Smart City Project Selected as Stockholm Challenge Award Finalist (29.5.2000)

Community portal solution by Next Generation Cities and Teamware Pl@za

More than 600 projects from all over the world entered The Stockholm Challenge Award 2000. The qualified finalists consist of 96 projects including 415Forum (www.415forum.com), a community portal solution developed by Next Generation Cities and Teamware Group, a Fujitsu company. The Stockholm Challenge Award, June 4 – 5, is a global arena for IT projects that benefit people and society, and a way of building networks between entrepreneurs who will benefit from contacts across borders, cultures and economies.

The Stockholm Challenge Award projects compete in seven different categories: Public Services and Democracy, Culture and Entertainment, Environment, Equal Access, Health and Quality of Life, Education and New Economy. Evaluation is based upon innovation, user need, sustainability and transferability. The single most important criterion is the benefit the project can bring to individuals, society and the environment by using inspirational approaches within the local context. The international jury consists of 28 senior experts of excellence representing the global fundament of the Challenge.

The Stockholm Challenge Award is a non-profit initiative of the City of Stockholm in partnership with the European Commission. Participating projects are private, public or academic. The Stockholm Challenge Award is the successor to the Global Bangemann Challenge - the successful IT award that attracted international recognition from 1997 to 1999.

Enabling rapid deployment of community interaction

Next Generation Cities is a unique public and private sector initiative, initially centered on the San Francisco Bay area. It designs, builds and operates Internet-based Digital Community Networks (DCNs) for cities and communities of the 21st century. DCN features includes an Intelligent Business Registry (IBR) that allows local businesses to promote their products and services.

415Forum is a local Interactive Business Registry (IBR). It has been designed for Small to Medium sized businesses to exchange, collaborate, and market their products and services in and through the local economy. The focus is on strengthening interaction between and amongst businesses and citizens within cities and expanding the exchange and velocity of e-commerce. The GIS (Geographical Information Systems) links businesses and local community services for the benefits of all, to provide and promote e-commerce.

The 415Forum web application is powered by Teamware Pl@za technology. The aim of the service is to eliminate where possible the local physical distances, logistics and time taken to acquire products, services, or information required in business and people’s daily lives. The goal of 415Forum is to use the Internet and related technologies to deliver to cities the same efficiencies of interaction and commerce currently enjoyed by only the largest global corporations. The Interactive Business Registry offers community opportunities for business and individuals to engage in on-line Chat, Document Sharing, Discussion Groups, Surveying, and the Searching or Marketing of local products and services within the City.

For more information, please visit:

www.challenge.stockholm.se

www.415forum.com

www.ngcities.com

About Teamware:

Teamware Group develops, markets and supplies software products and services designed to facilitate human networking and to make communities intelligent. Teamware is a Fujitsu company, a part of Fujitsu Software Group’s 5000 employees. It operates in Europe and USA as well as through the Fujitsu network worldwide. Teamware has a substantial skill base and product & services portfolio in community solutions and collaborative applications. Teamware Pl@za provides a service application platform for communities of professionals.

Press contacts:

Ingrid Korpela, Marketing Communications Manager
Tel. +358 9 5128 2539 or ingrid.korpela@teamware.com