Annette Gittos, Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency, Aotearoa, New Zealand
Wellington has been a leader in New Zealand in the development of Information Technology infrastructure, civic processes, community projects, educational support, business clusters, marketing campaigns and international alliances that address physical and non-physical IT needs of the city and its people. We have gone about it through developing partnerships within and between businesses, the community, educational providers, local government and central government. At the heart of the efforts of IT development in Wellington has been this simple premise; technology must work for people, not people working for technology. Wellington boasts one of the highest connectivity in the world with 53% of its our people on-line. On the flip side, that means 47% are not. Wellington city and the region are conscious that there is a vast gulf in the e-world frequently termed the 'digital divide'. If we are going to have a 'Smart Wellington', we are going to need a smart community and smart businesses.