UN selects Dubai as data hub for MENASA region

The UN has selected Dubai as the data hub for the Middle East North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region for the city's integrated initiatives to mine and manage its data, according to a media report.
The work is already under way to prepare Dubai as the regional city data hub.
The designation will be part of a portfolio of local and regional data portals, analytics and reports to engage stakeholders and help accelerate progress.
It will also serve as a dedicated platform for city-to- city learning and 'solutions transfer' across metropolitan, national and global contexts, Gulf News quoted the Government of Dubai Media Office as saying.

"As the government entity tasked with ushering in an era of smart technology in the emirate, we were elated with the UN's decision to select Dubai as a regional hub for city data in the MENASA region," said Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General of the Smart Dubai Office.
"This underlines the progress that Dubai has made in its smart transformation, which is now commanding global attention. We are confident that our newfound status as regional hub for city data will provide us with further momentum to carry out our plans and strategies to turn Dubai into the smartest and happiest city on the planet.

"This accolade will help us spread our success to the rest of the MENASA region, hopefully leading them by example to achieve their own smart transformation," she said in a statement.

Dubai has launched a series of comprehensive and integrated initiatives to mine and manage the city's data.
Younus Al Nasser, CEO of the Dubai Data Establishment, said that Dubai Data Establishment has worked to build sound city-wide data infrastructure in Dubai.
"We have published an extensive report studying the impact of open and shared data on all urban sectors, and sought to implement initiatives such as 'Dubai Pulse' (the centralised hub for all of Dubai's smart data). It is precisely this advanced infrastructure that has firmly put Dubai on the international smart development map," he said.