News Room

          The second biennial World Cities Summit opens today with an impressive line-up of speakers from across the world and a comprehensive programme exceeding what was offered at the inaugural summit in 2008. WCS 2010, to be held from 28 June to 1 July, will see international ministers, mayors, and governors joining other senior officials, business leaders, industry professionals and policy experts for an important dialogue on issues of leadership and governance, the building of sustainable and eco-friendly cities, and the fostering of harmonious and sustainable communities.

2          The World Cities Summit will commence with plenary sessions dealing with cross-cutting issues around the interplay of people, technologies and markets. The four plenary sessions will focus on the role of leadership in building and managing sustainable cities; balancing economic and urban development with the needs of the environment; the conditions needed to foster inclusive and harmonious cities; and long-term visions to create liveable and sustainable cities.

3          This year’s Summit will also include the inaugural WCS Mayors’ Forum, a strategic platform for leading mayors and governors from around the world to gather to share best practices and suggest solutions to the pressing urban needs facing their cities. The WCS Mayors’ Forum will focus on solutions which are scaleable, practical, and replicable, in a common effort to build liveable cities and foster harmonious communities. Among the dignitaries expected at the WCS Mayors’ Forum are distinguished representatives from Tangshan, China, Melbourne, Australia, Lagos state, Nigeria, Freiburg, Germany, Phoenix, USA, and Malmo, Sweden.

4          Said Mr Andrew Tan, Chairman of WCS 2010, “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. The WCS Mayors’ Forum provides a timely, high-level and peer-to-peer forum for cities to exchange their best practices and share their experiences.”

5          At the same time, a Ministerial Dialogue will discuss the vision for a liveable and vibrant city, as well as the priorities of a country or city in light of the recent economic crisis. This ministerial dialogue gathers several past and present practitioners of governance, urban theorists and planners from around the world.

6          Another key highlight of the Summit will be the various events happening around the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize. The City Prize, created to provide a platform to highlight and celebrate urban solutions and to spur further innovation in the area of sustainable urban development and city excellence, will be conferred on the Bilbao City Hall, Spain, in recognition of its integrated and holistic approach to urban transformation. The Mayor of Bilbao, Mr Iñaki Azkuna, will deliver the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Lecture, while the recipients of Special Mentions – the City of Melbourne, Jaime Lerner, and Sheila Dikshit – will be participating in the Lee Kuan Yew World City Forum.

7          Complementing the plenary sessions will be a series of high-level specialist Expert Panel Sessions for government representatives, policy makers and specific industry experts to discuss the challenges and solutions faced by cities around the world in greater detail, covering areas of urban planning, infrastructure financing, public housing, built environments, waste management, climate change, and urban biodiversity.

8          Side by side with the Summit stands the World Cities Summit Expo, a new platform to showcase model cities and innovative urban solutions that enhance economic value while addressing environmental challenges. More than 50 exhibitors are expected to receive over 3,000 trade visitors at the Expo.

9          Another component of the World Cities Summit is the Learning Journeys programme, comprising six distinct site visits to different parts of Singapore. The Learning Journeys will showcase best practices of various Singapore public agencies, providing delegates with insights and hands-on experience into Singapore’s latest key city developments.

10        Meanwhile, various leading industry players have signed on as WCS Platinum Sponsors to contribute their solutions to the challenges of urban sustainability: Far East Organization, Veolia Environnement, Siemens, and IBM. For instance, Siemens will launch the findings of a global study on the impact Infocomm Technology has on city management , while IBM will be organizing a roundtable to discuss how cities can better compete in the new age of human capital intensive economy by optimising their systems.

11        WCS 2010 will be formally declared open on Monday evening, 28 Jun 2010, by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Mr Teo Chee Hean in a ceremony held jointly with the Singapore International Water Week, which is co-located with the World Cities Summit. Up to a thousand delegates and speakers are expected to attend the event, with many more projected to tour the WCS Expo.

12        WCS 2010 is jointly organised by the Centre for Liveable Cities and Singapore’s Civil Service College. As host nation for the Summit, Singapore is well placed to share its expertise in areas such as public housing, waste management, sustainable buildings, and urban greenery. Despite having one of the highest population densities in the world, Singapore is often rated as one of the world’s most liveable cities. Mercer’s 2010 Quality of Living survey recently identified the city-state as the highest-ranking Asian city among 221 cities globally.

For media queries, please contact:

Lance John / Fenix Wong
Edelman
Tel: +65-6733 1110
Email: lance.john@edelman.com; fenix.wong@edelman.com 

Goh Chian Hao / Chen Meihui
Ministry of National Development
Tel: +65-3106 7300 / 3106 7301
Email: goh_chian_hao@mnd.gov.sg; chen_meihui@mnd.gov.sg

About the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC)
The Centre for Liveable Cities is a thought centre on urban governance and management jointly established by the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. The Centre seeks to bring together Singapore’s expertise on sustainable urban development in the areas of good governance, urban planning, effective resource management, quality living environment, affordable housing and sustainable transport solutions. The Centre facilitates the sharing of knowledge and best practices among cities in the region and globally. Visit us at www.clc.org.sg.

About the Civil Service College (CSC)
The Civil Service College (CSC) is a statutory board under the Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore. Its mission is to develop people for a first-class Public Service.

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. Visit us at www.cscollege.gov.sg.