New Cities Summit 2013 North Texas Mayors lead Delegation to São Paulo, June 4-6

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1 Press Release For release, May 31 at Noon, CDT Contact: Marina Bradbury, New Cities Summit 2013 North Texas Mayors lead Delegation to São Paulo, June 4-6 The Honorable Mike Rawlings, Mayor of Dallas, to speak in a plenary session dedicated to the role of arts, culture and entertainment in global cities The Honorable Betsy Price, Mayor of Fort Worth, confirmed as Summit participant In total, 25 Texan delegates to attend the New Cities Summit the leading international event for the future of the urban world Dallas, Texas May 31, The New Cities Foundation today announced that Mayor Mike Rawlings of Dallas, Texas and Mayor Betsy Price of Fort Worth, Texas will lead a delegation of 25 Texan urban leaders and experts to the New Cities Summit in São Paulo next week on June 4-6. The New Cities Summit is the leading annual event dedicated to the future of the urban world. The theme of this year s event will be The Human City, placing the individual at the center of discussions on the city of tomorrow. Mayor Rawlings will participate in one of the New Cities Summit s prestigious plenary discussions, entitled PLAY. This session will explore the role of entertainment, art and culture in building more human cities, and will be led by Simon Kuper, leading columnist for the Financial Times newspaper. Other participants include Carolina Toha, Mayor of Santiago de Chile; Li Hu, Founder and Principal of OPEN Architecture, China; and renowned Brazilian chef Alex Atala. John Rossant, Chairman of the New Cities Foundation, said: It s fantastic to see such a strong delegation of Texan leaders joining us in São Paulo to discuss the most pressing challenges and key opportunities we face in our rapidly urbanizing world. We look

2 forward to listening to Mayor Mike Rawlings share his perspective on the importance of culture in building human cities, given that Dallas has such a rich, vibrant cultural scene with its famous Arts District at its center. Mayor Rawlings said: I am honored to represent the state of Texas at the New Cities Foundation s 2013 New Cities Summit and to be joined by such an esteemed group of Texas urban leaders. Art and culture is central to the vitality of our cities and I look forward to dialoguing with and hearing insights from other experts around the world about the role of the arts in urban life. Mayor Price said: North Texas is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country and for good reasons. Dynamic, forward-thinking leadership and successful partnerships keep us in the running to attract growing industries, and help each of the partners in the Metroplex identify the vital issues and critical challenges that come with growing our region and our cities responsibly and intelligently. The group of Texan delegates attending the New Cities Summit represents a spectrum of industries, including city governance and economic development, arts and design, and travel and tourism. These include: Mayor Price, Mayor of Fort Worth; Maxwell L. Anderson, Eugene McDermott Director Dallas Museum of Art and Chair of the Dallas Arts District; Jim Crites, Executive Vice President of Operations, and Phil Ritter, Executive Vice President of Government and Stakeholder Affairs, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport; and James Oberwetter, President and CEO, Dallas Regional Chamber; among others. An invitation-only event, the New Cities Summit will gather some 700 of the world s most progressive urban thinkers, innovators and decision-makers, who come together for three days of action-oriented debate, information sharing and problem solving on the future of our rapidly developing cities and global urban culture. The speaker program comprises leaders who have the power to effect positive change in their cities, including Fernando Haddad, Mayor of the City of Sao Paulo, Brazil; Ashwin Mahesh, Innovator and Public Policy Researcher, National Institute of Advanced Studies, India; CEO, Mapunity; Editor, India Together and Alessandra Orofino, Co-founder and General Manager

3 Purpose Brazil. Other eminent speakers include Saskia Sassen, Professor at Columbia University; and Daniel Libeskind, the world-renowned architect and Trustee of the New Cities Foundation. In total, 93 speakers are confirmed to lead discussions and debate. The event will take place in the OCA Pavilion and Auditorio Ibirapuéra, two iconic buildings designed by renowned Brazilian architect, the late Oscar Niemeyer, located in the beautiful Ibirapuéra Park in the heart of São Paulo. The full list of speakers can be found at Summit website: Ends International press contact: Marina Bradbury Communications & Media Relations Manager New Cities Foundation

4 About the New Cities Foundation The New Cities Foundation is a leading global platform for innovation and high-level exchange on the future of the urban world. Working to create more dynamic, sustainable, just and creative cities with a special focus on rapidly urbanizing regions, the Foundation fosters urban innovations and new partnerships among government, business, the research community and civil society. The New Cities Foundation hosts a number of leadership events on cities including its flagship event, the New Cities Summit, and other leadership events worldwide. This year s New Cities Summit will take place in São Paulo, Brazil from June 4-6, 2013 around the theme The Human City. In parallel, the Foundation s research wing, the Urban (co)lab, manages a number of applied urban research projects including NCF Task Forces and thought leadership activities. On May 8, 2013, The New Cities Foundation launched the first results from a major Task Force on E-health in Rio de Janeiro. In December 2012, the Foundation launched findings of a Task Force on Connected Commuting in San Jose, California. An independent, non-profit organization, the New Cities Foundation was created in 2010 and is financed by its corporate members. Overall, its members include some of the most forward-thinking companies, universities, cities and city organizations around the world. The New Cities Foundation s founding members are Cisco, Ericsson and GE. The Foundation is based in Geneva with offices in Paris, New York and Rio de Janeiro. Facebook: /NewCitiesFoundation About the City of Dallas The City of Dallas employs approximately 13,000 and has an annual budget of nearly $US 3 billion. As the ninth-largest city and part of the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the nation, Dallas covers approximately 343 square miles and has a population of 1,223,229. The ultra-modern and sophisticated city attracts worldwide travelers, making the area the number one visitor and leisure destination in Texas. Dallas boasts the largest urban arts district in the nation and has more than 13 entertainment districts. It is the ideal place to discover the latest, greatest, and most innovative partnerships and attractions.

5 About the City of Fort Worth Fort Worth, incorporated in 1873, is located in Tarrant, Denton, Parker and Wise counties. The city covers approximately 350 square miles and serves a population of 777,810, making it the 16 th largest city in the United States. Services provided by the city include public safety, municipal courts, housing and economic development, planning and development, engineering, street maintenance, traffic control, code compliance, parks operation and maintenance, recreation, library services, public events, and general administrative services. Fort Worth was named an All-America City in 2011, 1993 and About the Texan delegation attending the New Cities Summit A select list of Texan participants at the New Cities Summit includes: Jim Crites EVP Operations Mary Jo Polidore VP Public Affairs The Honorable Besty Price Mayor of Fort Worth City of Fort Worth The Honorary Mike Rawlings Mayor of Dallas City of Dallas Phil Ritter EVP Government and Stakeholder Affairs Kim Testa Director of Communications and Public Relations Bernice Washington President and CEO BJW Consulting Group, LLC (management, leadership, sales force development) Board Member

6 Community Partners Maxwell L. Anderson Eugene McDermott Director Dallas Museum of Art Anne Bergeron Associate Director of External Affairs Dallas Museum of Art David Berzina EVP Economic Development Fort Worth Chamber Brent Brown Founder bcworkshop (community design nonprofit) Sarah Carabias-Rush Managing Director, Economic Development Dallas Regional Chamber Catherine Cuellar Executive Director Dallas Arts District Beth Huddleston EVP, Dallas Chief of Protocol World Affairs Council James Oberwetter President and CEO Dallas Regional Chamber Merianne Roth VP Marketing and Communications Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau Lillana Rivera Director of Tourism Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau

7 Dr. Gail Thomas Founder Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture James R. Waite, Esq. Attorney at Law Winters & Waite, LLC