Digital Citizenship Is The Future Of Every City
By: Telelink City
Tags: Urbanization, Digital Government, Digital Citizenship, Smart Cities, Smart Solutions

Digital citizenship is an integral part of the whole paradigm of being a citizen in the 21st century, with all of the rights that it affords us to gain. With the development of information technology and the future leap to ultra-fast 5G networks, the integration of the individual within this system becomes crucial so that he can fully engage not only socially, but also with the government’s institutions (both local and national) and the broader political and societal processes.

The technology we use to construct our digital future is here and is being implemented all over the world with the sole purpose of making each community better. From the newly developing digital services in some East African capitals like Nairobi and Kigali, to the fully integrated national efforts for full-scale digital citizenship — like in Estonia, where you can even open, operate and file taxes for your business online.

Urbanization as a driving force

With over 50% of the global population already living in urban areas (the figure will reach 68% by 2050, according to the UN), the role of cities in shaping this increasingly important and soon to be an irreplaceable aspect of everyday life, is becoming ever so important. Now more than ever, cities need to build up their technological capabilities at a greater pace in order to become smarter.

The smart city is for sure one with good physical infrastructure — roads, bridges, water and sewage systems, parks, public transport… All of these are never going to be irrelevant and will continue to be of prime importance for any good city management. However, becoming “smart” necessitates the integration of every one of these aspects within a technological framework, which will allow their effectiveness and efficiency to be increased through management synergy.

Reshaping life as we know it

The goal of adopting the new IT solutions into the functioning fabric of the city is to reshape modern life and how we interact with and manage the urban environment around us. This will require substantial readjustment by both management systems and society. The good news is that this is not a single measure to be taken in an instant and then suddenly upending everything, but more of a gradual process of multiple measures which need to be upgraded, integrated, and expanded with time, in order to accommodate the needed change with the acceptable pace of change and gradual adoption.

A crucial part of these efforts is digitizing the communication and the interaction between citizens and their local government, in order for all the benefits the smart city can offer to reach the individual digital citizen properly and for their effects to be felt in everyday life.

Once such steps have been taken to get the city’s services (such as parking, mobility, ticketing, etc.) conveniently in the citizens’ pockets through their smartphones, a smart municipality can improve the communication and build on many other immaterial, but nevertheless important aspects of the interactions in the city.

Digital Citizenship: the smart solution every city needs

A smart digital platform can be used by the municipal management to engage its citizens in a respectful debate for the present and future of the city, so they can feel included in the process. The digital world has many tools through which such outcomes can be reached to shape and communicate public policy better, and increase trust in the local authorities.

Another way the digital citizenship platform can help resolving local issues and for the optimal solutions to be agreed upon, is to use it to fight the problem with the widespread disinformation and fake news though creating reliable channels for the city’s officials to convey valid information to the public and thus set the dialogue on a better footing.

How can Telelink City help your local government implement Digital Citizenship?

With Telelink City you will have a partner in the integration of the crucially important new technologies in both your physical infrastructure, as well as helping you create and operate your digital infrastructure and capabilities to reach your goal of making digital citizenship in your city a reality today.

We have developed working and tested solutions for the smart management of every aspect of the city’s environment. Along with that, Telelink City has created an interconnected platform for integrated digital citizenship, which is highly customizable, easy to implement, and does not require the development of additional and highly complicated IT resources by the city management.

At the same time, it delivers solutions in most areas of the development of fully-functioning digital citizenship, such as:

Mobile Ticketing

Urban mobility

Parking

Information portal

Social aspect & engagement

Surveys

Alerts & notifications

Complaints & suggestions

Cultural life & events

Points of interest

Active living & active participation

You can lead the way towards your city’s digital transformation. Contact us today and let’s talk smart!

website: telelink-city.com

e-mail: telelink-city@telelink-city.com