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- GSIA Chairman Keynotes at Safe City Summit in Mexico City
Mexico City, Mexico (Nov, 26, 2014):Global Security Industry Alliance(GSIA) chairman and founder, Mr. Richard Chace was invited by Huawei® to give a keynote speech on the latest developments in the realm of public safety on Latin American Safe City Summit 2014.
Founded in 1987, Huawei® is a world-leading networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. As in any modern city endeavor, the primary requirement is public safety, Huawei® has focused its attention on this field of endeavor and is now equipped with a broad ICT technology portfolio and extensive experience in architecting Safe City. This summit is an event during which guests have an opportunity to interact with the world’s leading Safe City experts and experience the latest technologies which are transforming the Safe City field and advancing the livelihood of the entire region.
Mr. Chace began his speech by pointing out the interconnected risks and threats facing our contemporary society, ranging from financial to environmental issues. He noted that local risks are not literally confined to a limited area at all and instead some of them may even extend to a broader scope, bringing about some deep and negative impacts on the well-being of the urban areas. He also suggested that one of the main factors for these risks is a lopsided dependence on financial prosperity that has led to an unsustainable financial system and social and economic inequalities.
Mr. Chace then provided examples of certain technology and policy drivers in the global security and safe city markets. He cited that the video surveillance, intruder alarms and access control are three main lines of products in security market and accounted for 52%, 26% and 22% of the world sales respectively in 2013 according to Memoori Ltd. He also predicted that global infrastructure investment, with highest concentrations in both Latin American and China, will be likely to increase over the next 10 to 20 years, reaching to a total of 30 trillion US dollars in the next 20 years.
Meanwhile, as Chace added, investments to safety and security are increasingly focused on ways we can capitalize on networked systems. Such sample approaches include video surveillance systems use with SMART grid systems in the USA and with the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems. Behind all of these systems, wireless technology, IP network technology, video surveillance systems and the security management software are acting as the cornerstones.
Mr. Chace continued his speech by looking at the critical role that cities are playing in the evolution of society. Thus he drew a conclusion that a “safe city” is the foundation for the development and prosperity of people. However, prosperity is not a restricted idea but should be a shared and interconnected value. Mr. Chace, by citing the definition of prosperity from UN-Habitat, proposed that prosperity is 5-spoke wheel, with a hub where the local urban power functions and solves problems most efficiently.
But Mr. Chace also noted that the downside with the urban development is that most global cities are expanding discontinuously in a scattered and low-intensity form, a form that is unsustainable. As for the Latin American cities, Mr. Chace has noticed that the main boost for the population is migration, which accounted for 50% in the past 5 years. Mr. Chace believed that Latin American cities’ immediate priority is to create new jobs and improve the living conditions and transport infrastructure.
In pointing out case studies, Mr. Chace explored the urbanization and city developments in China, an emerging market that is similar to most of the Latin American countries. China has invested US$ 2.1 billion to its “Peaceful – Safe Cities” project and 38 cities have participated in it. This project is seeking to strengthen the police through technologies such as the video surveillance. To better design and test public safety systems, China used major and world events that spotlighted the need for improved information and communications technologies and new management methods.
Nearing the conclusion, Mr. Chace illustrated some of the technologies for a safe and prosperous city. For all these new sciences and technologies, Information Communications Technology (ICT) is a must. Besides, HD technology will provide more detailed onsite information for more accurate analysis; the mobile network system can ensure the complete and real-time network coverage.
Concluding, Mr. Chace told all the audiences that we all own a little piece of this world and we need to be good stewards for our children and there is no better place where we can work to change the world than in our own cities and communities.
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About GSIA: "Thinking Locally - Acting Globally." The Global Security Industry Alliance (GSIA) is an Alliance designed to unite the global security community around the principles of fairness, honesty, innovation, sharing, open communication, and "win-win" strategic cooperation. Since 2009, the GSIA has been guided by a charter, originally signed by representatives of 30 international security trade groups, societies and law enforcement organizations from 25 different countries, which promotes the building and maintaining of an international resource network dedicated to the advancement of fair international trade policies, support of beneficial trade exhibitions and conference programs, development of education and certification programs, identification and development of accurate market research, and support of technology standards and best practices for the global security community. Please visit the GSIA website at www.GSIAlliance.com.
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