“Engaging citizens and ensuring public participation in the city’s development, is at the core of the Smart City project implemented in Tel Aviv,” said Mr. Zohar Sharon, Chief Knowledge Officer, Tel Aviv Municipality.
Sharon was in the city to address bureaucrats, politicians and other prominent personalities at the ‘Simply Smart’ event organized by Delivering Change Foundation. During an interaction session organised ahead of the programme, Sharon spoke at length about the initiatives taken by the Tel Aviv municipality to engage with citizens with a view to ensure their active participation in developing the city.
“For engaging more and more citizens we started the initiative ‘DigiTel Club’ where citizens can register to be part of the club. As members of the club, citizens get access to various services and information relevant to them. Through DigiTel in case of emergency we can send alert messages to all the residents just by a single click. Also residents can communicate with us about various happenings in the city thus increasing their participation in the whole process,” said Sharon.
Sharon added that in Tel Aviv citizens are also encouraged to give their suggestions about using the available budget to develop their own neighbourhood.
