Dubai Blockchain Strategy wins award in Barcelona

The Smart Dubai Office won the coveted City Award for the Dubai Blockchain Strategy at the Smart Cities Expo and World Congress in Barcelona. Over the weekend, they have won against 308 projects from 58 countries.

The World Smart City Award was designed to reward pioneering projects, ideas and strategies that drive sustainable urban development around the world. Sustainability was already set in the implementation of the event. According to official figures, the event ran without CO2 emissions. In addition, you have donated leftovers and tried to completely dispense with paper. On more than 30,000 m², a total of 675 exhibitors were present to present their current solutions. Dubai was the most sustainable.

The smartest city in the world

At the seventh Smart Cities Expo and World Congress, the project has achieved its ambitious goal of becoming the smartest city in the world by 2020. With the Dubai Blockchain Strategy, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates wants to carry out all its transactions paperless by 2020. What is also high on the list of innovations is the satisfaction of the citizens:

"We are honored that our efforts are recognized here at the Smart Cities Expo and World Congress."
says Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director-General of SDO.

"Smart Dubai's strong vision of building a Smart City geared towards citizen satisfaction has attracted international attention. Led by our Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Smart Dubai has made great strides. "
The three cornerstones of the Dubai Blockchain Strategy
The Dubai Blockchain Strategy has set a total of three goals.

The first is improving the efficiency of the government. To this end, the initiators want to promote the paperless handling of private and public transactions. For example, they want to digitally process visas, invoices and driving license matters. According to the official announcement, this will save 114 million tons of CO2 emissions and up to 25.1 million hours of work.

The second pillar is the promotion of industry. With the Dubai Blockchain Strategy, the founders want to create a system that allows citizens to start new blockchain businesses. Above all, they want to focus on the real estate, fintech and banking industries. It also focuses on areas such as health care, urban planning, smart energy, digital commerce, tourism and transport.

In the latter area, the German company will also be involved in the big project. Together with Volocopter, Dubai's "Roads and Transport Authority" announced in September the successful test of an autonomous air taxi. The Volocopter steered the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum through the skyscrapers for 8 minutes. By 2030, all public transport in the city on the Persian Gulf is to run without human intervention.

The third pillar of the Dubai Blockchain Strategy is global cooperation. So the city of millions wants to open its platform for international partners to guarantee safety and comfort for travelers. Therefore one wants to facilitate for example the entry through faster settlement at the customs. The use of blockchain technology also facilitates the mobility of the guests.

For bureaucratic hurdles such as the control of the driver's license, the car rental or the connection to the Internet and of course payment transactions with Bitcoin & Co. are automated with the project. To develop and develop the necessary technologies, they want to merge with partners from Europe, North America and Asia.

Employment with Blockchain pays off

There were six other awards at the event. The categories were: Innovative Idea, Project, Circular Economy Project, Safe Cities Project, Mobility Project and Data & Tech Project. The awards went to Marketplace.city, a food supply initiative from Buenos Aires, the Circular Innovation Program from Amsterdam, Traffic Brain from Shenzen, Easy Urban Mobility from SEAT and the Smart City Project from Yanbu. The awards promise a promotion of the projects and a high public attention, which feeds not least from the 18,000 visitors. The award particularly attracts investors and entrepreneurs who want to invest in the future of the winners.

Dubai's preoccupation with blockchain technology is therefore clearly bearing fruit. The land registry office had already announced that it would change its administration to Blockchain. In addition, the government has been thinking about its own cryptocurrency and, last year, considered using blockchain technology against illegal immigration.