Informatization and Urban Development for Developing Countries

Facilitating the exchange of approaches to build information technology infrastructure in the context of urbanization

CIFAL Shanghai International Training Centre for Local Actors has long had a high reputation for bringing together individuals from developing countries to update their knowledge and professional skills in information technology in order to keep pace with informatization and industrialization. The Centre has offered seminars on information technology and related economic growth and development methods to 1,229 beneficiaries from 127 countries. Topics include e-government, geographic information systems, urban informatization and management, as well as the latest information technology in China and its application in daily life. 

CIFAL Shanghai organized a seminar on informatization and urban development for Samoa and one for developing countries. It also organized a seminar on e-government and urban informatization for North Macedonia. Participants learned the definition of a smart city and how it is formed. By understanding the Smart and Connected Communities model, they should be able to integrate Internet technology into urban management. In addition, they were asked to design a smart city proposal for their own cities or regions that included hardware installation and software development. Lecturers evaluated their proposals for feasibility and participants discussed the various ideas. Following the seminar, participants could use these proposals to develop the relevant areas. 

Participants were introduced to practices and achievements in information technology development across China and in Shanghai through theoretical and practical training in the form of thematic lectures, special sessions, open discussions, case studies and on-site investigation. These activities also promoted knowledge transfer on informatization and urban development, while fostering cooperation between China and developing countries. Training seminars were held monthly from August to November 2019, and each lasted 21 days. Participants included 20 government officials from Samoa; 34 government officials and scholars from Bangladesh, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Suriname, Timor-Leste, Uruguay and Zimbabwe; and 17 officials from government departments and the central bank of North Macedonia.  

Based on the feedback received, participants gained a comprehensive and objective understanding of China’s achievements and accumulated experience in information technology and urban development. They also gained a scientific and pragmatic perspective of future applications of information technology. Target countries could further explore opportunities for cooperation with China and Chinese companies to improve their information infrastructures and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The target countries showed a strong willingness to send delegates to participate in future seminars. 

With assistance from CIFAL Shanghai, Samoa has sent over 100 participants to attend seminars on information and technology in recent years. The participants include teachers, farmers, doctors, nurses, media reporters, private business owners, public welfare organizations and government officials. These seminars helped to promote the economic and social development of Samoa, enhancing the relationship between the countries’ people and promoting cooperation in various fields. In 2018, delegates from Samoa participated in the first Import Expo, organized by CIFAL Shanghai and hosted in Shanghai, China. They brought traditional Samoan handcrafted goods and artisanal alcohol. In 2019, ten enterprises from Samoa participated in the second Import Expo. These seminars received praise from both the Chinese embassy in Samoa and the Samoan embassy in Beijing. 

CIFAL Shanghai would like to expand this training to provide further study opportunities to officials and technicians in less developed countries. At the end of the seminars and training courses, all participants received a pen drive that contained all the course materials. They could share it with their colleagues or use it as reference to design similar trainings in their countries. Representatives of CIFAL Shanghai maintained contact with the participants once they had returned to their home countries to identify their training demands and design future seminars for them. These training seminars could therefore be sustainable in both the participants’ countries and in China. However, many countries currently lack the technical and academic expertise required to offer these trainings. 

In the coming years, CIFAL Shanghai will continue to raise awareness of informatization construction, share related knowledgee and skills and enact solutions for urban development to further benefit individuals from Governments, corporations, financial institutions, hospitals and private businesses from States members of the Group of 77.