REGISTER NOW FOR THE 2009 WORLD INVESTMENT CONFERENCE

City development has become one of the greatest human challenges worldwide and offers a path beyond the present crisis to economic growth, innovative social solutions, and sustainable development...

International investors have turned resolutely towards big cities. Industrial companies, high-growth SMEs and financial investors find there the sources of innovation and growth: In 2030, according to forecasts, 60-80 per cent of the world’s population will live in urban areas.

Today, cities already produce 75 per cent of global added-value and nine innovations in ten. City development has become one of the greatest human challenges worldwide and offers a path beyond the present crisis to economic growth, innovative social solutions, and sustainable development.

Europe has to respond to this global challenge in order to develop the international attractiveness of its cities and make sure they remain the hot spots for business, culture and creativity.

To best address these topics, the 2009 WIC is changing, growing and renewing:

International: the 2009 WIC is turning more international than ever, with speakers and participants from more than 50 countries

Exclusive: the event is attended by the most listened global opinion leaders, coming especially to present their vision and experience of city development

Extending: the traditional high-level panel of global business leaders and European officials speakers is extending to Pritzker prize architects, world-known artists and philosophers, global and second city mayors from the five continents

The 2009 WIC is a 2-day event, with 3 plenary sessions and 7 workshops, attended by 1,000 global business leaders, innovative enterprises, architects, sociologists, policy makers, institutions and artists addressing the following strategic issues:

• What will a city be like in 2030?
• How do architects, sociologists, investors and city mayors foresee the “urban planet” 20 years from now?
• How do we control and manage the development of European cities?
• What investment opportunities will arise from these changes? What opportunities for services? What opportunities for technology?
• How can European cities differentiate themselves from rivals’ high-growth economies?
• What opportunities will there be for second-tier cities?
• City development: a new source of growth to recover from the current crisis?

The 2009 WIC will also host the exhibition “Picturing the city of our future” along themes including “create the city”, ”technicities” and “shoot the city”.

Further details at: http://www.labaulewic.org