Ir. Allen Yeung, Government Information Officer, expressed that in the journey of building smart city, there was no final destination. Yeung said, "We need participation of the general public to formulate a blueprint of smart city development. SCC could act as the platform for connecting different stakeholders, pulling the experts together to contribute their views and opinions to the Government for building smart city in Hong Kong, making Hong Kong a livable city."

A simple and solemn Inauguration Ceremony was officiated by the Guests of Honour together with Mr. Eric Yeung, followed by a luncheon. Huawei International Co., Ltd, sponsor of the Ceremony was invited to share their experience in building smart cities in the Mainland. Everyone has high expectations on SCC, they believe that SCC will make a positive contribution to the building of smart city in Hong Kong.

智慧城市聯盟今日舉行成立典禮，創新及科技局副局長鍾偉强先生、發展局副局長馬紹祥先生、政府資訊科技總監楊德斌先生、中聯辦青年工作部副部長楊成偉先生擔任主禮嘉賓，與在場超過200名來自本港關注智慧城市的專家學者、業界代表等一同見證這一歷史性的時刻。

聯盟召集人楊全盛於致辭時表示，很榮幸獲得一衆創會董事的推薦，擔任聯盟的召集人一職，作爲香港首個以推進本地智慧城市建設爲宗旨的社會組織，聯盟希望能發揮平臺的角色，聯繫各方持份者，使聯盟在建設香港智慧城市的過程中建言獻策。再者，隨著國家推進互聯網+、一帶一路的發展策略，全國各地智慧城市的建設工作亦正如火如荼地進行，而當中的體系規劃、關鍵標準制定以及標準應用實施等過程尤爲重要，故此聯盟亦希望憑藉香港國際化專業人才薈萃的優勢，在當中發揮作用。

主禮嘉賓創新及科技局副局長鍾偉强先生致辭時表示，很高興能見證聯盟組織的成立，香港特區政府在今年都的施政報告及財政預算案中都提出多項與建設智慧城市相關的政策措施，務求將香港分發展成爲一個便捷安全的城市，特區政府亦將指定各類框架及標準，他表示，科技發展不單靠看科研人員、亦需要全社會各界人士的努力，政府將集合官產學研多方持份者的努力，共同建設智慧城市。

另一位主禮嘉賓政府資訊科技總監楊德斌表示，智慧城市的發展沒有終點，需要由香港全體市民共同制定一個屬於香港智慧城市發展的藍圖。他表示聯盟集合多方面的力量，未來將會成爲特區政府推動智慧城市發展策略中一個重要的諮詢平台，希望能透過與聯盟的緊密溝通，集合全港市民的智慧，共同將香港發展成一個更宜居的城市。

簡單而隆重的成立典禮在各位主禮嘉賓及聯盟召集人楊全盛先生的共同主持下進行，隨後進行午餐會，大會邀請華爲公司代表分享其在國内建設智慧城市中的經驗，各與會者對聯盟的成立期望甚高，相信聯盟能在未來的日子裏在香港智慧城市的建設上作出更積極的貢獻。


有關智慧城市聯盟 (SCC)

智慧城市聯盟(SCC)匯聚一群來自不同公司和機構的專業人士，為香港發展成為一個世界級的智慧城市制定相關政策和標準，提供專業意見和建議。我們鼓勵與全世界不同的持份者合作以創造合適的生態系統，為香港促進創新及實現可持續經濟增長。