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The LivingLab Scheveningen project is the winner of the international World Smart City Award. This prize is awarded every year to cities that make the world more livable and sustainable and this time it was awarded in Barcelona during the Smart City Expo World Congress.

The project in Scheveningen was in the final with projects from New York (United States) and Konya (Turkey) in the Energy and Environment category. “What an incredibly nice score and recognition for the LivingLab Scheveningen. This prize emphasizes how innovatively The Hague is working towards a safe, sustainable and liveable city. We show that, as The Hague, we are an international leader when it comes to digital innovation with the help of new technology," said alderman Saskia Bruines.

The Smart City approach of the Municipality of The Hague is reflected in the LivingLab Scheveningen. Since 2020, the new boulevard, from the Zwarte Pad to the Pier, has been a special learning area for the city of the future. The municipality is testing smart, digital inventions here that solve social problems. For example, there are experiments with self-driving waste robots and the construction of a local smart network for clean energy.

Alderman Anne Mulder: “It is great that we are receiving recognition for, for example, the test with crowding cameras on the Noordboulevard. Special cameras detect group formation in a privacy-friendly way, in order to measure the crowds and prevent nuisance.”

Another example is the digital sign that lets visitors know if the seawater is safe to swim in. The LivingLab uses a new digital infrastructure that has been installed on the boulevard. This includes smart lampposts and underground fiber optic connections. In the coming years, the lab will be expanded to the rest of the boulevard, up to and including the Havenhoofd.    

Source: www.de-scheveninger.nl

During the MWC & 4YFN at the Netherlands Pavilion much attention has been given to many presentations about the Theme Connected Impact. 

At two location the same time a fully 5G broadcast has been made from the Netherlands pavilion in Barcelona and The Hague as well. Here you will find some impression from Barcelona.

Eerste onderzoek naar beschikbaarheid indicatoren voor de Sustainable Development Goals op Caribisch Nederland afgerond.

Het CBS heedft een rapportage opgesteld over de beschikbaarheid van de indicatoren uit hoofdstuk 4 van de Monitor Brede Welvaart & SDG’s, voor Caribisch Nederland (CN). Deze publicatie is vandaag verschenen.

Het onderzoek heeft de beschikbaarheid van de 267 MBW&SDG’s indicatoren, de zogenaamde SDGplusindicatoren, bekeken. De SDGplusindicatoren zijn ‘officiële’ SDG-indicatoren, aangevuld met indicatoren uit de Monitor Brede Welvaart. Thema’s die op de eilanden belangrijk bevonden worden zijn o.a. armoede, economie, natuur en toerisme. Het onderzoek is bekostigd door de vaste kamer Commissie Koninkrijksrelaties.        bron: CBS.nl

Sweden is taking the lead in the climate transition of cities. Today, 11th of December 2020, is a big day for the climate transition in cities. The fist Climate City Contracts in Europe have been signed by the Mayors of nine Swedish cities, the Director Generals of four government agencies as well as by Viable Cities.

– Swedish cities are now taking the lead in Europe and through Climate City Contracts they are showing the way for the transition all cities must make. Klimatkontrakt 2030 is the beginning of a long term collaboration between nine municipalities, Swedish government agencies and – soon also – the EU, says Allan Larsson, Chairman of the Board for Viable Cities.

Amsterdam, November 17, 2020

Three years after former UN leader Kofi Annan opened the world's first "SDG House" at the Royal Tropical Institute, the "SDG House Network" has been  launched on November 17. This network consists of 9 houses that are committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Partnership

The establishment of the SDG House Network gives concrete substance to SDG 17 - Partnership for the Goals - in which the United Nations calls for cooperation on the goals. That is exactly what the SDG House Network aims for: to inspire and activate companies, knowledge institutions, governments and citizens to accelerate the achievement of the sustainable goals in the Netherlands, by sharing knowledge and combining innovative strength.

