In its effort to create a smarter, more inclusive, and sustainable city, Jakarta Smart City (JSC) reaffirms its commitment to continuous learning, engagement, and collaboration on a global scale. This year, JSC participated as a delegate at the prestigious Casablanca Smart City 2025 forum held on May 21–22, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco. This marks JSC’s second participation in the forum, following its initial involvement in 2023.

As part of the Smart City Morocco Roadshow & Expo 2025, this forum brings together policymakers, technology experts, city leaders, entrepreneurs, and representatives from civil society organizations from various countries. Under the overarching theme “Smart Nextgen Cities: Innover Pour Une Metropole Durable et Inclusive (Innovating for a Sustainable and Inclusive Metropolis),” Casablanca once again asserts its position as a model city for digital transformation that is frugal, socially conscious, and environmentally aware.

Casablanca: A Smart City with a Frugal and Inclusive Approach

In the global smart city context, Casablanca occupies a unique position. As Morocco’s economic center, the city has demonstrated that smart city innovation does not always have to begin with large-scale, high-tech megaprojects. Instead, Casablanca demonstrates that a frugal innovation approach — innovation that conserves resources while delivering a broad impact — can be an effective strategy for addressing the challenges of a large city.

Morocco’s preparation to host the FIFA World Cup 2030 has become a catalyst for significant transformation in Casablanca. The city leverages this opportunity to accelerate the development of smart sports infrastructure, strengthen sustainable transportation systems, and encourage citizen participation in public decision-making through CivicTech and participatory digital platforms.

The forum’s three main focus areas reflect Casablanca’s strategic direction in city transformation:

Sportech
Developing smart stadiums and sports experiences that integrate digital technology for efficiency, safety, and comfort. This focus grows increasingly important as Morocco prepares to host the FIFA World Cup 2030, where Casablanca aims to position itself as a hub of sports innovation by delivering internationally standardized smart stadiums.

These infrastructures serve not only as venues but also as interactive spaces embedded with technology, integrating digital ticketing systems, data-driven crowd management, predictive security, and digital twin applications, a digital replica of physical infrastructure, these applications enable real-time monitoring and simulation of the stadium's conditions. All these innovations are designed to create smoother and safer viewing experiences while ensuring energy efficiency and sustainable resource management.

Smart Mobility
Delivering integrated, environmentally friendly, and accessible public transportation systems. This commitment becomes even more crucial for Morocco as it prepares to host a large-scale international event, where connectivity and urban mobility challenges must be met with inclusive and sustainable solutions.

To that end, Casablanca continues to develop smart mobility innovations supporting smooth travel before, during, and after the event. These innovations include connected multimodal transport systems, user-friendly infrastructure, and the deployment of electric vehicles within the city’s transport network. This approach aims not only to reduce carbon emissions but also to ensure easy access to strategic locations and sports venues, creating efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly transportation experiences.

Governance & CivicTech
Strengthening citizen participation in city transformation through open data technology, online public consultations, and collaborative reporting tools. Open and participatory governance principles form the foundational pillars of Casablanca’s journey toward a smart city. This approach places citizens as key actors in shaping the city’s development direction.

Through the use of CivicTech and digital platforms, citizens are encouraged to actively engage in decision-making and develop innovative solutions to urban challenges. This technology opens wider collaborative spaces, enabling every citizen to contribute to designing and realizing smart city initiatives.

Insights from the International Panel: Shared Challenges, Collective Solutions

The first day of the conference began with an opening ceremony and keynote speeches welcoming delegates from over 16 countries. Following the signing of strategic partnerships, the plenary session titled “Sportech and Digital Transformation” became a highlight. This session discussed how technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), wearable devices, and performance analytics are transforming the world of sports.

In Circle 3 and Circle 4 sessions, participants explored the development of digitally connected smart stadiums and strategies to enhance athlete performance and wellbeing through technology-based approaches. Later that day, Plenary 2, themed “The Future of Sustainable Mobility: Reinventing Smart Cities” (Circles 5–6), addressed urban mobility challenges in the digital era. Discussions focused on developing connected multimodal transport systems, inclusive urban spatial planning, and integrating electric vehicles into urban infrastructure.

The first day ended with the Smart City Hackathon Pitching session, where students from various Moroccan universities presented digital solutions to tackle their city’s challenges. These presentations served not only as a platform to showcase ideas but also as final evaluations by a professional judging panel. At the session’s conclusion, winners were announced and awarded further mentorship to advance their solutions toward real-world implementation.

The second day was devoted to in-depth discussions on city governance and CivicTech. Plenary 3: “Towards a Participative and Connected Governance” opened discourse on how data and AI can improve city management efficiency. Circle 1 examined how cities worldwide use data to increase transparency and accountability. Meanwhile, Circle 2 offered interactive discussions on CivicTech and local democracy, ranging from citizen complaint platforms to online public consultation systems.

