World Cities Expo Istanbul 2017, organized by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), is going to take place on May 15th to 18th at Haliç Congress Center Istanbul. As cities become "smart cities" in the 21st century, World Cities Expo Istanbul will bring ideas and experts at the forefront of this transformation together in Istanbul. However today, IBB announced the withdrawal of Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales’s invitation for the event, following Turkey's telecommunications watchdog banned access to Wikipedia on April 29, 2017.
The event will be held with the participation of pioneer institutions, organizations and countries from all over the world regarding Smart Cities to develop business, transfer the technology, exchange of know-how and experience between each other and by creating public awareness considering the new common need to expand smart city practices mainly to cities and citizens.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality announced that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales had been taken off the guest list for the upcoming event. "He had been informed of the decision," it said in a statement. The announcement came just days after internet users in Turkey were barred from accessing Wikipedia.org.
According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, the reason behind this action is Wikipedia’s failed respond to requests from Ankara to remove articles which it said promoted terrorism and linked Turkey to "terror groups."
The Wikimedia Foundation has appealed the Turkish court decision to block access to Wikipedia,the foundation stated that the access ban was against freedom of expression, calling the decision “disproportionate” as it blocked the whole platform.
World Cities Expo Istanbul 2017, with its strong content that focuses on different topics as; Digital Entrepreneurship, Urban Regeneration, IoT, Smart Vehicles, Information Technologies and Innovation, Energy, Environment, Social Participation, Cultural Life, Health solutions, Start-Ups, Security, Big Data and Data Analytics, will welcome c-levels and the future makers, opinion leaders of the sectors with over 10,000 trade visitors to explore an impressive exhibition environment, technology based experience zones, well-known speakers at the conferences and first-hand-synergy based networking experience.
For more information about the event visit, http://www.worldcitiesexpo.istanbul