SDG Houses in Nederland 

1. The Hague Humanity Hub

2. Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen /  SDG House Amsterdam

3. Mondiaal Maastricht

4. Museon

5. Paleis Soestdijk

6. SDG House Hilversum

7. SDG Netwurk Fryslan

8. Stichting SBI/Landgoed Zonheuvel

9. The Social Impact Factory

Press release September 15, 2020

The city of Bruges and research center imec have signed a partnership to start the development of an 'urban digital twin'. This digital 3D replica of the city of Bruges will allow the city council to simulate the impact of measures, for example in the field of air quality and traffic flows.

Tackling noise nuisance, reducing traffic nuisance, managing congestion, improving air quality: cities are facing complex challenges. An intervention to tackle a problem in one neighborhood can have an impact on other domains in another neighborhood. Making a certain street car-free can, for example, improve the air quality of adjacent neighborhoods, but at the same time also worsen the traffic situation in other places.

To gain more insight into such complex issues, the City of Bruges is starting to develop an 'urban digital twin'. Minou Esquenet: “With this digital copy of the city, which will be fed with real-time data, we can simulate the effect of certain decisions. We can undo less successful proposals at the touch of a button. ”

Phased project

This open innovation project will run in three phases. By the end of this year, various available data sources in Bruges will be made available and brought together on a single dashboard that immediately gives policymakers a clear insight into, among other things, the air quality and traffic flows in the city. In a second phase it becomes possible to make predictions within a certain domain, for example by comparing the traffic situation before and after a certain intervention. The ultimate goal of this digital control room is to be able to test decisions across different policy areas.

Imec is involved as a research center in order to develop widely supported standards together with public and private players (smart city platforms, data and model suppliers, IoT sensor suppliers, cloud providers, etc.). Imec and the City of Bruges are looking to collaborate with industrial players, domain experts and other cities to accelerate the development of 'urban digital twins' in Flanders via open data.

“Imec takes on the role of catalyst and accelerator. We make our knowledge and code available to develop an open source framework together with market parties. This open way of working also helps other cities that want to set up a digital twin ”, says Jan Adriaenssens, director of City of Things at imec.

Bruges as trendsetter

Minou Esquenet: “We are committed to the design and testing of the 'digital twin' by deploying know-how and manpower. In addition, we also invest in calculation modules to be able to perform the simulations in these. After all, a good simulation stands and falls with good data and good simulation models. We are strongly committed to developing our historic city into a smart city. We want to use technology to help Bruges grow and organize it more smoothly. For every major challenge, we investigate the role data and technology can play in this and thus provide the smart reflex. ”

Mayor Dirk De fauw: “Throughout history, Bruges has regularly been a trendsetter in the field of innovation: the Bruges family Van der Beurze started with a regulated trading place that eventually led to the establishment of a stock exchange as we know it today. We can also consider Marcus Gerards with his well-known and detailed map of Bruges as one of the founders of the modern GIS (Geographic Information System). I am proud that we can continue our role as a trendsetter as a smart city. ”

The Municipality of Amsterdam and Johan Cruijff ArenA have agreed that they will continue to develop all kinds of technological innovations and solutions in the field of energy, mobility, crowd management, sustainability and digital safety in the coming years. So that visitors can safely attend an event, for example, even during the corona crisis.

Last Saturday, September 15, Visitors were assigned an e-ticket, health check and time slot via an app and thus managed to secure their place in the stadium for the Ajax - Vitesse match. Thanks to the new technology behind and in front of the screens, visitors could enter and leave the stadium and the area safely and thus corona-proof.

Alderman Sharon Dijksma took a look at the innovation center before the match kicked off and experienced how smart collaboration and technology can visualise the crowds in the area, from the number of visitors in front of the stadium to the crowds in the parking garages. A platform was also shown on which visitors can see for themselves where you can find quiet places in the city and on the basis of travel advice one can request a safe route to their destination. The alderman was also shown a scoop of a pilot in which the municipality collaborates with Ajax, CSDM and JCDecaux, among others, to provide visitors with up-to-date information via bus shelters in an area where it threatens to become busy.

In addition to the Rijksmuseum and the theaters of Stage Entertainment, the Johan Cruijff ArenA is an official testing ground for smart technology to enable more audience at major events. Many sensors and smart cameras with counting and distance algorithms have already been developed into privacy and ethically friendly products and services. These are good to use at events and at places elsewhere in the city and region that attract many people.

