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4 June 2010
Over 50 Leading International Mayors and Governors to Attend
Inaugural World Mayors’ Forum at WCS 2010
Other event highlights include the Ministerial Dialogue
and specialist Expert Panel Sessions
1 The second biennial World Cities Summit (WCS) 2010 will play host to a large number of mayors and governors from cities around the world, including several award winning municipalities. More than 25 ministers and 45 mayors and governors will attend WCS 2010, which comprises key components such as the World Mayors’ Forum, a Ministerial Dialogue, Expert Panel Sessions, and Learning Journeys. 2 The inaugural World Mayors’ Forum, which will be held on 30 June 2010, is positioned as a new and strategic platform for leading mayors and governors around the world to gather to share best practices and suggest solutions that are scaleable, practical, and replicable, in a common effort to build liveable cities and foster harmonious communities. 3 Organised as a key WCS component under the theme “Cities as Growth Engines in a Post-Crisis World”, the World Mayors’ Forum will also explore the role of leadership and good governance in urban development, especially as economies emerge from the global financial crisis. It will also examine how cities can develop in a more sustainable and environmentally responsible manner. Diverse Representation of Mayors and Governors 4 The World Mayors’ Forum, which will be moderated by Mr Mah Bow Tan, Singapore’s Minister for National Development, will see a gathering of mayors and governors from cities with good practices in urban planning and management. Among the confirmed speakers are:
5 The World Mayors’ Forum aims to build on the strong attendance of mayors and governors at the first World Cities Summit in 2008, which attracted nearly 50 mayors and governors from diverse cities such as Bogota in Colombia, Melbourne in Australia, Wellington in New Zealand, and Yokohama in Japan, representing a combined population of over 20 million people. 6 Mr Andrew Tan, Chairman of WCS 2010, said, "Mayors and governors are in a powerful position to influence the development of their cities. Around the world, we are already seeing what local action can do in terms of transforming cities into more liveable and sustainable communities.” Mr Tan is also the Director of the Centre for Liveable Cities and concurrently, the CEO of Singapore’s National Environment Agency. “The World Mayors’ Forum provides a timely, high-level and peer-to-peer forum for cities to exchange their best practices and share their experiences. Singapore is pleased to play its part in facilitating such a global dialogue among cities." 7 At the same time, a separate Ministerial Dialogue, titled “Leading the Change: Building Liveable and Vibrant Cities”, will be organised as well. To be moderated by Ms Grace Fu, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, this Ministerial Dialogue comprises 10 speakers from emerging countries and cities, and will discuss the vision for a liveable and vibrant city, as well as the priorities of a country or city given the recent economic crisis. The speakers include Mr Jaime Lerner, the noted former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil and Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Minister of Regional Development, Poland. Sharing of Best Practices and Expertise8 Some of the mayoral officials participating at the World Mayors’ Forum will speak at various Expert Panel Sessions at WCS 2010. They include Mr Guy Lauwers, Vice Mayor, City of Antwerp, Belgium and Mr Bob Harvey, Mayor of Waitakere City, New Zealand. These sessions will also feature leading speakers, such as Ricky Burdett, Professor of Urban Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Dr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary, UN Convention on Biological Diversity, who will discuss with policy makers and industry experts the challenges faced by cities around the world and their solutions. These issues are related to city planning, competitive economy, cities’ biodiversity, environmental sustainability, and financing of municipal infrastructure. 9 Another component of WCS 2010 which facilitates the sharing of best practices and expertise in urban development and management is the Learning Journeys. Comprising six distinct visits (spanning City Planning, the Built Environment, Public Housing, Waste and Resource Management, Urban Biodiversity Conservation, and Marine Aquaculture) to different parts of the island-city, the Learning Journeys offer international delegates opportunities to visit and understand the works of Singapore public agencies. They also provide insights into Singapore’s latest and key city developments, achievements in universal design, public housing, ecological offshore landfill, nature and conservation, and tropical marine aquaculture. The Learning Journey sites include The Pinnacle@Duxton, Marina Bay Sands, the Southern Ridges, and Chek Jawa Wetlands @ Pulau Ubin. 10 “The challenges that cities face are best confronted through not just the partnership of citizens, the public and private sectors, but also through the collaboration between governments at the national and local levels. Mayors, governors and their peers in local governments have a direct and unique role in managing many of the urban challenges we now face, from the provision of healthcare to the conservation of our environment,” said Mr Tan. XXXXXXXXXX
For media queries, please contact: Lance John /Kate Mclennan Goh Chian Hao About the World Cities Summit 2010 To be held at Suntec City between 28 June and 1 July 2010, WCS 2010 will bring together over a thousand distinguished delegates to confer on issues relating to leadership and governance, the building of sustainable and eco-friendly cities, and the fostering of harmonious and sustainable communities. Now in its second run, the Summit aims to serve as a leading platform for global cities to identify practical, scaleable and replicable solutions to the urban challenges of today and tomorrow. Visit us at www.worldcities.com.sg. About the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) About the Civil Service College (CSC) Through creating a service-wide environment for dialogue, knowledge-sharing and learning, CSC enables public officers from diverse backgrounds to share perspectives and build a common ethos. CSC offers practitioner-focused programmes and services to help the Singapore Public Service grow its policy-making, leadership and management, and public administration capacity. On the global front, CSC’s engagements with a series of international partners make it a one-stop learning institution for overseas participants interested in the Singapore governance model, with customised training programmes and workshops conducted both in Singapore and abroad.
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