Belfast has twinned with South Korean City Sejong as part of the “Innovation Twins” programme.
At a recent Belfast City Council committee meeting, elected representatives approved an invitation to host the Mayor, Choi Min-ho and a delegation from Sejong during their visit to Belfast in August 2023.
Councillors also agreed to an invitation to the council’s City Innovation Team to lead an innovation twinning programme development visit to Sejong, with costs covered by the UK government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the organisation Connected Places Catapult.
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The council further agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding, which officers describe as a “friendly, cooperative agreement to support opportunities for city-to-city collaboration.”
The collaboration is based on the connection between the two cities as “smart cities.” A smart city is a municipality that uses information and communication technologies to increase operational efficiency, share information with the public and improve both the quality of government services and citizen welfare.
The council report states: “The programme aims to build relationships between smart cities with high potential for accelerating long term collaborations and generating opportunities for trade.
“Following committee approval for participation in the programme in 2021, a Statement of Intent was agreed to promote collaboration on the first of the programme up to the end of March 2023. While not legally binding, the statement sets out areas of shared interest based on discussion with a range of city partners, to form the basis for cooperation between Sejong and Belfast.
“These include smart cities, medtech, cyber security, fintech, academic, educational and cultural cooperation, economic development and opportunities for bilateral trade and investment.
“During the initial phase of the programme, we received £100,000 funding which enabled eight local companies to avail of training and support to develop a range of products in areas such as virtual tourism, community rewards programmes, last mile delivery, safer cycling, recycling behaviour, fitness hubs and personal safety.
“They profiled their work during a virtual international showcase event and one company was successful in being selected for a follow up trade mission to South Korea.”
As the next part of the programme Connected Places Catapult will provide funding of £32,500 to cover associated costs for the Sejong visit by the council and any resulting project development.
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