Data-Driven Cities: Conference for the Urban Common Good

The Data-Driven Cities Conference takes place on 12-13 February 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya as well as online (hybrid format). It brings together stakeholders from city and national governments, academia, business and civil society from Germany, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. It focuses on data use for urban well-being. Participants will discuss the need of urban data strategies, exchange information and share good practices on urban data-driven projects – all to jointly pave the way towards urban prosperity and sustainability. Register now by using the form below!

Background

In an interconnected world, where cities are hubs for innovation and technological development, harnessing data is an important measure to drive urban well-being and sustainability. Local governments and authorities, businesses and even citizens are increasingly engaged in data-driven projects to enhance the quality of urban life. Smart metering, digital recycling programmes and crowdsourced public transport maps are just some examples of the possibilities. Yet, not all projects fulfil their set-out objectives. Against this backdrop, the question arises what makes data-driven projects successful. How can they be used effectively to promote welfare and sustainability in urban areas? What partnerships are required to ensure their success? "Data-Driven Cities: Conference for the Urban Common Good" serves as a platform to find answers to these questions. Stakeholders from different sectors will come together in Nairobi, Kenya to explore the opportunities of using data for urban progress. They will also address common challenges faced in data-driven projects. By exchanging best practices, participants can draw on each other's experiences and expertise.

Objective

The conference aims to promote a common understanding of the benefits of data utilisation for well-being in cities. For this, it looks at how cities can create an enabling environment to encourage the generation, exchange and use of data. As the conference brings together experts from Germany, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, this will be a unique opportunity to share best practices and learn from use cases that illustrate the benefits of data use in urban spaces.

Agenda

The two-day conference will take place in a hybrid format. It offers a variety of insightful contributions in the form of presentations of successful data strategies, platforms and use cases. Participants will also have the chance to join working groups to examine use cases regarding their effectiveness, success factors and replicability – allowing them to learn from real-life examples.

Participants that join on site will be able to visit pilot projects around Nairobi as part of a special second day programme.

A detailed schedule will be published shortly before the event on this website.

Participants

The conference brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including national policymakers, city governments, businesses (start-ups and global players), civil society representatives and academics. The event will be held in English.

Location

The conference will take place in Nairobi, Kenya. With its status as the "conference capital of East Africa", Nairobi provides state-of-the-art conferencing facilities and excellent connectivity through its international airport. On-site participants will be able to visit pilot projects in and around Nairobi as part of the conference. Online participation is also possible but limited to day 1 of the conference, excluding the site visits on day 2.

Organisation & hosts

The conference will be co-hosted by the Kenyan Ministry of Information, Communications and The Digital Economy (MOIC-DE), the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) and the German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB). The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is responsible for organising the conference.

Kenyan Ministry of Information, Communications and The Digital Economy

MOIC-DE supervises and enhances policies related to broadcasting and information. Since 2022, the ministry is divided into the State Department of Broadcasting and Telecommunications and The State Department of ICT and Digital Economy. The overarchingobjective is to transform Kenya into a competitive economy driven by knowledge and to ensure widespread availability of ICT infrastructure and services across the entire nation.

German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV)

BMDV is committed to creating a common international framework for the digital transformation. Its goal is to make the opportunities afforded by digitalisation available to everyone and thus contribute to sustainable development. BMDV pursues this goal in bilateral Digital Dialogues with important partner countries. They serve to compare digital policy agendas, address specific issues in bilateral relations and develop joint positions for multilateral forums.

German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB)

The aim of BMWSB is to ensure sufficient, affordable and climate-friendly housing, an attractive living environment with functioning and efficient infrastructures, and attractive public spaces. BMWSB supports smart cities in Germany and worldwide in a joint dialogue between politics, administration, business, science and civil society.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

GIZ is a service provider with worldwide operations in the fields of international cooperation and development cooperation. It is a public-benefit federal enterprise and supports the German government as well as other public and private sector clients in a wide variety of areas, including economic development, digital governance, employment promotion, energy and the environment, and peace and security.

Speakers

Hugh Cole Director: Policy and Strategy, City of Cape Town		Mamadou Oury Diallo Founder, Shepa Plastic
Hugh Cole currently serves as Policy and Strategy Director at the City of Cape Town. In this role, he is responsible for policy, strategic and infrastructure planning, economic analysis, research, and international partnerships. Before joining the City of Cape Town in 2017, he was the Director of Country Programmes at the International Growth Centre, a collaboration between the London School of Economics and Oxford University. He is also a visiting fellow of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics.		Mamadou Oury Diallo is the founder of Sheba Plastic, a circular solution using technologies like QR codes and smart bins to reduce plastic pollution in Africa. As a passionate advocate for sustainable solutions, he envisions data-driven cities that combat plastic pollution. His pioneering work in data-driven waste management through Sheba Plastic aligns with his commitment to fostering smart, eco-friendly cities.

Registration

If you wish to participate, please register using the form below. To participate on-site please register here until 18 December 2023. Please note that on-site participation is limited, and registration may close at an earlier date if full capacity is reached. Please contact us at digital-dialogues@giz.de if you have any questions.