Calgary,
16
May
2018
|
09:00
America/Denver

City of Calgary to Join Global City, Technology and Venture Capital Leaders at the Rockefeller Foundation’s CityXChange Summit

Summit aims to bring innovative ideas and fresh thinking to some of the world’s greatest urban challenges and lay the groundwork for cities and technology companies to better collaborate in the future.

Next week His Worship, Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Deputy Chief Resilience Officer, Christine Arthurs, will attend the Rockefeller Foundation’s CityXChange Summit, a program launched last year that brings together city leaders from around the globe with technology innovators to collaborate on solving tough urban resilience problems. The conference will bring together experts in government and technology to generate new approaches for solving the world’s greatest urban resilience issues and lead to better tech-city collaboration in the future.

“As we seek to become a more socially, economically, and environmentally resilient city, a summit like this is a significant opportunity to share, learn, and develop smart affordable housing solutions for Calgarians,” said Mayor Nenshi. “Of course, I won’t miss the chance to pitch Calgary as a place in which to invest and grow a business—a room filled with businesses looking to grow and venture capital is exactly the room I want to be in for Calgarians.”

All cities in attendance are members of 100 Resilient Cities, an organization pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation dedicated to helping cities build resilience to the social, economic and physical challenges of the 21st century.

“We’re convening this conference to help bridge the massive gap between what cities need to build resilience, and what tech entrepreneurs are currently providing,” said Michael Berkowitz, the President of 100 Resilient Cities. “By bridging the tech-city gap, we can unlock solutions that can improve the lives of millions – if not billions – of urban residents over the long term. By participating in this conference, Mayor Nenshi will not only lay the groundwork for better collaboration globally, he will help advance a key city challenge.”

The Summit, which takes place at The Rockefellers Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy from May 20-23, was created to provide a framework through which cities, startups, and venture capitalists can challenge each other to develop new models to work together and solve problems that will enhance public services and quality of life in urban centres.

Each participating city will present a specific challenge they would like the tech sector and urban resilience experts to help advance. Then over the course of the summit each city will work side-by-side with a cross-sector group of innovators and experts to explore potential solutions and opportunities for collaboration and partnership.

Mayor Nenshi will engage the tech community in understanding and brainstorming solutions for Calgary’s affordable housing, focusing on how technology can help ensure every Calgarian has a safe and affordable place to live. Participants will leave the Summit equipped with new relationships, new ideas around potential tech-driven solutions to a major priority area for the city, and a roadmap of best practices designed to help each city better utilize and adopt new technologies in support of resilience.

Background:

The City of Calgary was officially welcomed into The Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) Network in March 2017. The #ResilientYYC Agenda-Setting Workshop was held on March 3, 2017. The day-long workshop created an initial forum to discuss Urban Resilience and focused on identifying the stresses and shocks that will inform the development of a strategy for a more resilient Calgary and region.

The Mayor and Deputy Chief Resilience Officer are attending the conferences at the request and invitation of the Rockefeller Foundation, and all costs during the week are being paid by event organizers.

More on the Rockefeller Foundation can be found here, the CityXChange Summit 2017 Roadmap Report can be found here and more on 100 Resilient Cities can be found here. More information about Resilient Calgary can be found here.

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