Media Release: Hamilton Chamber of Commerce celebrates the recognition of Hamilton as a Top 7 Intelligent Community for 2018

· by Huzaifa Saeed

Hamilton, ON, February 8th, 2018 At 9:30 AM this morning, the Intelligent Community Forum announced the top 7 Intelligent Communities in the world for 2018. The City of Hamilton was on the list as a Top 7 Community.
The designation rewards the best models of economic, social and cultural development in the digital age. The ICF notes, “The Top7 represent models of economic and social transformation in the 21st Century… …each exemplifies best practices in broadband deployment and use, workforce development, innovation, digital inclusion and advocacy that offer lessons to regions, cities, towns and villages around the world.”
Hamilton had previously been recognized as a top 21 city in the year 2016-2017. In order to enhance Hamilton’s performance within these rankings, Mayor Fred Eisenberger established and provided leadership to a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Intelligent Communities in late 2016.
The Chamber was an active member of the Task Force and established a parallel Digital Hamilton Project to convene the private sector around projects that would support the ICT & Digital Media sector in Hamilton and assist the City in improving their standing within the ICF awards.
A key priority was the Digital Infrastructure working group, which convened the top 9 internet service providers in the city and worked with them to compile an aggregate map of broadband internet infrastructure in the Hamilton and a comprehensive series of policy recommendations to make the City of Hamilton more open for business.
“Hamilton’s recognition amongst the Top 7 Intelligent Communities is a testament to the impressive collaboration efforts over the last year between the Chamber, the City of Hamilton and key stakeholders on the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Intelligent Communities,” said Keanin Loomis, President & CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. “An award of this stature will put us on the national and global spotlight, leading to a greater influx of talent and investment into our community” added Loomis.
The Chamber will continue working on the Digital Hamilton Project over the next year, starting with a workshop in partnership with the City on February 21st focused on the Federal Smart City Challenge.
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For more information or any questions, please contact: Huzaifa Saeed | Policy & Research Analyst | Hamilton Chamber of Commerce | t: 905-522-1151 ext: 230 | e: h.saeed@hamiltonchamber.ca