Ulyanovsk is chosen as the Vice President City of WeGO until 2020

This decision was announced on the 28^th of June during the Fourth General Assembly of World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments (WeGO). The meeting which was held in the Ulyanovsk region was attended by the President of WeGo, the Mayor of Seoul Mr. Park Won-soon, the Governor of the Ulyanovsk region Sergey Morozov and approximately 400 representatives from 110 cities.

 ‘We aim at making our region a developed technological centre of the country. We are aware that the new economy based on innovations, technology entrepreneurship and digital technologies is developing with an incredible speed. In the future the leaders will be those territories which will be the first to adopt ‘smart regions’ platforms. These regions are increasingly becoming more appealing to people and businesses globally. That is why we are developing the regional segment of the National Technology Initiative, working on the creation of an adequate basis for transfer and introduction of advanced technologies, improving the research infrastructure and creating a favorable climate for innovations’, said the Governor Sergey Morozov.

The collaboration with WeGO introduces the Ulyanovsk region to advanced technologies which it can later use for improving the citizens’ quality of life. The administration of World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments has expressed willingness to develop the cooperation.

 ‘I cannot help mentioning the aspiration of the Governor to make the region truly innovative and build smart cities. That is why the Fourth WeGo Assembly is taking place in the Ulyanovsk region. According to the methodology of the United Nations Organization, Seoul has been ranking number one in the field of e-governance for seven years in a row. And if you are interested, we can develop our relations in all possible spheres. I hope that in the future we can discuss fields and variants of cooperation between our territories in Seoul’, said the President of World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments, the Mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon.

The Secretary General of WeGO Young-sook Nam expressed gratitude to the Governor Sergey Morozov and his team for excellent organization of the Fourth General Assembly.

All participants of the Assembly adopted the declaration prepared by the Ulyanovsk region. The document describes the priorities which the authorities are to take into account while building and developing ‘smart cities’. According to the declaration, technologies and innovations will serve to protect the environment, improve the citizens’ quality of life and improve the efficiency with which services are provided. The cities which are the members of WeGO commit themselves to make innovative decisions and improve access of digital technologies to all people jointly.

 ‘It’s the first time I’ve been in Ulyanovsk. It’s a very beautiful city. I am sure we will find common grounds and work out a strategy for cooperation. Bangkok is a densely populated city; digital technologies and systems of electronic governance, which were discussed at the General Assembly, help us to solve social problems. We could share our experience in the social sphere of life. As for the declaration which was introduced by the Governor Sergey Morozov, I think it is very useful. In my opinion, Bangkok can adopt some development strategies of the Ulyanovsk region because I find many paragraphs of the declaration efficient. I would particularly like to mention the paragraph about cooperation with the private sector. I think that government cannot implement all possible initiatives on its own. That is why the cooperation with the private sector seems a promising direction to me. I would particularly like to thank Governor Sergey Morozov for including this paragraph’, said the Deputy Bangkok Governor Mrs.Wanwilai Promlakano.

The Ulyanovsk region has been actively collaborating with WeGO since 2010. In November 2012 the region was elected Vice President City of WeGO, and in September 2013 it was chosen as a European Regional Office of WeGO.

For the record

Within the next few years the Vice President Cities of WeGO will be Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Beyoglu (Turkey), Hanoi (Vietnam), Jakarta (Indonesia), Mexico City (Mexico), Ulyanovsk and Moscow (Russia).