The 2025 New Taipei City International Smart City Forum opened on August 22 at the Hilton Taipei Sinban, inviting the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) and city leaders from the United States, Spain, Lithuania, and Brazil shared their experiences through video messages. ICF Co-founder Robert Bell officially announced that New Taipei City has become the first city in the world to successfully renew the ICF Smart City Certification. They recognized New Taipei City’s achievements in technological innovation and sustainable development.

Speaking at the forum, New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Chu Ti-Chih emphasized that the global wave of AI and sustainability is bringing cities closer together. By sharing experiences, New Taipei aims to deepen collaboration with international partners across government, academia, and industry to advance AI-driven innovation and build a sustainable and inclusive smart city.

This year’s forum, themed “AI Empowerment: Building a Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive City,” attracted wide international participation. Robert Bell, co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), delivered a keynote address in person. Other leaders, including Dublin Mayor Chris Amorose Groomes (USA), Vilnius Vice Mayor Vytautas Mitalas (Lithuania), Las Rozas Deputy Mayor José Cabrera (Spain), and Curitiba’s President Director of Development and Innovation Agency Dario Paixão (Brazil), shared their experiences via video, while also commending New Taipei’s progress in smart city development.

Mayor Groomes expressed her pleasure in attending the forum for the second year, recalling her visit to New Taipei City last year. She highlighted Dublin’s focus on “technology serving citizens,” with AI applications in broadband expansion, digital inclusion, sustainable innovation, and civic engagement. Deputy Mayor Mitalas underscored Vilnius’s efforts in technology-driven urban governance and praised New Taipei as an inspiring partner for future cooperation.

Diplomatic representatives in Taiwan also attended the forum, including Paulius Lukauskas, Representative of the Lithuanian Trade Representative Office, Maya Yehudit Yaron, Representative of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office, and Blanka Kovács, Head of Administration at the Hungarian Trade Office.

Deputy Mayor Chu noted that AI and computing power remain at the center of global focus this year. With its world-leading semiconductor ecosystem, Taiwan demonstrates that even a small island can become a global AI powerhouse. He also stressed that despite challenges in achieving global net-zero goals, New Taipei is committed to advancing climate action with international partners to safeguard future generations.

Deputy Mayor Chu further called on domestic and international experts to provide actionable visions for New Taipei’s transformation into an “AI Governance Capital.” The city is advancing projects in renewable energy, carbon neutrality, AI-based disaster prevention, and smart healthcare for aging societies, while integrating technology with industry collaboration to build a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive smart city.

New Taipei City received the world’s first ICF Certification of Intelligent Community in 2023. During his visit, Robert Bell also conducted an on-site evaluation for renewal, including inspections of 5G smart poles, the EZ-Learn Network, the Resource Recycling Education Base, Wugu Charlotte, Xindian Baogao Industrial Park, Digibase, and Ku Pao Home Economics & Commercial High School’s Industry-Academia Collaboration Program. Bell affirmed that New Taipei has developed a comprehensive and effective smart city framework, achieving significant progress in broadband, digital inclusion, innovation, workforce development, civic engagement, and sustainability, positioning the city as a global benchmark. Through this forum, he officially announced that New Taipei City has successfully completed the renewal of the ICF Smart City Certification, becoming the first city in the world to achieve this recognition.