Join international town and urban leaders for a world first, taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland on June 16 and 16, 2016.
Organised by ATCM, BIDs Scotland, IDA and Scotland’s Towns Partnership, the World Towns Leadership Summit will discuss the evolving nature of civic governance and the changing economic drivers for successful place-making.
Across the world, the State is shrinking. Urgent action is essential if we are to make our places better. What are the new alliances and approaches we need to develop to achieve a strong competitive economy combined with a fairer, more equal society?
Discussing this will be the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, leading on what a fairer Scotland should look like in 2030 and how to make this vision a reality.
We will also hear from a range of internationally recognised leaders and thinkers including, Mayor George Ferguson, Bristol City Council, Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana, CEO, The Cape Town Partnership, Tina Saaby, Copenhagen’s City Architect, international economist Michael Shuman, and Michael Smith, Chair of the International Downtown Association.
A key result of the Summit will be the creation and signing of the World Towns Agreement: A Public-Private-Social Vision for Urban Centres – co-produced with the Academy of Urbanism, CLES, and Architecture and Design Scotland. A milestone in urban development for the 21st century, the Agreement will be shared worldwide to help influence international authorities and governments, and to drive forward a new vision of civic governance.