Mr. Vin Sumner Founder/ Managing Director - Clicks and Links
Sharing Space - Keynote Speech
Green Digital Cities - Replicating Inventiveness and Exuberance
Throughout history, technology has offered the opportunity for cities to make step changes in the way people live, work and play. We believe the creation of green digital cities will enable another significant step change not only in the way our communities are connected but more critically in the way this can enable them to change radically their relationship with the environment.
The city is the first and essential scale for considering meaningful change that can be replicated on a global scale. The city is the level at which all the smart green infrastructures and applications need to work together. Cities therefore need to be the pioneers of integrated green investments including new business models and paradigms. They can provide the scale and opportunity for synergies to be realised between initiatives such as smart ICT infrastructures, smart grids and carbon accounting, and therefore become the platforms for wider transformations.
The post i2010 strategy will be a major contributor to the European Commission's overall strategy for developing a low-carbon, high value European economy over the coming five years. Cities as engines of change have a pivotal role to play in enabling real action to reduce significantly emissions
The European Commission in recent recommendations has recognized the enabling role that ICT can play in reducing emissions through improved energy efficiency, provision of visible measurement and enabling the radical restructuring of the way we live, work and play. A Greenshift is the term coined by Clicks and Links in 2008 for this key role of ICT; applying this thinking to Cities led to the development of the Green Digital Charter which Clicks and Links created and has now been taken forward by EUROCITIES, with 22 signatories.
Action is needed now if we are to mitigate the effects of human behaviour on the climate. Cities have a great tradition of radical change and ICT now provides them with the enabling tool to restructure how Cities and their citizens can interact and provide a viable transition route to a low carbon society. The presentation will focus on near term practical initiatives that can have a widespread and viral impact across Cities and as such provide a platform for replicating both inventiveness and exuberance.
About Mr. Vin Sumner
Vin Sumner is the Managing Director of Clicks and Links Ltd, a specialist ICT company dedicated to providing the Public Sector with innovative web-based solutions and consultancy services. With over 25 years experience in the IT industry, Vin has worked for several leading UK IT services companies. In particular he has extensive experience in working with central and local government, incl. running business units, undertaking consultancy assignments, delivering projects, writing and speaking on the future of public sector IT. Vin played a leading role in the UK City based Digital Challenge, writing the innovative and widely praised Manchester bid, been instrumental in setting up the Digital Challenge 10 group of UK Cities.
More recently, Vin has taken a leading role in developing the Greenshift agenda, which links ICT and carbon reduction by developing services that will support households and SMEs reduce emissions. Greenshift's technology approach is leading edge, using Pervasive Computing and Utility Computing models to deliver individualised household measurement of emissions, network control of emissions relevant services and green PC substitute services.
Following on from innovative work on Digital Planning, Vin created the idea of the Green Digital Charter which has been taken on by EUROCITIES and provides the platform for much of the work relating to this study. Vin was also invited to be a member of the EUROCITIES Ad Hoc group on ICT and Energy Efficiency, and contributed extensively to the restructuring group on the role of Cities.
Vin is a specialist in Digital Inclusion, Change Management, Digital City Strategic Development and Strategy Formulation, and is a member of the Institute of Directors.