Tuesday, 3 March 2020

WCCD Joins Gathering Hosted by Canadian Ambassador Grossman & High Commissioner Stadelbauer Highlighting Canadian Innovation at the UN WUF

   
From L to R:  High Commissioner to Kenya and Canada’s Representative to UNEP and UN-Habitat, Lisa Stadelbauer; WCCD President & CEO, Patricia McCarney; WCCD Vice President James Patava &  Canada’s Ambassador to the UAE, Marcy Grossman

As a “Made in Canada” initiative, the WCCD leadership attended a reception in Abu Dhabi hosted by Canada’s Ambassador to the UAE, Marcy Grossman, and High Commissioner to Kenya and Canada’s Representative to UNEP and UN-Habitat, Lisa Stadelbauer. Joined by other Canadian innovators in the urban space, Dr. McCarney and Mr. Patava had the opportunity to share the WCCD’s experiences in Canada and globally with ex-pats, government representatives, and other Canadians present at the WUF. Of particular interest at the event was the WCCD’s “Data for Canadian Cities” project which is being framed as a model for the growth of the WCCD network of cities in countries across the world.

WCCD’s CEO meets with the City of Moscow – the first city pursuing ISO 327120 in Russia, and first in Europe pursuing ISO 37122 certification

   
The WCCD President and CEO & Maxim Savitsky, Head of International Relations, for the City of Moscow’s Department of Information Technology - at the UN World Urban Forum, in Abu Dhabi
Following Moscow’s commitment to jointly pursuing both ISO 37120 & ISO 37122 certification – a first in Europe – the WCCD CEO met with Maxim Savitsky, Head of International Relations, for the City of Moscow’s Department of Information Technology. With ambitions towards becoming the first city in Europe to be jointly certified under both standards, Dr. McCarney and Mr. Savitsky also discussed a broader rollout of the ISO 37120 Series of Standards across Russia. Russia is to become the thirty-ninth country globally with WCCD ISO-certified cities.

Nigerian Cities Commit to Joining the WCCD Global Network to Create More Resilient & Sustainable Cities Across The Country

   

From L to R: Mr. Ahmad A.S, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Abuja; the Hon. Dr. Abdul Husaini, Permanent Secretary, Niger State Ministry of Lands and Housing; Dr. Patricia McCarney, the WCCD President and CEO; Engr. Sagir Aliyu, General Manager of Bauchi State Urban Development Board and the Hon. Prof. Adamu Ahmed, Commissioner for Lands and Survey (Bauchi State)


While attending the UN World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi, delegates from seven Nigerian cities met with the WCCD President and CEO and Vice President of WCCD. The discussion focused on improving the process and quality of urban data for informed decision making across all levels of government in Nigeria (local, state and national) and to drive their success in implementing the SDGs throughout Nigeria. 

Focussing on SDG action in Nigeria, and the lack of high-calibre data for city planning and urban management, the group was united in its shared goal of harnessing the WCCD ISO 37120 Series to help Nigerian cities to become more sustainable, smart, and resilient. As a first step, the WCCD President and CEO and the Honourable Prof. Adamu Ahmed, Commissioner for Lands and Survey (Bauchi State) signed a Certification Agreement, welcoming the City of Bauchi as the second Nigerian city to join the WCCD global network of cities across 39 countries. Long-time WCCD partner, Dr. Abdul Husaini (Permanent Secretary, Niger State Ministry of Lands and Housing), who was responsible for Minna to become the first city in Nigeria to achieve ISO 37120 certification, convened the group and is positioned to facilitate the expansion of the WCCD’s network across Nigeria.

The WCCD President and CEO & the Hon. Prof. Adamu Ahmed sign the WCCD Certification Agreement for Bauchi City

WCCD Focuses on City Resilience at UN World Urban Forum, Alongside UN & Global Partners

   

From L to R: WCCD President & CEO, Dr. Patricia McCarney &Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction in the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori
Following the launch of ISO 37123 (Indicators for Resilient Cities) in late 2019, and its increasing role in equipping cities with high calibre and standardized city data to mitigate city shocks and stresses, the WCCD leadership participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by UNDRR, providing input towards the launch of UNDRR’s global “Making Cities Resilient 2030” initiative.  MCR2030 is a new chapter of the Making Cities Resilient Campaign, spearheaded by UNDRR – the UN entity responsible for disaster risk reduction. As a core mandate of the WCCD, this collective commitment to creating more resilient cities was referenced in the Declared Actions of the 10th World Urban Forum, available at the following link. MCR2030 is led by Ms. Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, who will lead the initiative into the UN’s upcoming “Decade of Action.” For more information on WCCD’s new ISO 37123 standard, and how your city can participate in adopting this ISO standard and becoming certified, feel free to contact the WCCD at info@dataforcities.org.