Amsterdam and the Johan Cruijff ArenA have been working closely together since the stadium was built. It has been agreed that they will further develop all kinds of technological innovations in the coming years in the areas of energy, mobility, crowd management, sustainability and digital security.

Artificial Controlled Technology (ACT) is the winner of the Techport Challenge.

The Techport Challenge is part of GO! -NH Accelerator. ACT applies artificial intelligent and self-learning software that keeps track of the status of (wear-and-tear) equipment, can predict failures and take action for self-maintenance and preventive maintenance of technical equipment in a wide area. The focus is on the maritime and windmill industry.

2020: According to the new circularity gap report, the world itself has become less circular: from 9.1 to 8.6 percent.

The opportunity is real. The Circularity Gap Report will

provide on the ground examples across the globe to

illustrate how the practical implementation of circular

economy strategies and solutions is an everyday reality

— right now. This global groundswell of positive action

is happening bottom-up: from waste processing in

Nigeria, to a digital solution that empowers informal

trash collectors in Brazil. Today, we see entrepreneurs,

businesses and communities coming together with

city officials leading the way, followed by an increasing

number of countries and national governments that are

shaping their strategies to support investment towards

sustainable and specific circular economy agendas.

Mobile World Congress Barcelona, planned on February 22-24, attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year has been cancelled due to the break out of the corona virus.

This virus brake out on December 2019 in the Wuhan region of China, has now also emerged outside of it.  Telco manufacturers have withdrawn their participation in the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona to ensure the safety of their employees and the public. 

Despite all the precautionary measures taken by the GSMA, CEO John Hoffman states in his statement that the outbreak of the virus has made it "impossible" to hold the event.

Zeist, The Netherlands

As  independent advisory body for European Procurement and the active role Riab Consultancy has played in various UN programs over recent years, European Procurement (EU Tenders) are now directly linked to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

This means that as soon as a governmental organization is subject to a European tendering obligation, Riab facilitates as an SDG coordinator for both parties. Not only it will help with the processing the European procedure, but it simultaneously helps Municipalities and Government Institutions to make a direct contribution to a "Smart & Sustainability" Goal. As a result, the contracting and Tendering party are actively helped to make a social contribution to a better world. Riab will not only be the facilitator but will help to find, address and execute the implementation of the sustainable solutions. Now both parties will be involved and will see direct results using a Agile State of Work.

Do you want to know more or need help for European Tenders, please contact one of our Certified Scrum Masters for more information.

Chocolate brand Tony's Chocolonely has been named the most sustainable brand in the Netherlands by Dutch consumers, according to the Sustainable Brand Index 2019.

In addition to Tony's Chocolonely, industry winners were also IKEA (Retail), Albert Heijn (Supermarkten), Greenchoice (Energie), ASN Bank (Banks), ANWB (Mobility), Tesla (Automotive) and Landal Greenparks (Travel & Leisure). Tony’s Chocolonely was named as industry winner in the Food sector and as overall winner.

The Sustainable Brand Index is an annual survey among 6,000 Dutch consumers into their perception of the sustainability of well-known brands in the Netherlands. In total, nearly 170 Dutch brands were investigated.

Source CBS:  May 10, 2019

On 1 January 2019, there were nearly 45 thousand fully electric vehicles (FEVs) in the Netherlands, twice the number recorded one year previously. The number of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) decreased by more than 3 percent to nearly 94 thousand. The total fleet of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs, including FEVs and PHEVs) - increased by 16 percent in 2018. This is according to new figures released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS), based on vehicle licence registration records of the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW).

On 1 January 2019, there were nearly 139 thousand PEVs in the Netherlands. These passenger cars are powered by an electric motor with a battery which can be recharged by plugging it into an external power source. They include both FEVs, i.e. emission-free and propelled only by an electric motor, and PHEVs; the latter type is equipped with both an electric and a fuel-driven engine. Nearly 77 percent of these cars are used for business purposes, versus 12 percent of all passenger cars. 

