Seoul Opens Applications for 3rd Seoul Smart City Prize to Recognize Global Smart City Champions | The Manila Times

Seoul calls for outstanding smart-city innovation projects from around the world until May 30th
A total of 21 prizes in three categories: Projects (Human-Centered & Technological Innovation Projects), Leadership, and Special Mention.
Awards ceremony to be held in conjunction with Smart Life Week (SLW) 2025 from September 30 to October 1, with international mayors and experts in attendance
Winners will gain opportunities for international promotion, including exhibitions and capacity-building programs

SEOUL, South Korea, March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has announced that applications for the 3rd Seoul Smart City Prize are open until May 30. The competition is open to city governments, institutions, corporations, and individuals worldwide to recognize outstanding smart city innovation policies.

3rd Seoul Smart City Prize Poster

Now in its third year, the Seoul Smart City Prize was established in 2023 by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in collaboration with the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO). Leveraging Seoul's world-class digital government capabilities, the award aims to present a vision for the future of smart cities and promote the global adoption of smart-city ideas.

In the first competition in 2023, 240 entries were submitted from 93 cities across 47 countries, including Los Angeles (USA), Madrid (Spain), and São Paulo (Brazil). Last year, a total of 216 projects incorporating various innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Digital Twins were submitted by 123 cities from 58 countries, including London (UK), Helsinki (Finland), and Abu Dhabi (UAE).

Last year's winners: the gold prize was awarded to two projects - 'BIAG', a health governance system from Baguio, Philippines, and 'Improving the School System through Digital Transformation' from Reykjavik, Iceland.

This year's competition features a total of 21 awards across three main categories: Projects, Leadership, and Special Mention. Specifically, there are 16 awards in the Project category (8 for human-centered projects and 8 for technological innovation projects), 2 awards in the Leadership category, and 3 awards in the Special Mention category.

PRIZE CATEGORY

Human-Centered: Projects that are designed to prioritize digital inclusion in smart city development, thereby overcoming or mitigating the digital divide, and that aim to serve specific target groups among the citizen population, such as the elderly, youth, and the disabled.
Tech-Innovation: Projects that focus on integration of innovative policies and technologies in all sectors of society and domains ranging from mobility, safety, welfare, environment, energy, culture and governance.
Leadership: Individuals that have demonstrated leadership in developing or promoting the innovative use of technology and data to impact the lives of global citizens.
Special Mention: Projects selected together with a partner organization or corporation of WeGO on the basis of the project's alignment with the values and missions of the partner organization or corporation.

Applications must be submitted by May 30, 2025, through the official Seoul Smart City Prize website (https://seoulsmartcityprize.com).

More information on the application process, evaluation criteria, and other relevant details is available in the Seoul Smart City Prize 2025 Guidelines on the website.

The awards ceremony will take place on September 30 at COEX, in conjunction with Smart Life Week (SLW) 2025. Approximately 300 participants, including mayors from around the world, experts, and scholars, are expected to attend the ceremony, making it a key platform for sharing excellent smart-city projects and facilitating policy exchange.

Winning cities will receive various benefits and support to enhance their global reputation and promote their best practices worldwide. The benefits include a dedicated exhibition booth at the SLW International City Pavilion and access to a smart city capacity-building program.