Tucson's Atelier Tomorrow Inc. Is a Finalist In Amazon's “City on a Cloud Innovation Challenge”

TUCSON, Ariz. - Oct. 18, 2015 - PRLog -- TUCSON (October 19, 2015) – Atelier Tomorrow Inc. (ATI), an Arizona nonprofit corporation headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, has been chosen a finalist in Amazon's “City on a Cloud Innovation Challenge.” The City on a Cloud Innovation Challenge recognizes local and regional governments, and system developers, that are innovating for the benefit of citizens using the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud.

ATI is an umbrella nonprofit corporation hosting several public-benefit projects involving technology, organization, and citizen participation. The projects will create and maintain networks of cooperating communities and individuals, resulting in a human infrastructure supportive of urban and regional development. Ultimately, these networks will encourage citizen engagement and even co-governance in collaboration with local governments and public institutions (like universities) to form urban and regional innovation platforms, bedrocks of political will, economic growth, and social and cultural development.

First among ATI's projects and the proposal that earned it finalist status in the City on a Cloud competition in the “Dream Big!” Award category, is Smart Citizens Pima|Baja Arizona (SCPBA). This competition is for conceptual projects that can benefit by use of the AWS Cloud. SCPBA, a “citizen exchange”based on novel technology and social organizations, will create and connect “action clusters” in Pima County and other southern Arizona communities, enabling their residents to overcome the geographical isolation that might otherwise prevent them from participating in the making of regional public policy and its implementation. In addition, communities and their residents will be empowered to develop local goals and initiatives that formal governments may not be able to manage on their own.

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The synergies that result will radically enlarge the scope and success of development in Pima County, its various local municipalities and jurisdictions, and other participating entities in southern Arizona (colloquially known as “Baja Arizona”).

“This is an auspicious beginning for Atelier Tomorrow,” said Dr. Robert Jacobson, co-founder and chairman of the new company. “Pima County's Administrator Chuck Huckelberry has referred to Smart Citizens as 'infinite democracy,' a concept I heartily champion. Our team greatly appreciates these endorsements from Mr. Huckelberry and from the City on a Cloud Innovative Challenge. We're proud to be in the company of the other finalists, each of them quite impressive.”

ATI, now in fundraising and planning mode, will begin open, citizen-driven planning of the Smart Citizens exchange in early 2016. Initial SCPBA operations could begin in spring or summer 2016.

“I would like to extend my congratulations to ATI and all the City on a Cloud Innovation Challenge finalists,” said Teresa Carlson, Vice President Worldwide Public Sector, Amazon Web Services, Inc. “This competition highlights the many ways that state, local, and regional governments are becoming hubs of technological innovation around the world. These finalists are a great example of how the cloud is delivering the next generation of citizen services and making the business of government more efficient.”

For more information about ATI and Smart Citizens, contact: Dr. Robert Jacobson, Chairman:

• Mobile: 520-370-1259 (also text)
• Email: robert.jacobson@atelier-tomorrow.com
• Skype: bob.jacobson (with a dot)
• Twitter: @Robert_Jacobson.