Seoul Smart City Prize 2026 is Now Open for Applications

[Seoul, February 13, 2026] — The Seoul Smart City Prize 2026 has opened online applications and invites cities, corporations, institutions, and individuals worldwide to present initiatives shaping the cities of tomorrow. Winners will be recognized at a prestigious ceremony at Seoul’s COEX Convention and Exhibition Center during Seoul Smart Life Week (SLW) on October 6th, 2026 showcasing leading smart city projects that promote smarter and more inclusive urban futures.

Now in its 4th year, the Seoul Smart City Prize continues to distinguish itself by recognizing efforts across diverse stages of smart city development, infrastructure capacities, and resource contexts. Its criteria and indicators are designed to reflect current smart city trends while emphasizing innovative applications of existing solutions, not just cutting-edge technologies. The Prize places strong emphasis on digital inclusion and human-centered digital transformation, highlighting technology-driven initiatives that support vulnerable populations and promote equitable and sustainable urban growth.

In 2025, top winners across the Tech-InnovaCity, Human-CentriCity, Leadership, and Special Mention categories included the cities of Dubai, Prague, Alexandria, Rabat, Fullerton, and Cali. More than 200 submissions were received from 115 cities across 52 countries, spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America, and Oceania.

The Gold Prize in Human-CentriCity was awarded to Prague, Czech Republic earned for its smart city project called “Innovation Management”, a strategic service developed for the City of Prague by its municipal company Operator ICT (OICT). Its core mission is to respond to the evolving needs of the city and its residents by designing and supporting innovative solutions that align with Prague’s vision of a sustainable, inclusive, and smart urban environment.

The Gold Prize in Tech-InnovaCity was awarded to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, recognized for its “AI-Powered Food Safety Ecosystem” launched by Dubai Municipality, is a six-year digital transformation project to unify and modernize Dubai’s food safety management systems. By integrating legacy platforms into a single ecosystem with real-time data, generative AI tools, and user-friendly interfaces, it streamlines compliance, enhances public health, and ensures long-term operational efficiency and regulatory innovation.

In the Leadership Prize category, Mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder was awarded for Cali’s  smart city strategy in tackling inequality, weak digital infrastructure, and growing demands for transparency. The city introduced data-driven management systems, AI-powered legal tools, and a public investment monitoring platform to improve services and build citizen trust. Expanded public WiFi, smart lighting, and the Science, Art, and Technology Center also promote digital inclusion and youth education while supporting cultural and creative innovation.

Another winner of the Leadership prize, Mayor of Fullerton, Fred Jung launched the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA), giving local communities control over clean energy procurement. In just two years, OCPA has cut 2 billion pounds of carbon emissions, equal to taking 220,000 gas-powered cars off the road. This bold initiative has made Fullerton a regional leader in climate resilience and sustainable energy innovation.

The Corporation Prize under Tecn-InnovaCity went to Aramco. City Brain is a platform that seamlessly integrates the power of GenAI and Digital Twin to transform the way cities manage their facilities and services. It provides autonomous operations while enhancing citizen experiences. 

Special Mention was also awarded in collaboration with key partners of WeGO, such as SEMI and New York Climate Exchange (NYCE). WeGO Smart City Index prize went to Rabat. SEMI awarded the prize to a Korean company, iSEN Inc. and NYCE awarded the city of Alexandria.

For the Seoul Smart City Prize winners can gain benefits such as,  

• Joining a network of Seoul Prize winners for a diverse range of opportunities for engagement
• Being invited as semi-finalists or finalists to the following year’s Prize ceremony and events. This year to the Seoul Smart Life Week (SLW) where they are provided with exhibition booths, tour programs, and invitations to present their project
• The opportunity to participate in a peer to peer learning program hosted in Seoul
• For selected winners of the Seoul Smart City Prize, may be granted an opportunity to implement a smart city project, including assistance to conduct pre-feasibility studies with financial support

The Seoul Smart City International Cooperation Program 2024, one of the key follow-up initiatives offered as a benefit to winners of the Seoul Smart City Prize has successfully concluded its 2024 project cycle with the City of São Paulo. Jointly implemented by WeGO, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the Seoul Urban Solutions Agency (SUSA), the program serves as a tangible reward for Seoul Smart City Prize winners, enabling them to further develop and scale their award-winning concepts through pre-feasibility studies, pilot projects, and long-term sustainability planning. 

The 2024-cycle of the program supported São Paulo in enhancing its Accessible Service Network Map (ASNM)—a platform designed to improve public accessibility and inclusive urban services. The initiative delivered a comprehensive analysis, database upgrade, and a strategic roadmap to strengthen accessibility and public service delivery across the city. As a continuing legacy of the Seoul Smart City Prize, the program aims to help cities worldwide scale up innovative solutions and foster global cooperation in building smarter, more inclusive, and sustainable communities. To mark the project’s successful completion, a delegation of WeGO, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and SUSA visited São Paulo from April 21–25, 2025, for a series of strategic meetings and a Final Dissemination Seminar, reaffirming São Paulo’s strong commitment to advancing equitable and human-centric urban innovation.

The Seoul Smart City International Cooperation Program 2025, one of the benefits provided as one of the 2024 winners of the Seoul Smart City Prize, Addis Ababa, was selected for receiving support for a project called “Operational Study and Implementation Support for the City Action Lab (CAL-Addis): Establishing a Fully Functional, Data-Driven Decision-Making Hub”. The project’s goal is to develop a prototype of the Mayor’s Dashboard and establish a long-term roadmap for integrated data governance. The dashboard includes analysis of current systems, benchmarks Seoul’s practices, and has the design of institutional frameworks required for sustainable dashboard development and expansion. 

This year, 42 semi-finalists will be invited to attend the Seoul Smart City Prize Ceremony held on October 6th, 2026 in Seoul, which honors excellence and leadership in smart city innovation. Among them, 21 outstanding participants will be selected as winners and formally recognized for their remarkable achievements and contributions to shaping the future of smart cities.

About WeGO

The World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO), is a membership-based international association of local governments, smart tech solution providers, and institutions committed to the transformation of cities into smart sustainable cities through facilitating public-private partnerships (PPP). WeGO was founded by 50 member cities in 2010 as the World e-Governments Organization, hence our acronym. In response to the evolving concept of smart cities, WeGO expanded its vision and mandate at the 4th General Assembly (2017) and its name to the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization. WeGO’s Secretariat is based in Seoul, Korea, and has regional offices in East Asia (Chengdu, China), Africa (Abuja, Nigeria), Middle East & North Africa (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), Latin America (Cuenca, Ecuador), and Central Asia (Almaty, Kazakhstan). As the leading platform on smart city development, WeGO’s mission is to share knowledge and good practices in e-Governance; strengthen administrative efficiency and transparency; advance digital capacity; facilitate civic involvement; bridge the digital divide and inequality; and promote cooperation solidarity among cities and local governments around the world.

WeGO serves for its members as their international platform to improve the quality of life, innovate in the delivery of public services, and strengthen regional competitiveness.

Press Contact:
Name:  Junho Jeong
E-mail: j.jeong@we-gov.org
Phone: +82-70-4202-9169