Urban planning event Global City opens in Abu Dhabi

Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court and Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development (ADCED), Global City welcomes more than 100 leading international experts as speakers and forum participants, with leaders from 40 world cities in attendance.

In his opening address for the fourth edition of this international event, H.E. Mohamed Rashed Al Hameli, Senior Advisor to ADCED, stated that Global City had "found its natural home".

He told delegates:

"Abu Dhabi is evolving steadily into a global city in spirit and substance to emerge as a truly unique place. In this journey, we are grateful for the opportunity to leverage the best talent, resources and ideas that will be pooled together, over today and tomorrow, during this Global City."

Global City is organised by Reed Exhibitions Middle East as a knowledge gathering, networking and business platform dedicated to mayors, urban planners, decision-makers and leaders. Reed launched the event in 2005 in Cannes, France, and the second and third editions were held in Lyon in 2006 and 2007. The organisers decided to move Global City to Abu Dhabi this year in recognition of the capital's inspiring record in the event's key themes of sustainability, progress and strategy.

"In Abu Dhabi, we are proud of the role we are playing as a global city, of how citizens from the four corners of the world work and live together in harmony," said H.E. Ahmed Mohammed Al Shareef, Undersecretary of the Department of Municipal Affairs, in his address. "Together, we are building the future and establishing Abu Dhabi as one of the world's leading cities."

As he welcomed delegates, Frédéric Theux, President of Reed Exhibitions Middle East, emphasised the role cities have to play in the current economic climate.

"Cities have never been so important," he said. "Over half the world's population lives in cities. They are going to be instrumental in shaping our future."

Mr Theux's address was followed by a keynote speech by Richard Florida, Professor of Business and Creativity at the University of Toronto and author of the award-winning book, The Rise of the Creative Class.

In his discourse, Prof. Florida outlined the importance of human creativity within economics, and how industry is changing to reflect this. "The key to understanding our time is to know that wealth and knowledge come from our latent creativity," he said. "It's the economic engine of our age."

Following the keynote speech, a Mayors' Panel of international civic leaders shared their vision on the factors for success for a city in 10 years compared to those for 100 years.

Patrick Devedjian, Minister reporting to the French Prime Minister and responsible for France's economic stimulus plan, looked at business districts, which he said were "the key players for cities of the future".
Meanwhile, Ra Jin Gu, Vice Mayor of Seoul, discussed ways his city had become "a clean and attractive global city" through its emphasis on the environment, culture and "welcoming visitors and tourists".

"Attractiveness makes a city competitive," he said. "This can be done through culture, like our Dongdaemoon Design Plaza and Park, and the Seoul Design Olympiad."

"Overall, our global strategy is to make Seoul a city that touches the heart of visitors," he added.

Other speakers comprised Chen Gang, Vice-mayor of Beijing; H.E. Falah Al Ahbabi, General Manager of the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council; Jason Hu, Mayor of Taichung City; Cllr. Jenny Dawe, who is leader of Edinburgh City Council; Dr. J.M. Phatak, Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai; Michel Destot, the Mayor of Grenoble and Paul Bevan, Secretary General of Eurocities.

Global City will continue for two days, during which time delegates and panellists will continue to debate a comprehensive range of subjects concerning cities around the world.