The Bahamas has just made history.
The Bahamian island of New Providence has been named the world’s first “Smart Island.”
The proclamation was made by Houlin Zhao, Secretary General of the United Nations International Telecommunication Union, the first island ever so designated by the ITU.
Zhao made the announcement as a guest speaker during the launch of the country’s National Development Plan Report at the College of the Bahamas this week.
Similar to the Smart, Sustainable Cities program, a “Smart Island” adopts “sustainable means of managing infrastructural complexities, with the utilization of modern technologies, in order to improve quality of life for residents.”
The “smart” designation applies to places that are forward-looking economically and socially, that monitor critical infrastructure and maximize services to citizens.
Being “smart” means “a system of systems working together,” according to the ITU.