Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Information shared that a smart city initiative is a concept that should primarily focus on how they can serve the community better.
Technology merely serves as a tool in improving service to the community by addressing their needs, which include sanitation, drinking water, and health.
According to a recent press release, Yogyakarta will not only become a smart city but will also be responsible for spearheading the country’s digital economy.
To make this a reality, the Government needs to change its approach from being a regulator to becoming a facilitator.
Developing talent
Plans for Yogyakarta include the formation of a Centre that will aid in developing digital economic talent in the area.
According to the Minister, they have partnered with four tertiary-level educational institutions as centres of talent development.
The reason behind this is the increasing demand to produce talented human resources in the field of digital economy.
The Governor of Yogyakarta is pleased with this development and encouraged the transformation to a synergic and smart city.
The Governor added that the city must be smart in reading changes, smart in innovating, and smart in providing services.
Spirit of entrepreneurship
In this digital era, the inclusion of various business ideas in an ecosystem is certainly not difficult to do. However, it is hard to find the problem solving spirit in an entrepreneur.
Hence, the Governor advised that the most important instrument in starting a business is the spirit of entrepreneurship.
Instead of relying on the power of capital alone,the ability to see opportunities and maximise problem solving ideas are weapons that need to be continuously sharpened.
Everyone in the city needs to improve the management performance of their organisations and become more visionary, more modern, more directed, and more accountable.
The implementation of smart city initiatives in Yogyakarta is a grand design that can stimulate the growth of innovation in all aspects, which can be achieved by utilising digital technology in all areas of service.
Transforming for the future
The Governor believes it is time to change for the future. Thus, bureaucratic institutions are being called upon to bolster themselves to technological developments.
The digital revolution is a necessity that must be welcomed by improving public services smartly.
Based on the 2019 First Quarter performance report, Head of the Regional Development Planning Agency of Yogyakarta shared that the city’s economic growth in 2018 increased by 6.2%, thereby making it the region with the highest economic growth in Java.
The high economic growth can be attributed to the increase in investment and the construction of a number of strategic infrastructure projects.
Add to that a rapidly growing business field in the information and communication sector. It is suspected that the dynamic booster for the business field is the online shopping service through smart phones.