5-min vid from MotM 2011 with theme and speaker highlights:
The 2011 Meeting of the Minds convened in Boulder (Colorado-USA) with Toyota as lead sponsor. 2011 Global Sponsors were Philips, Cisco and Deutsche Bank. Co-sponsors include the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, AT&T, HDR Inc., The Casey Foundation, Jones Lang LaSalle, Silicon Valley Bank, Bryan Cave LLP, RASEI and Golder Associates. 2011 organizers were the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the Regional Plan Association and the Urban Age Institute. Other partners include Next American City Magazine, ReNew Canada, Urban Land Institute, New York Academy of Sciences, and Smart+Connected Communities Institute.
Who’s Coming: The 2011 Meeting convened more than 200 leaders from a dozen countries to explore a rich variety of smart design, planning, policy and technology innovations that enable cities/regions to respond to increasingly complex challenges. Boulder’s international reputation in sustainability provided the backdrop for the core theme of this year’s Meeting: innovative approaches that help to accelerate the transition toward post-carbon metropolitan regions.
Why They’re Coming: Each year’s Meeting is a premier leadership summit focused on the tools that sustainable cities are actively using. For two days, participants from the public, NGO, and private sectors engage in a lively discussion on how to “connect the dots” across key sectors: building systems, energy and water resources, mobility, and finance.
Underpinning the 2011 discussion was a growing imperative to make sense of the complex interplay between natural ecosystems and human infrastructure systems. The 2011 Meeting will look at how urban/regional decisions have become inextricably linked, and what elements of cross-sector partnership are critical for successful solutions.
Why Boulder: Boulder was chosen as the local host because of its history of sustainable city planning which dates back to the 1950s when the city began managing development and preserving open space. Since then, the city’s many innovations in integrated planning, energy management, and alternative transportation have kept it at the forefront of addressing environmental and human needs in an integrated way. The region’s numerous national laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, as well as the presence of the University of Colorado Boulder, the city’s entrepreneurial spirit and strong clusters in cleantech products and services, also contribute to make this a unique backdrop for the 2011 Meeting.
Real-Time Access via Telepresence: Real-time access to the program was broadened for the first time. The 2011 Meeting featured live on-site Telepresence videoconferencing to connect the Boulder event with locations around the globe.
Join the Meeting via Webcast: Cisco webcasted to thousands gathered around a website designed and developed by the Smart+Connected Communities Institute. The webcasting site used both by a wide universe of interested colleagues and partners. The 2011 Meeting webcast (with both live and post-event downloads) was also accessible through the Smart+Connected Communities Institute portal. Make your reservations to view the live webcast for free here: https://www.ciscofeedback.vovici.com/se.ashx?s=6A5348A7049F6C18
Hotel reservations should be made for the nights of September 21 and 22. The St. Julien Hotel is now officially sold out. If you are one of the late registrants and still need a room, you can reserve a room at the Boulderado down the street from the St. Julien Hotel. We do not have a block set aside but you can make reservations online here: http://www.boulderado.com/
For conference questions: Please contact Jessie Feller, Regional Plan Association at 415-735-6686 or via email at jfeller@rpa.org for questions related to the program, press, speakers, moderators, sponsors, etc.
For hotel and transportation questions: any concerns or questions related to St. Julien Hotel registration, transportation to and from the airport or specific questions about visiting Boulder, please contact Kristi Audette at 303-530-0742 or via email at kaudette@executivevents.com
There are no registration refunds starting September 1, 2011.
Additional Information
Follow Meeting of the Minds 2011 on twitter:
#MeetoftheMinds
Pre-Conference Tours
St. Julien Hotel Environmental Initiatives
