Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, addressing last year’s Summit on the Global Agenda.

ICLEI joins Advisory Board for the Future of Urban Development Initiative

ICLEI Secretary General Konrad Otto-Zimmermann has been invited to join the Advisory Board for the World Economic Forum’s Future of Urban Development Initiative.

According to the World Economic Forum, “pre-eminent, multi-stakeholder thinking should be available to cities and private sector leaders as they strive to convert seemingly monumental challenges into opportunities.”

The Forum has therefore initiated a Future of Urban Development initiative, which will “leverage the leadership platform of the World Economic Forum to provide a neutral setting for mayors, ministers, the private sector, and experts to jointly think through the major urban challenges of the 21st century, and accelerate the transition towards innovative urban models. The initiative calls on thought leaders to develop a new multi-stakeholder model for interaction between cities, the private sector and experts; advance new models for
infrastructure, urban design, mobility and energy; and generate foresight so that cities and the private sector can position themselves for changing demographics.”

Advisory Board Members are thought leaders (including executives or strategy, research, sector or regional heads) from the private sector, the non-profit sector, academia, and multilateral organizations. These Members will support the goals of the initiative by providing provide ideas, knowledge, and strategic advice from the perspective of their industries and sectors in the Partner City engagement process.