Feature: Israeli Muni Expo shows cities have central role in dealing with global issues

by Nick Kolyohin

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Israel's Muni Expo 2021 conference presented how cities deal with national and international issues and the importance of local government in solving big problems.

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Thousands of people participated in the two-day conference that started on Wednesday. It took place at Expo Tel Aviv International Convention Center.

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Mayors, Ministers, the prime minister, the president, and more took part in the event, including an exhibition with hundreds of companies emphasizing innovation and technology that can make cities better places.?

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At his keynote speech in the conference's opening, Yair Lapid, Israel's alternate prime minister and foreign minister, said, "crises are global, but solutions are local."?

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COVID-19 pandemic reminded us that in our interconnected world, there is no such thing as just a local crisis, "in the 21st century, all the crises are global," stressed Lapid.

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But yet he said we should tackle eventually in our neighborhoods, streets, and homes these global problems, such as the climate change crisis or COVID-19 pandemic.?

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Future crises will evolve much faster, break out somewhere, and spread rapidly to the rest of the world. "What used to take months will take days. So it means we would need to deal with them within days and not months," noted Lapid.

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Some Israeli mayors expressed publicly over the years their demand for transferring the governance power from central government to local government.

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Many mayors find it very frustrating not to be able to make big decisions for their cities because of the centralized power of the Israeli government, which leaves in some areas a small room for an independent course of action.

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Municipalities have better knowledge of their residents and the uniqueness of their places, which is an advantage when it comes to finding the best solutions that might not suit the rest of the country.?

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Lapid said to the audience, among which were mayors, that innovation, technology, fast action, up-to-date data, and good communication with residents are crucial to deal with the next challenge to come.?

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With the help of the Israeli army, cities have developed very efficient data systems of management and communication with residents during emergencies due to their preparedness for war situations, said Lapid.?

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At the conference's exhibition area, companies and startups from different fields showcased services and products that could benefit local authorities.

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One of the exhibitors was a company named Orad which produces autonomous patrol drones and anti-drone systems.

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Yossi Gofer, CEO of Orad, told Xinhua that "the anti-drone system is one of the most important systems that a municipality can have to prevent threats on stadiums or big events of civilians."

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Drones are one of the most dangerous threats in the world now because it's very easy to buy and operate. The technical abilities of drones are high, and they can be misused as cheap bombs, stressed Gofer.

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On the other hand, Gofer wants to sell to cities friendly autonomous patrol drones that he said can "replace human guarding" and even "control and protect the perimeter without any human involvement."

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Another company that took place in the exhibition was Systematics which suggests organizational effectiveness and efficiency by innovative computing technologies.

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Lavi Miednik, salesman at Systematics, said that the company's software helps cities in Israel in many ways, like dealing better with disasters or emergencies and even preventing them from happening in the first place.?

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The company helps municipalities analyze and understand better the data gathered about cities and their residents. Sometimes combining information from different sources and showing it in visual form makes all the difference.?

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It was one of the first major conferences in Israel since the COVID-19 outbreak. Just fully vaccinated participants, including with booster shots, could enter the event without testing by presenting proof of vaccination or recovery in the past half-year. Enditem

(Nick Kolyohin)

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