WCCD Brings Together Cities of the MENA Region To Discuss Their Commitment to the Dubai-WCCD Local Data Hub, and City Data as a Universal Language

   
From L to R: Mohammad Jaljouli (Dubai), Sanjaya Bhatia (UNDRR), Mohammed Aseeri (Medina), Hajar Seed (Ajman), Patricia McCarney (WCCD), Shumous Bin Faris Al Sebaia (Dubai), Akram Khasrit (Amman), James Patava (WCCD)
Following the successful launch of the Dubai-WCCD Local Data Hub in November 2019, a group of data-driven cities from across the Middle East – including Dubai (UAE), Medina (Saudia Arabia), Amman (Jordan), and Ajman (UAE) - alongside long-standing WCCD Partner, UNDRR came together for a side event at the UN World Urban Forum. With a decided focus on the importance of city data in creating smarter, more resilient, sustainable and inclusive cities, the group spoke at length on how WCCD’s ISO 37120 Series of Standards is helping to transform how they look at their cities both internally, and compared to the 100 WCCD member cities, across 39 countries. Click here for more photos of the event on the WCCD's Facebook page. 

Click below for a short video highlighting the event! 


Monday, 2 March 2020

Guelph Obtains WCCD’s ISO 37120 Certification at The Highest, Platinum Level

   

From L to R: WCCD VP James Patava, Guelph CAO Scott Stewart, WCCD CEO Patricia McCarney, City of Guelph Staff Tanya Baker, Jennifer Smith, Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie, City of Guelph Staff Jodi Sales & Stewart McDonough

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Friday, March 2nd, 2010
City of Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Today, the World Council on City Data (WCCD) Senior Leadership was in Guelph, Canada to present Guelph’s City Council and administration with WCCD ISO 37120 Platinum certification. This occasion sees Guelph join a rapidly growing global network of 100 cities worldwide, including almost thirty Canadian cities.

 “For the WCCD, welcoming Guelph to our Canadian and global network underscores the City’s commitment to harnessing standardized, globally comparable and independently verified city data,” stated WCCD President and CEO, Dr. Patricia McCarney. “This certification emphasizes Guelph’s commitment to prioritizing data-driven decision making. It also reaffirms the City’s commitment to its citizens to make the best possible decisions to create a sustainable future for the community, while improving citizen services and quality of life. Congratulations Guelph! You have worked hard to receive this prestigious and highest level of certification.”

Guelph’s capacity for innovation and commitment to developing a vibrant and inclusive democracy is reflected in its reporting against 102 of ISO 37120’s 104 indicators, resulting in the highest possible level of certification. Guelph is positioned to continue delivering high-quality services to a growing population while maintaining a high quality of life.

“Receiving the Platinum certification confirms that we have the data and insights needed to make informed decisions for our community,” says Cam Guthrie, City of Guelph Mayor. “This is a moment to celebrate our commitment to open governance as we plan for Guelph’s future.”

 “The City has been working for the past few years to ensure we work in the open, to make public data available to the community, to make evidence-based decisions,” Scott Stewart, City of Guelph Chief Administrative Officer. “On behalf of the City, I’d like to thank our employees and community partners who worked collaboratively towards this certification, and the WCCD for creating a benchmark against which we can measure our process towards becoming future-ready.”

About the World Council on City Data 

The WCCD is the world’s leading expert in standardized, globally comparable, and independently verified, and usable city-data. Reporting on the WCCD’s “Made-in-Canada” ISO 37120 standard enables cities to harness data to become smarter, more sustainable, resilient, prosperous and inclusive. WCCD ISO 37120 certification allows cities to benchmark and share insights with other cities in Canada and globally across 19 themes and 104 indicators, focusing on city services and quality of life, spanning transportation to wastewater, and urban planning to finance.

For more information, please contact:

James Patava
VP Public Affairs, WCCD
James.patava@globalcities.ca