The number of electric cars has been on the rise for years. On 1 January 2019, 1.6 percent of all passenger cars in the Netherlands were plug-in electric vehicles.

April 12, 2019.

Dutch startup Cargoroo became a silver award winner in the second year programm supported by both the European Parliament and the European Commission. This program aims to promote European startups that use technology and innovation to develop cleaner, safer and more inclusive mobility in Europe and beyond.

For 2019, nine winning startups were selected from among 571 candidates following an extensive assessment process. For the first time, a European public vote was used to select the 10th winner. This title has been awarded to K-Ryole, a French provider of the first intelligent electric bike trailer.

Five winners have scooped the silver prize that will see them take part in a European tour of five major technology hubs to meet investors and future clients. These are: EUSP New Mobility Summit in Brussels, Vivatech in Paris, ITS Europe in Brainport, New Mobility World in Frankfurt and Smart City World Congress in Barcelona.

In addition, five ‘super winners’ have won the gold prize, as selected by a panel of European experts from the mobility sector, and will take part in a mentoring programme with Boston Consulting Group and law firms Grimaldi Studio Legale and Parallel Avocats.

Silver prize winners:

• Cargoroo, shared e-cargo bikes – Netherlands
• OpenAirlines, eco-flying fuel cost killer – France
• Blickfeld, provider of cutting-edge LiDAR technology for autonomous mobility and IoT applications – Germany
• Cityscoot, free floating electric scooters – France
• K-Ryole, electric bike trailer – France – (Winner of the Public Vote)

Gold prize winners:

• Karhoo, global marketplace for Taxi and PHV/VTC – UK
• TWAICE, predictive battery analytics software – Germany
• Einride, all-electric autonomous vehicles services – Sweden
• Shotl, mobility platform for public transport operators – Spain
• Geovelo, software platform for cyclists – France

The Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) has provided Dutch smartphone manufacturer Fairphone a guarantee for a  9-million euro ABN AMRO loan. The guarantee was signed on 21 December 2018 by Eva Gouwens (CEO Fairphone) and Tjerk Opmeer (Managing Director of International Programmes at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency)

This world’s first ethical and modular smartphone. The social enterprise strives to have a positive impact on every aspect of the smartphone’s life cycle. The objective is to motivate the industry to take steps to adopt more responsible production methods. For example by improving working conditions and eradicating child labour when mining for raw materials such as tin, gold and tungsten.The Fairphone consists of 6 components (the display, camera, battery, core, top and bottom) which are easy to replace when one of the components malfunctions or when a technological improvement comes onto the market. This way you do not need to replace the whole smartphone, they become easier to repair and the product lasts longer. It’s the sustainability story behind the Fairphone which makes the product unique.

After visiting the Consumer Electronic Show Las Vegas this January Sylwia Kechiche, Principal Analyst, GSMA Intelligence raised some conclusions:

• Voice brings the smart home together smart speakers (hey google, amazon Alexa) have emerged as the prominent voice-control computing platform for smart homes and leads to the ‘resurrection’ of voice as a user interface.
• IoT is meaningless without data and analytics. The real value comes from IoT data translated into actionable insights
• Ageing baby boomers get connected
• Wearables get healthier

January 4, 2019: 

With the frase "The new Municipality is all of us and together we are our new Municipality" acting Mayor Jan Pieter Lokker opened the New Year's reception of the brand new Municipality of Vijfheerenlanden.

From the first of January 2019, the municipality of Vianen, Leerdam and Zederik were nog only brought together in the municipality of Vijfheerenlanden, but it will also fall under the Province of Utrecht. This means that residents of Leerdam and Zederik move from the Province of Zuid Holland.

In his speech, not only the rich history of Vijfheerenlanden is mentioned, but the Mayor express especially the new identity because the power is that there are many identities and thats its recognition is beyond dispute. The new municipality is therfore part of the diversity and asks the residents to strenghten existing identities and simultaneously work on the new story which each inhabitants can recognize himself and what is focused on the future of Vijfheerenlanden.