Delegates take a group photo at the workshop. – VNS Photo Thu Ngan
Developing standards systems in addition to connecting and sharing experiences with members will help APEC economies successfully develop smart cities, heard a workshop on “Best practices sharing of standards and conformity assessment implementation on smart cities in APEC region” held in HCM City on Friday.
Hosted by Viet Nam’s Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality (STAMEQ), the conference was one of the first two of the Sub-committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC) on the opening day of SOM 3.
The workshop, an initiative by Viet Nam that was approved at SOM 1, aimed at connecting APEC members and promoting and sharing the application of standards and conformity assessment of products, services and management systems related to the sustainable development of smart cities in APEC.
More than 100 delegates took part in it.
Opening the workshop, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung said one of the SCSC’s priorities this year was “development and promotion of standards and supporting the digital economy.”
This is a new sector in which the bloc needs to work together to share best practices, identify opportunities and challenges and boost co-operation, harmonise standards and assess conformity to help achieve the Bogor Goals, according to Tung.
Viet Nam’s representatives delivered four speeches, including “Security and safety for smart cities”, “Viet Nam’s standardisation activities for smart city sectors” and “Viettel and the development of smart city in Viet Nam.”
At a series of panel and collaborative discussions, developing economies including Viet Nam, Thailand and the Philippines heard about the experiences of developed economies such as the US and Japan in developing smart cities and also the latest information about standards development for smart cities from leading international organisations.
Speaking to Viet Nam News on the sidelines of the workshop, Tung said: “The workshop has clearly shown the connection between economies in which we together share and develop standards for developing smart cities.”
The conference is also important for Viet Nam since "it trails other economies in developing smart cities", he said.
"The workshop is a chance for Viet Nam to learn from other members for developing its own standards."
Calvin Kam, director, industry programmes, and consulting associate professor at Stanford University in the US, said: “APEC is an excellent opportunity because today it’s a very global and connected world, so I do believe that Viet Nam and the 20 other APEC economies can work together. I do think that just looking internally Viet Nam can better learn about standards and best building practices so that we do not repeat the same mistakes, and we can learn from global science, technology and innovation.”
He told Viet Nam News: “I do believe that Viet Nam can leap far. I would expect that with so much construction going on, higher productivity and also a more sustainable solution would be key to developing smart cities.”
Pham Le Cuong, CEO of the Viet Nam Certification Centre, told Viet Nam News that the workshop sought to help people understand what a smart city is.
“Smart city is a city with stable development that uses recycled energy and has no traffic jams, etc.”
Over 20 provinces and cities in Viet Nam have agreed to develop smart cities.
The second SCSC workshop was on “Facilitating trade in information and communications technologies products through encouragement of electronic labelling best practices.”
It focuses on e-labelling and the ICT sector, providing an overview of electronic labelling with a focus on emerging trends in e-labelling and the benefits of e-labelling for ICT trade, and highlight international standardisation efforts.
Lessons from Japan, Viet Nam and China were shared at the workshop.
It continues today. – VNS