World Cities Summit Mayors Forum and Young Leaders Symposium

May 17, 2017

The World Cities Summit (WCS) Mayors Forum and WCS Young Leaders Symposium are held at Kempinski Hotel Suzhou, in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, from 17 to 19 May 2017.

Singapore’s Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance Mr Lawrence Wong will serve as Chairman of the Forum, and will lead the Opening and Closing Plenaries on 18 and 19 May 2017. The host city will be represented by Suzhou City Acting Mayor Mr Li Yaping.

Key Highlights

The WCS Mayors Forum, a key feature of the World Cities Summit, was initiated by Singapore in 2010 in response to the urgent need for cities to come together to address pressing urban challenges. Organised by Singapore’s Centre for Liveable Cities and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, it has since become one of the most important platforms for Mayors and city leaders to share best practices, as well as to generate new insights, ideas and solutions that can be applied to many cities. From 32 mayors in 2010, this year’s – the 8th edition of the WCS Mayors Forum – expects over 60 mayors from cities across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the Oceania, as well as close to 50 senior leaders from the industry and international organisations, to attend.

WCS Mayors Forum is held in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China – the 2014 Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Laureate. Suzhou was awarded for its outstanding achievements over the past two decades in balancing rapid urban growth with preservation of its historical and cultural core, and raising the quality of life for its residents. The Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize – a biennial international award launched in 2009, is named after Singapore’s first Prime Minister, Mr Lee, who was instrumental in developing Singapore into a distinctive, clean and green garden city within a few decades. Under his leadership, Singapore developed into a liveable city with a high quality living environment. Other Prize Laureates include Bilbao City Hall, Spain (2010), New York City, United States of America (2012) and Medellín, Colombia (2016).

The annual WCS Young Leaders Symposium, into its 4th edition this year, is another flagship event of the World Cities Summit. The event brings together a select group of close to 50 Young Leaders from diverse sectors who, through their work and achievements, are shaping the global urban agenda. This year, these leaders come together to discuss issues and launch initiatives on the topic of “Curating the City: Heritage and Culture”.

Theme and programme

Themed “Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Embracing the Future through Innovation and Collaboration”, the discussion at this year’s WCS Mayors Forum will include “Advancement and Challenges of Cities: Planning and Governance”, “Curating the City: Heritage and Culture”, “The Tenacity of a City: A Resilient and Sustainable Environment” and “Engines of Growth: Balancing Liveability with Growth”. These topics reflect the importance and priority city leaders should assign to in order to promote equity and increase opportunity across a range of urban issues. There are 12 speakers who will share their expertise and insights this year, including notable city leaders such as the Mayor of Fukuoka, Soichiro Takashima, the Councillor for Economic Development, Trade and Employment (Bilbao), Xabier Ochandiano, the Governor of Alexandria Dr Mohamed Sultan, and the Mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever. Interactive sessions amongst the mayors and young leaders will provide further opportunities for more in-depth discussions on these issues. The synopses of the four focal areas of presentations and discussion are provided in Annex A.

Other highlights of the programme include:

(i)         Site visits that will provide the mayors and city leaders first-hand perspectives on how policies and ideas have been implemented successfully in the city of Suzhou and give them a behind-the-scenes look at real issues while providing practical learning experiences. These specially designed learning journeys include Tiger Hill, Suzhou Museum, Humble Administrator’s Garden, and Ping Jiang Historic District.

(ii)        Cities Exhibition will showcase city projects from Singapore and Suzhou. Both cities, which celebrated 20 years of collaboration in 2014, have proven their abilities to adapt to rapidly changing global trends, and improve the lives of their residents. Their efforts and progress will be reflected in short films, and their planning systems will also be highlighted at the exhibition. Also on showcase will be City Portraits, a digital exhibition profiling attending cities, as well as innovative projects in these cities that aim to benefit their citizens.

For more details on the programme and the line-up of speakers, please visit http://www.worldcitiessummit.com.sg/mayorsforum.

Commemorative postage stamp postcard

To commemorate the convening of the World Cities Summit, the Suzhou Post has made a special application to the China National Philatelic Corporation for the issuance of a commemorative postage stamp postcard for the 8th WCS Mayors Forum. The commemorative postage stamp postcard will be launched on 18 May 2017 - the opening day of the Forum - to increase awareness and influence of the World Cities Summit among the public.