The City of Rotterdam (part of ECDA’s founding partners) was recognized with an award at the UNESCO Netexplo Linking Cities Forum in the ‘Datasphere’ Category with the jury highlighting how “Rotterdam is a digital pioneer city on the national and European stage.”
When accepting the award, Deputy Mayor for Economy Roos Vermeij said:
“It is a great confirmation that we as a city are on the right track. The ambition is for Rotterdam to be a digital model city by 2025. A city that is at the forefront of the use of digital solutions for social, physical and economic challenges. Digitization helps us to achieve our ambitious goals in the field of sustainability, circularity and inclusivity.”
RUGGEDISED was explicitly mentioned in the explanation of the award to Rotterdam and is used to illustrate how the Urban Data Platform of the city constitutes the backbone of Rotterdam’s digital transformation.
RUGGEDISED’s Project Coordinator Albert Engels, from the City of Rotterdam, explains:
“The digital journey of Rotterdam is constantly evolving and is a product of great partnerships. We stay connected within the municipality, with our citizens, businesses and research, and with other dedicated cities and initiatives all throughout Europe, for example through RUGGEDISED,” he says.
Dive deeper into the award:
- Read the book “From Smart to Linking Cities”, detailing the reasons for awarding Rotterdam
- Read the RUGGEDISED report ‘Governance, Trust and Smart City Business Models: the Path to Maturity for Urban Data Platforms’ from Erasmus University to learn more about the work in Rotterdam and Europe
- Read the press release from the City of Rotterdam (Dutch)
- Check out Rotterdam’s Digital Twin on www.3drotterdam.nl
- Read the guide ‘Smart City Design and Decision Platform‘ co-written by rotterdam
Watch the ‘acceptance video’ from Rotterdam below.
Dutch 
English