2013 Chatham Forum
WCCP 2013 Chatham Forum featured big ideas and announcements
The World Class Cities Partnership (WCCP) hosted its annual Chatham Forum to make some big announcements and to highlight lessons learned from the group’s October Policy Exchange Mission to Lisbon and the Azores, Portugal: a Mission so successful and bonding that the Vice Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Lisbon joined the Chatham group for the weekend, following their time in Boston and Cambridge as the first participants in the WCCP’s Municipal Leadership Exchange Program.
2013 Chatham Forum panelists Bob Buckley, Manuel Salgado and Greg Bialecki
The Chatham Forum began with an overview of the key takeaways from the October Mission to Portugal, including solutions to such urban challenges as eliminating high school dropout rates, promoting the innovative city, incentivizing the private sector to achieve public sector priorities and increasing citizen engagement.
The first exciting announcement of the weekend occurred when Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson and Cambridge City Councilor Leland Cheung, in partnership with WCCP announced that they will be hosting an historic joint council hearing (the first held two years ago with Councilor Mike Ross of Boston) around the issue of talent attraction and retention covered in the upcoming release of WCCP’s “Talent Magnets” report.
A highlight of the weekend occurred when it was revealed that just hours earlier WCCP began facilitating trade talks between Ireland and Massachusetts and that confirmation had been received that delegates on the fall 2013 Policy Exchange Mission to Ireland will be having a special opportunity to meet with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. Finally, on the one-year anniversary of its inception at the 2012 Chatham Forum, AwesomeBoston.org launched to broadcast Greater Boston’s innovation economy success stories and to serve as a bridge connecting successful Massachusetts-based entrepreneurs and CEO’s with college campuses to share their stories and promote the benefits of doing business in our Commonwealth.
For the full article go to Boston.com’s Global Business Hub
In the Press:
Epcot meets The Jetsons: Futuristic city underway in Portugal
Boston and Lisbon: Putting the waterfront at the forefront
Lisbon: Rise of the entrepreneurial spirit
Videos from the 2013 Chatham Forum
