7/6/2014 Programs & Speakers « German Marshall Fund of the United States

http://www.gmfus.org/build/programs-speakers/ 1/5

Programs

Home | About GMF | Pressroom | Support GMF | Contact Us Search GMF Search

HomePartners & Sponsors Bilbao Venues Travel & Stay City Activities News

Programs & Speakers

PROGRAMS & SPEAKERSBUILD brings together urban leaders to share insights into how to lead cities in a global context. Each day begins by bringing all participants togetherfor dialogue about a key issue facing cities today, followed by afternoon workshops and site visits designed to translate the morning’s insights intoaction. The BUILD morning program begins with a scene setting presentation, followed by a moderated plenary conversation with leading transatlanticexperts, after which participants will come together for an interactive table top dialogue to further reflect on the day’s theme. During the afternoonparticipants break out into pre-selected groups to explore the strategies and tactics available to implement the ideas surfaced during the morning sessions.Throughout the day the BUILDConnect app will support additional engagement and offline dialogue via polling questions, word clouds, and othernetworking features.

AGENDAClick on any of the Exchange/Explore/Engage sessions for more information, including session details and speakers.

GMF - The German Marshall Fund of the United States -Strengthening Transatlantic CooperationDonateSign Up

RegionsExpertsGMF in the NewsResearch & AnalysisEventsMultimediaBlog

7/6/2014 Programs & Speakers « German Marshall Fund of the United States

http://www.gmfus.org/build/programs-speakers/ 2/5

Many U.S. and European cities are evolving as models of sustainable development, hubs of innovation, and catalysts for economic prosperity. However,shifting demographics, growing inequality, climate change, and fiscal austerity are forcing leaders to rethink their path towards transformative change.Thoughtful leadership, cross- sector collaboration, and meaningful civic engagement are key ingredients to enabling the people, places, and economiesof our cities to thrive. By combining strong leadership with grassroots civic innovations, today’s cities are forging new partnerships for prosperity. Themorning session will explore these dimensions of leading equitable and sustainable urban transformation. Hear from our speakers about their leadershipapproaches to creating a culture of change that puts big ideas into practice.

Setting the Scene:

Remarks by Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PolicyLink Plenary

Conversation with Transatlantic Experts:

Jarmo Eskelinen, CEO, Forum Virium HelsinkiMitchell Silver, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Park & RecreationRip Rapson, President, The Kresge FoundationAngela Glover Blackwell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PolicyLinkAlison Seabrooke, Chief Executive, The Community Development FoundationModerator: Andrew Tuck, Editor, Monocle

Table Top Dialogues

Build a transatlantic community of practice on this issue by discussing and debating the morning’s theme with your peers

Back to agenda overview

Explore. Walking the Line: Tensions in Urban Transformation

7/6/2014 Programs & Speakers « German Marshall Fund of the United States

http://www.gmfus.org/build/programs-speakers/ 3/5

In this Explore session, participants will examine the inherent tensions in urban transformation projects through an interactive discussion and a site visitto some of Bilbao’s signature projects. Whether monumental or incremental, urban transformation projects provoke certain tensions, such as balancingtransformative change with meaningful civic engagement or implementing aspirational sustainability goals with the reality of financial or regulatoryconstraints. This session will begin with a tour of key urban transformation sites within Bilbao, including Zorrozaurre Island, the latest major urbanrenewal project to commence in Bilbao. Following the tour, local leaders who have been involved in Bilbao’s transformation and participants willdiscuss and reflect on their own experiences in managing these tensions.

Back to agenda overview

Exchange. Igniting an Innovation Culture

What essential factors allow a city to innovate? What pushes some cities to become innovation incubators? Innovation may be defined as an approach tochange, a tool for growth, a product or a form of output, or an overall culture or mindset that enables citizens to forge new frontiers in their sector andthe urban environment itself. Discussants in this Exchange dialogue will consider the different lenses we might use to define and encourage innovationin an urban context. In small group discussions, participants will discuss the role of the private and public sectors in leading change, the ingredientsnecessary to foster innovation, and strategies to ensure innovation leads to equitable dividends for all citizens. . This session will aim to conclude with atransatlantic definition and set of recommendations on how best to pursue innovation in an urban context. Note: Participants are not required to attendthis session in order to participate in the Explore session on Day Two.

