Emerging Asia and Africa: Hybrid Future City Summit Annual Meet 2020 Concluded with Moonshot Ecosystem for Future Jobs and Affordable Urban Digitization
- The 5th Annual Meet was themed “Global Post-Pandemic Recovery” with series of thought-leadership dialogues with influential figures such as Stephen Phillips of InvestHK, Petrider Paul(Tanzania) of African Union Youth Advisory Council, Tita Larasati(Indonesia) of Indonesia Creative Cities Network, Retnam Shanmuga of ASEAN Smart Cities Network, along with multiple side sessions.
- Panels were also attended and spoken by thought leaders such as Dr. Winnie Law, Deputy Director and Principal Lecturer at the Centre for Civil Society and Governance of The University of Hong Kong, William Chiu, Head of Future Skills and Corporate Sustainability, Asia Pacific at HSBC, Richard Hsu, Professor of Practice at Tongji University School of Design and Innovation and Dr. Eric Li, Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia.
- Local communities (MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node and Dream Impact) in 2 districts in Hong Kong: Kwun Tong and Sham Shui Po and 5 cities in emerging Asia presented their latest innovative and digital urban development plans with the representatives of World Bank IFC, G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance(World Economic Forum) and ASEAN Smart Cities Network E-Forum(Private Sector Committee) in the Planning For Good Cities Roadshow. The 5 cities are Manila City(District III), Ella & Arugam Bay of Sri Lanka, Denpasar, Bandung and West Nusa Tenggara Province of Indonesia.
- The City of Manila was nominated to participate in the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance. Their local government is exploring the use of a digital twin simulation model with a Singapore-based engineering-as-a-service company, to be showcased in the upcoming World Economic Forum in May next year.
- The ‘Tech For Good Cities’ Roadshow featured 15 selected technology startups of the following verticals: Urban Tech, Digital Financial Inclusion, Human Capital and Well-being. Panelists included 24 committees of investors and ecosystems including Hong Kong well-known venture capital firms and family offices such as Tsangs Group, Beyond Ventures, Gobi Partners China, AngelHub, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park(HKSTP) Ventures, Cyberport Hong Kong and Shark Tank Thailand.
- In the spirit of goodwill and exploring avenues of deeper collaboration for urban innovation, the Good City Foundation forged a partnership with the Development Authority of Sri Lanka and UK-based MG Group.
- Good City Foundation entered into a formal partnership agreement with the development of the Ministry of Finance in Cambodia, Khmer Enterprise. The partnership aims to build a greater urban tech ecosystem and create startup launchpad pipelines to co-invest in profitable ventures.
- A Hong Kong-focus future workforce Policy Interest Group(PIG) and stakeholder focus group was formed by the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme Scholars Association(HKSESSA) to spend year-long policy research on skills adaptability of workforce, repositioning talent development in Hong Kong. The PIG will be in collaboration with local leading policy think tanks, HKSAR government employment and economic productivity units and concerned large enterprises.
- A global-scale moonshot ecosystem of 22 country members in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Middle East and Africa pledged at the closing of the 5th Annual Meet to bridge with members of Emerging Future Cities Network formed in 2018 and international high-level communities such as ASEAN Smart Cities Network and G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance. A 10-year agenda objective is set forth to impact 100 emerging cities of 500,000 population each through digital urban innovation, advanced public policy and governance entrepreneurship.
Hong Kong SAR, 16–17 December 2020, the 5th Annual Meet of hybrid Future City Summit was successfully held globally, with the giant studio in Cyberport Hong Kong, sponsored by InvestHK (Government Department of Foreign Direct Investment), Cyberport Hong Kong and Family Mask (top quality mask sponsor). The summit recorded over 390 nominated delegates from 49 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America with over 34,000 organic audience reach while streaming.
The Future City Summit Annual Meet 2020 was hosted by the Good City Foundation, a multilateral non-profit development organisation based in Hong Kong and Southeast Asian cities, founded in 2016, and co-hosted by 4 Hong Kong local communities: Dream Impact(DI), Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme Scholars Association(HKSESSA), Impact Circles(IC) and Global Solutions Foundation(GSF).
Focused on resilient cities, the theme for this year was aptly labelled “Global Post-Pandemic Recovery” with the agenda focused on four main pillars: Future Workforce, Urban Economics & Public Health Planning, Arts & Cultures and Sustainability & Energy. The Summit featured 15+ serial thought-leadership dialogues including Keynote Speeches, Master Classes, African / Asian Frontier Economic Outlooks and Panel Discussions that were jointly-curated with partners. For the first time ever, a digital experiential tour was hosted by a local pioneer community tour social enterprise “Kai Fong Tour” and Dream Impact of virtual destination Sham Shui Po, named one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world by the Time Out magazine.
To celebrate Future City Summit’s 5th anniversary, a global-scale moonshot ecosystem composed of 22 countries with members in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Middle East and Africa pledged at the closing ceremony to collaborate with members of Emerging Future Cities Network formed in 2018 and international high-level communities such as ASEAN Smart Cities Network and G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance. A 10-year agenda objective was then set forth to impact 100 emerging cities of 500,000 population each through digital urban innovation, advanced public policy and governance entrepreneurship.
The 5th Annual Meet was supported by a wide spectrum of stakeholders including African Union Youth Advisory Council, World Bank IFC, Global University Incubator, Generation T(Gen T) Asia, Yunus Environment Hub, YY Ventures, Golden Age Foundation, Hong Kong Social Enterprise Summit(SES), Independent Power Producers Forum(IPPF), Venturous Group, Aclan Pakistan, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology(Nepal Innovation Digital Network), Sustainable Finance Initiative, Generation Hong Kong, LAB.PH, Urbunx, PropTech Institute, Generation Hong Kong and production house DECT Production.