After a lunch break, the conference concluded with Startup Pitches for the Casablanca Smart City 2025 Trophy. Five finalists presented innovative solutions to investors, policymakers, and smart city experts from various countries. The finalists were Beauzy (digital beauty services), Proorfa (digital transformation consultancy), Fournix+ (food logistics), Ecomove (student mobility), and Azure Group.

Azure Group distinguished itself by winning the Casablanca Smart City 2025 Trophy with its battery-free, wireless access technology solution, which enables smart, secure, and sustainable city infrastructure management. This innovation aligns with the mission to reduce carbon footprints and enhance digital efficiency at city and regional levels. The trophy was presented to Rachid Naji, representative of Azure Group.

Azure Group’s solution is considered relevant across various sectors, including banking, telecommunications, and property management. Furthermore, their innovation tackles challenges in cybersecurity and digital governance—not only in data protection but also in physical access security. Their technology supports the development of connected, sovereign, and sustainable urban infrastructure while respecting individual rights and freedoms.

During the conference, JSC representatives also visited the exhibition area and Startup Village, where startups from various countries showcased innovative solutions in urban planning, energy, transportation, and community empowerment.

What Can Jakarta Learn?

Jakarta Smart City’s presence at this forum was not passive observation but active learning. Several important lessons can enrich Jakarta’s approach to building a smart city.

One session that captured attention was presented by Emad Hussein, principal researcher at the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA). Hussein critically examined the smart city concept and its challenges, especially regarding the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in city governance.

According to Hussein, a smart city is not merely a city adopting advanced technology but one that strategically integrates technology to better serve its citizens in a fair and sustainable manner. He outlined three main functions an ideal smart city should possess:

• Optimization and Sustainability of Public Services
  A smart city should provide services that are not only technologically efficient but also energy-saving, cost-effective, and accessible to all community segments.
   
• Improvement of Citizens’ Quality of Life
  The ultimate goal of applying city technology is not speed or sophistication but enhancing social welfare, comfort, and safety of its residents.
   
• Data-Driven Decision Making
  A smart city must be supported by accurate, real-time information systems so governments can respond promptly and appropriately to issues and make precise, contextual policies.

Globally, Hussein showcased examples of cities that have developed relevant and impactful smart city features:

• Singapore with its smart healthcare system, including digital medical records, AI for early diagnosis, and predictive health services based on data.
   
• Dubai with its successful implementation of paperless government, digitizing public service transactions to reduce dependence on physical documents.
   
• Switzerland with AI-based smart street lighting that adjusts brightness according to weather and citizen activity, saving energy and improving public safety.
   
• South Korea employing AI for traffic management, including automatic traffic light control and sensor-based road congestion monitoring.

However, technological advancement does not come without challenges. Hussein highlighted serious risks in AI use such as data bias potentially exacerbating social injustice, lack of transparency due to AI operating as a “black box,” and declining public trust when citizens feel marginalized by machine-driven decision-making.

From this, it becomes clear why digital ethics is the most crucial lesson for Jakarta. Without principles of justice, inclusivity, and accountability, smart technology could widen social divides and weaken public trust in government. Digital ethics is the moral foundation ensuring technology is used responsibly, transparently, and to genuinely benefit all social layers—especially vulnerable groups often neglected.

To address these challenges, Hussein proposed a clear and gradual roadmap for AI implementation in the public sector. This includes launching pilot platforms and trial projects, developing government human resource capacity, strengthening privacy policies and data transparency, and importantly, increasing citizen participation in designing AI systems to make them more inclusive and accountable.

This lesson is very relevant for Jakarta, which is currently undergoing digital transformation through initiatives such as the JAKI app and the Community Rapid Response (CRM) system. These platforms demonstrate DKI Jakarta’s efforts to improve citizens’ quality of life, optimize data-driven decision-making, and provide efficient and responsive services.

Yet, as Hussein emphasized, technological progress must not neglect digital ethics. Jakarta must continue to strengthen digital literacy among its citizens, expand public participation in technology policy, and build robust accountability mechanisms. By doing so, Jakarta can ensure that smart city technology advances not only technically but also with a social justice orientation and public trust.

Strengthening Jakarta’s Role in the Global Smart City Ecosystem

The Casablanca Smart City Forum 2025 proves that digital city transformation cannot be separated from global collaboration, sharing best practices, and the courage to experiment with new approaches. Through active participation in this forum, Jakarta Smart City demonstrates its commitment to continuous growth, networking, and contributing to the global smart city ecosystem.

It is not impossible that in the future, Jakarta will become one of the benchmark cities in Southeast Asia for developing smart cities based on citizen collaboration, digital efficiency, and social justice. However, all of this certainly requires consistency in cross-country learning, as continuously practiced through forums like this.