Back to agenda overview

Engage. Equity-Moving from Talk to Action

In this Engage session, participants will do a deep dive into the critical issue of equity. Economic, social, and demographic shifts in the United Statesand Europe are reshaping cities, often reinforcing gaps in educational attainment, public health, household wealth, income, and employment across racialand ethnic lines. These trends represent an opportunity and challenge for urban transformation leaders. Equity – just and fair inclusion – provides thepathway forward. In this workshop, led by PolicyLink, participants will explore the following questions:

How can an urban transformation leader become an ambassador for equity in their community?What tools are available for urban leaders to capture and utilize data to understand better the landscape of inequity in their community?What policy tools hold promise for addressing inequity and building a stronger economy by removing barriers to participation and prosperity?

During this session, participants will develop the leadership skills necessary to navigate the current economic and demographic shifts and to positiontheir cities and regions as leaders in an equitable and sustainable urban transformation approach. This approach includes all of the population, regardlessof income, race/ethnicity or immigration status. Participants will map out the resources, tools and networks that they can leverage to advance an agendafor their community that fosters economic inclusion and expands opportunity for all. This workshop is organized and delivered by PolicyLink, anational research and action institute advancing economic and social equity by Lifting Up What Works.®

Back to agenda overview

A comprehensive global engagement strategy allows cities to leverage successes achieved at the local level to capture new audiences and markets thatbolster the local economy. Day two of our program builds on yesterday’s theme of leading change within cities by exploring the key tenets of globalengagement and the strategies available to forge such connections. Speakers will discuss how to transcend the limits of locally-driven political agendasthat sometimes stifle the capacity to look outside of the city limits and obscure the fact that cities and metropolitan regions are the hubs of the globaleconomy. A globally engaged city can drive job creation and business development, reinforce local culture and identity, support innovation, and forgedurable ties to home countries for diaspora communities. Together participants will explore how strategies for international education, trade andtransportation infrastructure, sustainability, and immigrant inclusion ultimately impact local economic development and quality of life. Speakers willshare tactics and case studies that demonstrate how to advance leadership, business networks, and civic engagement to achieve greater globalengagement at a local level.

Setting the Scene: Remarks by Janet Lamkin, President, Bank of America, California

Plenary Conversation with Transatlantic Experts:

Mateu Hernandez, Executive Director, Barcelona GlobalJanet Lamkin, President, Bank of America, CaliforniaMei Ling Liem, Advisor to the Amsterdam City Board of Mayor and AldermenLeigh Moran, Senior Officer, Strategic Initiatives, Calvert FoundationDavid Howard, At-Large Council Member, Charlotte City CouncilModerator: Andrew Tuck, Editor, Monocle

Table Top Dialogues: Build a transatlantic community of practice on this issue by discussing and debating the morning’s theme with your peers

Back to agenda overview

Explore. Examining the DNA of Urban Innovation

Building on the findings about innovation from Day one, participants in this Explore site visit will next examine how innovation is incubated on theground. Participants will visit and tour Innobasque, the Basque Innovation Agency, a private not-for-profit organization created to coordinate and drive

7/6/2014 Programs & Speakers « German Marshall Fund of the United States

http://www.gmfus.org/build/programs-speakers/ 4/5

innovation across all sectors in the Euskadi region. Innobasque will provide the backdrop for a set of case studies presented by members of thisworkshop who represent different regions and industries. Discussants will share their insights on the DNA of urban innovation by lifting up commonstrategies, tactics, and setbacks they overcame to create a culture of innovation in their local communities. Participants will share different approaches toleading this change, methods of gaining consensus and buy-in within organizations, and tools for disseminating ideas and products across markets andregions. Participants will leave site visit with tangible ideas and strategies that may be used to drive innovation in their own organizations and cities.Note: Participants are not required to attend the Exchange session on Day one in order to participate in this session.

