Waterloo chosen as 2007's intelligent community

The City of Waterloo has been selected as the 2007 Intelligent Community of the Year, an annual award presented by the New York City-based Intelligent Communities Forum (ICF). Waterloo was chosen for its ongoing achievements — particularly in the area of information and communications technology — and its nurturing of world class companies like Research in Motion Ltd. The role of business civic leaders in setting the stage for entrepreneurial success was cited. The Univ of Waterloo was singled out for its longstanding focus on technical skills training, intellectual property policy and role in establishing several major research institutes. Waterloo is home to several major ICT-based companies and has an extremely high Internet usage among the public and business. Last year's ICF community winner was Taipei, Taiwan.