• Global cities—levers for growth in a time of crisis

The  seventh  World  Investment  Conference  in  La  Baule  comes  at  a  critical  moment,  with  the  financial  crisis now spreading across the underlying economy and carrying with it the threat of social unrest. And as the G20 prepares to discuss the reform of financial institutions and the impetus to come from government stimulants, metropolitan  areas  continue  expanding—along  with  a  world  population  that  demographers  expect  to  reach nine billion.

Models for the global cities of the future will be a central theme at the 2009 World Investment Conference. On this occasion, architects David Fisher and Paul Andreu will present their visions of that future, while mayors and other leaders from the great cities of Europe and the world, including Paris, London, Sao Paulo, Turin, Austin and Dubai, will  be  on  hand  to  consider  new  sources  of  momentum  and  investment  growth  alongside  leading  international
investors such as General Electric, Siemens, Suez and Veolia. As Pierre Guénant and Patrick Gounelle see it, “the continuing dynamism of the world’s metropolitan areas offers a fundamental lever for growth in a time of crisis and, by the same token, for ending that crisis.”

• In the years from 2030 to 2050, cities will increasingly dominate our planet.

The demographic trends are unmistakeable—over the coming four decades, urban areas will account for 60 % to 80% of the world’s population. Big cities will play a critical role in regional competitiveness through their capacity to attract technology, talent and investment. As incubators for the growth of science and cultural cross-fertilization, they will define our civilizations even as they take new forms with the accelerating trend to urbanization.

The seventh World Investment Conference will be looking for answers to the questions this raises for a sustainable future  in  expanded  urban  areas,  and  looking  too,  for  the  new  approaches  needed  to  housing,  work,  education, entertainment and social relations in a broad sense.

Commenting on these themes, Hervé Le Bras, notes that “The new demographic dynamics we are now observing in cities, in particular population aging and migration, are already beginning to create major challenges for the future. Dealing with these challenges will demand multi-facetted responses evolving over time, with the inclusion of both economic and political solutions”.

For  his  part,  Francis  Bailly,  “At  GE,  we  see  it  as  essential  to  encourage intelligent use of energy in the 21st century. Which is why we are investing
every day in the technologies of the future—such as energy and water—that will help cities reduce carbon emissions and achieve their long-term goal of
protecting the environment”.
Finally, three related conferences running parallel to the World Investment Conference, will propose concrete initiatives for getting growth going again:

The 2nd Transatlantic Green Platform: “Global Cities, Global Growth”
Wednesday, June 3, 8.00 p.m. to Thursday, June 4, 19.30 pm
The Transatlantic Green Platform (TGP), which grew out of work by the Europe+ think tank, combines debates and proposals  with  a  business  convention.  Participants  include  academics,  global  corporations,  start-ups,  financial investors and political leaders from Europe and North America. The aim is to strengthen transatlantic cooperation in the field of environmental technology and renewable energy, and in so doing fuel the emergence of green growth.
The platform gives Europe a tool for building partnerships—today with the US, tomorrow with Canada, Brazil and Argentina—to position our businesses and researchers in this enormous market.

The 3rd Global Tech Showcase: “e-Cities, ICT”
Thursday, June 4, 8.30 a.m. to Friday, June 5, 11.30 a.m.
After two successful years that drew over 80 high-tech businesses from Silicon Valley—around half of which have since set up operations in Europe (example: Solfocus in Spain last year)—GTS will this year feature innovative Asian start-ups targeting Europe for growth. This business convention is aimed at making Europe a marketplace of choice for promising and innovative start-ups from around the world.

The 1st Brainpower Forum: “Smart People, Competitive Economy, Global Challenges”
Thursday, June 3 (2.45 pm-6.30 p.m.)
The new Brainpower Forum is dedicated to enhancing the efficiency of models for higher education and innovation in Europe, with a particular focus on developing links between business, research labs, and education. It will also compare the models major European universities use to attract top students, teachers and researchers, at a time when experts  point  to  a  looming  shortage  of  skills  by  the  year  2025. The  Brainpower  Forum  is  backed  by  the  European Commission and the French Ministry for Research and Higher Education.

The  Europe+   Foundation  is  an  independent platform  that  supplies  analytical  tools  and governance  guidance  to  promote  the  attractiveness  and  competitiveness  of  the  European Union,  its  Member  States  and  regions.  The Foundation’s  aim  is  to  take  the  conclusions  of  WIC  working  groups  further  and  ensure  follow-up  of  recommendations  addressed  to the  European  Commission  and  the  European Parliament,   as   well   as   to   governments and  Member  States.  “Europe+  is  a  dynamic  platform  founded  on  the  exchange  of  best practices,  the  diversity  of  its  members,  the multiplicity  of  its  experiences  and  public-private  partnership.
We  are  neither  a  lobby associated with particular interest groups, nor a  traditional  think  tank  working  on  general or   purely   theoretical   positions,”   remind the  two  Co-Chairmen  of  the  Foundation.  The high-level  think  tank  of  Europe+ gathers more  than  a  hundred  international  personalities drawn from the world of business, government and academia.

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