Dundee misses out on smart award

Dundee has failed for the second consecutive year to be judged the most intelligent community in the world.

The award is made each year by the Intelligent Community Forum, a think tank which focuses on the creation of prosperity in the "broadband economy".

The top award was given to Gangnam District in Seoul, South Korea.

Dundee was in the top seven communities vying for the title, which was won last year by Waterloo, Ontario, home of the Blackberry messaging device.

The ICF encourages communities to work towards social inclusion as part of what it terms the "broadband economy".

In Dundee's case, it praised the way the city was transforming itself from an industrial centre to a centre of excellence for life sciences and digital media.

Other cities up for the award were from Canada, Estonia and three in the US.

The chairman of the New York-based ICF visited the Scottish city in April and said he was impressed by what he saw.

Dundee's deputy provost Joe Morrow and head of information technology Ged Bell picked up a special Founder's Award on behalf of the city.

The ICF described the city's Digital Observatory as one of the most advanced broadband communities in the world.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Intelligent Community Forum
Dundee City Council
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