The Regional Development Agency (ROM) is being set up. The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the Noord-Holland Noord region and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) have joined forces for this. During the last Council of Ministers before the summer recess, it was decided to send the proposal to establish the ROM to the Senate and House of Representatives. This means that the establishment of the ROM is moving forward.
During the first update on AMdEX, the initiators talk about the steps that have been taken to realize an infrastructure for data sharing. And also why it is important that more parties join. There are various options for this.
Reliable data sharing? The Amsterdam Data Exchange (AMdEX) supports collaborating organizations to take advantage of secure data marketplaces. Wouter Los, digital infrastructure consultant at the University of Amsterdam, is one of the initiators of AMdEX: 'If secure marketplaces for data are created, a lot will be possible with data that is now everywhere behind fences. Then, for example, the use of the Internet of Things can grow very quickly.'
Because of his sporting, economic and social commitment to Amsterdam and the region, and in particular to the Zuidoost district, Henk Markerink was awarded the Frans Banninck Cocq Medal. Deputy Mayor Victor Everhardt presented the award to the outgoing director of the ArenA on 30 June.
Alderwoman Digital City Touria Meliani presented Amsterdam's first Data Strategy this year. In this interview she explains why Amsterdam is committed to an inclusive digital city in which everyone has equal rights and opportunities. Striving for a society based on ethical values is a task that concerns everyone. She therefore invites Amsterdammers to monitor the impact of the Data Strategy and to sound the alarm if certain groups of citizens are disadvantaged by new ways of working digitally. She also calls on everyone to take part in this process.
No less than 90% of Dutch people use the internet every day. We all want to continue Netflixing, streaming music, zooming and apping. As a result, the amount of data used will grow – possibly up to twenty times as much by 2030. Ever-expanding data centers are already finding it increasingly difficult to integrate into the energy system and landscape. Critical materials are also becoming increasingly scarce.
In large parts of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, only zero-emission vehicles will be allowed to drive around. Working on a good charging infrastructure around logistics hubs, distribution centers and regional business parks is therefore crucial. At the seventh meetup about the Green Deal ZES, we saw what is already happening, but also what challenges still lie ahead. “Power is not the problem, capacity is.”
After seven years, Health Lead Jeroen Maas is leaving the Amsterdam Economic Board. Part of his legacy is a soon-to-be-released report that offers a clear roadmap to establishing a Health Data Infrastructure. Aiming to build a healthier future for the region’s citizens, the plan is backed by a diverse consortium. “This is really where the Board can continue to play a major role: bringing together all these very different parties, showing them the value of collaboration, and coaching them on how to best work together,” says Maas.
From next year, researchers from universities will be able to share their research data under their own conditions. For this they use the AMdEX application Research Data Exchange (RDX), which SURF and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) are currently developing.
Digital infrastructures have to deal with massive amounts of data. High bandwidth data transfers, affordable data plans, cloud migrations and the increasing popularity of streaming services mean data consumption is growing at unprecedented rates. While over the past few decades the energy efficiency of computing hardware has drastically improved and software performance and usability have become far more effective, they still cannot keep up with demand. The growing energy needs of ICT are especially important in the Netherlands - a prominent European 'data hub' distributed over a relatively small geographic area.