Back to agenda overview

Exchange: Who Will Lead Next? Transatlantic Cities and Talent Pipelines

Civic engagement among youth in both the U.S. and Northern Europe is reported to be at historic lows. The unemployment crisis, strongest in SouthernEurope, threatens to create a generation disconnected from substantive social and economic inclusion. In the U.S., challenges in educational attainmentand access to quality education continue to hamper workforce development and employment opportunities for youth, especially those from higherpoverty communities. The confluence of these trends poses a leadership challenge for the transatlantic community. Participants in this Exchangesession will explore strategies for strengthening civic leadership capacity on transatlantic and international issues to halt the decline of civic engagementwhich, over a prolonged period, could undermine the democratic process. Participants in this session will look at the following key questions:

What are current strategies for engaging youth across racial, ethnic, national, and socioeconomic lines and strengthening their civic engagement andleadership capacities?What best practices in the business, civil society, and political realms are truly making a difference?In an era of shifted demographics in the U.S. and Europe, how are we building competency in inclusive leadership?What strategies are most successful for engaging multiple stakeholders in the effort to recruit and retain leadership talent across all sectors that representsvaried viewpoints, age and ethnic backgrounds?

By taking part in this Exchange session, participants will deepen their understanding, gain new insights, and explore exciting and transferrable modelsfrom the United States and Europe.

Back to agenda overview

Engage: Think Different: Creating a City’s Global Brand

The challenges that cities face in attracting talent and tourists, appealing to new and expanding companies, and inspiring loyalty and engagement amongtheir inhabitants are not unlike those faced by businesses seeking to grow their customer base and market share. For both cities and businesses, the mostpowerful tool available to meet these challenges is their brand. Brands do far more than serve as a shortcut to understanding an entity’s positioning andvalue proposition. They also telegraph an emotional connection between the brand and its users. Just as the companies with the strongest brands boastthe most vocal fans and highest margins, cities with the strongest brands often attract the greatest talent, the most innovative businesses, and the mostenthusiastic tourists, ultimately helping cities extend their market leadership.

In this Engage workshop, we will look at the frameworks for creating a city’s global brand, and see how they are applied across several case studies tomeet various cities’ objectives. Brand planning experts from HUGE will then collaborate with participants to help them lay the foundation for polishingor re-imagining their own city’s global brand. Participants will leave the session understanding:

Why a well-established city brand is an essential component to a healthy economic development plan;How design and user experience can have a profound impact on a city’s desirability and positioning;What steps are necessary to identify a city’s real marketing challenge, unmet user needs and true brand capabilities; andWhy an advertising campaign for a city is not enough to establish or harvest a city brand identity.

This workshop is organized and delivered by HUGE, a full service digital agency headquartered in Brooklyn with offices worldwide.

Back to agenda overview

LATEST BUILD NEWS

The Local Perspective

May 16, 2014

In advance of BUILD, we’re asking locals in Bilbao to share their thoughts on Bilbao’s own transformation and to tell us more about the city they callhome.

7/6/2014 Programs & Speakers « German Marshall Fund of the United States

http://www.gmfus.org/build/programs-speakers/ 5/5

Lessons from Bilbao’s Transformation

April 29, 2014

How Bilbao's transformation stems from a comprehensive and long-term strategy

Bilbao’s global engagement and economic reach

April 22, 2014

How Bilbao shapes a unique and innovative branding strategy.

Issues | Regions | Experts | News & Analysis | Programs & Projects | Research & Analysis | Events | Grants & Fellowships

About GMF | Pressroom | Support GMF | Contact Us | Privacy Policy

© 2013, German Marshall Fund of the United States. All rights reserved.