The Smart City Expo LATAM Congress is an event that brings together the main actors from the public and private sectors to work and establish alliances for the resilience and reactivation of Latin America. This organization annually delivers the LATAM Smart City Awards, which for 2020 are in recognition of the responses and initiatives that organizations and governments have developed in the face of COVID-19.
In 2019 Bogotá received a LATAM Smart City Award for its work with the District Market Squares of Bogotá as a tourist, cultural and gastronomic destination in the world; for this 2020 edition, Bogotá received a distinction by which it is internationally recognized for the leadership and commitment effort it has had as a city in its response to COVID-19.
Regarding this recognition, the Mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López pointed out that, “The challenges we faced were enormous, facing a pandemic as we all know it today is facing the risk of massive death. With a lot of wisdom and with the clarity that the most important thing was life, the majority of citizens in Bogotá supported the idea of taking care of them above any other consideration. It was Bogotá that led a simulation of what it would be like to face a quarantine for several weeks, that decision made in conjunction with other mayors and governors of the country, very soon led the national government to adopt the same policy "
During the ceremony, they spoke about the impacts that the pandemic has had on Latin American cities and the importance of recognizing the initiatives to respond to its consequences.
The awards given were in recognition to early responses and public policies that managed to reduce the impacts of COVID-19. As a prelude to naming the winners, Manuel Redondo, member of the organizing committee of Smart Cities, spoke of the coronavirus challenge, "To face extraordinary situations, extraordinary and innovative ideas are needed, such as the winners, which create the new reality of Latin America."
The first prize was obtained by the Ministry of Housing of Costa Rica for its coordination with the national government; the second was for Montevideo for its implementation of technology in the emergency systems. Cuenca, Ecuador, received the third prize for its management in the health service through technological solutions; the fourth recognition was for the Brazilian city of Niteroi, for its containment and reopening measures; the fifth and final award was given to Bogotá for its mobility and reopening strategies. The award was given to the city by Roi Chiti, UNHabitat regional coordinator.
At the end of the event, Mauricio Vila, governor of Yucatán thanked the attendees and congratulated the awarded cities. Vila spoke about the awards as a way to share and highlight the initiatives that create true smart cities, "We hope that other cities in the world will be inspired by the winning cities and that we work together to build more sustainable, resilient and fair territories."
