Skolkovo, Russia – May 16, 2012 –Skolkovo Foundation, an independent, non-governmental organisation with the mandate to transform Russia into an innovation-based economy, announces that it has become a member of the New Cities Foundation, a global not-for-profit platform for innovation and exchange on the future of urbanization. This partnership will support the city of Skolkovo’s aspiration to foster innovation and become, above all, an attractive place to live.

The city of Skolkovo, scheduled for completion in 2015, will span roughly 400-hectares and be home to approximately 26,000 people. It is expected that the city will become the workplace for over 30,000 people as commuters from the surrounding region join Skolkovo residents at the university and Technopark. The city’s master plan features a congress centre, state-of-the-art offices, research laboratories, apartment buildings, recreational facilities, a medical centre and retail stores. Housing will be situated close to residents’ workplaces, while particular attention will also be paid to parks and other public spaces.

The award-winning plan for the city of Skolkovo is the work of French design firm, AREP, in association with landscape architect, Michel Desvigne, and engineering firm, Setec. The design stands out for its organization of a series of interlinked clusters, which form ‘urban villages’. Each of these compact districts is being built on a series of natural terraces overlooking the valley of the Setun River. Residents will benefit from world-class infrastructure and facilities to ensure a creative work environment and an enjoyable lifestyle.

Skolkovo Foundation’s interest in the New Cities Foundation is indicative of the importance placed on the city as a central point of investment and focus in today’s society.  The development of new city projects, like Skolkovo, serves to assure a country’s economic viability and sustainability for the future through modernization and innovation. The city of Skolkovo represents an important trend around the globe, as countries and regions react to increasing pressure on the local economy brought on by exponential population growth, increasing unemployment, and a need for additional investment from outside resources.

“New cities serve as exciting experiments in urbanization, where innovation can be brought to life and tested in a real world setting,” said Mathieu Lefevre, New Cities Foundation, Executive Director.  “Skolkovo benefits from access to a high-level talent pool, a solid R&D culture and international support and investment, which will serve to support the success of this venture.”

“The New Cities Foundation works to bring together those at the forefront of developing urban environments to become more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. The exchange of ideas and expertise that it facilitates can greatly support our work to establish Skolkovo as the image of the city of the future,” stated Seda Pumpyanskaya, Vice President for International Relations and Communications. “We look forward to joining worldwide urban and business leaders at the New Cities Summit in May.”

About Skolkovo Foundation

The Russian Government has mandated the Skolkovo Foundation to help accelerate the transformation of Russia from a resource-intensive to an innovation-based economy through strategic partnerships with leading scientists and corporations (currently numbering over 400 companies and start ups).  The Foundation aims to strengthen the links between Russian and international science, technology, education, entrepreneurship and investment communities.  To achieve this objective it is overseeing the creation of the Skolkovo Innovation Centre composed of five R&D clusters, a Technopark, the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (a new graduate research university established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Skolkovo City, located near Moscow.  Together these entities will establish a vibrant eco-system of technological innovation and entrepreneurship.  The Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in May 2010 by the Russian Government with a grant of $5 billion.

For more information:  http://www.sk.ru/en/ or follow us on twitter @sk_en!

About New Cities Foundation

The New Cities Foundation is a global platform for innovation and exchange on the future of urbanization. NCF is guided by the principle that the unprecedented rate of urban growth that defines the 21st century represents a unique set of challenges as well as a chance to build more sustainable, vibrant, innovative and equitable communities in the developed and the emerging world.

NCF brings together members of local governments, corporations, research institutions, NGOs, entrepreneurs and creative industries to address the future of cities around the world. The Foundation manages a number of task forces with its members, testing new models, technologies and processes on key urban topics such as healthcare and mobility. The New Cities Summit is the centerpiece of the New Cities Foundation’s work. The first Summit will take place in Paris in May, 2012 and will gather approximately 800 public and private sector leaders. This invitation-only event, innovative in both content and form, will mix thought-provoking panels featuring some of the most recognized global urban leaders with innovation demos and interactive thematic workshops on specific issues such as mobility, Urban China, energy and finance – among others.

NCF is a Swiss non-profit based in Geneva with offices in Paris, New York and Rio de Janeiro whose members include GE, Cisco, Ericsson, Orange, GDF Suez, Citynove – Groupe Galeries Lafayette, the Ford Foundation, Metropolis, NYU, the SENSEable City lab at MIT, CITRIS, HEC Paris, the urban China Initiative, the Climate Group and others. Visit us at www.newcitiesfoundation.org

These three finalists will have the opportunity to present their app to a high-level audience comprised of mayors, CEOs , architects and researchers from around the world at the New Cities Summit, May 14-16, 2012 in Paris.  Each presentation will last 5 minutes in which each candidate will prove why their apps improve the urban experience by connecting people and making cities more fun, fair, vibrant and sustainable. The candidates will be judged by a hand selected jury comprised of tech and urban savvy authorities who will decide which app will get the 5000€ prize to support the next stages of development.   The winner will be announced at the Gala Dinner scheduled for May 15^th at the Grand Palais.

CarbonDiem shows travellers their carbon emissions in real time on their Smartphone. The app works in the background 24/7 detecting a user’s mode of transport and route, this information is then used to calculate the carbon emissions from the journey. Users can then see their emissions, and those of their friends, on a bright and simple interface, making it easy to understand the environmental impact of their travel and helping them make smart travel choices.  For more information: http://www.carbondiem.com/

City Gardens helps urban hikers, tourists, mothers, friends, and whoever might be looking for a green space to access pertinent information about the city’s parks, gardens, and squares. Location, opening and closing hours, closest metro and bus stations, possibility for a picnic, toilets, recommended age for children’s games, local history, points of interest, restaurants, etc.  All relevant information is combined with a geolocalisation feature allowing people to fully enjoy a moment with nature. For more information (in French): http://citygardens.idbis.com/

Paris-ci La Sortie alerts you to the nearest exits at every stop on the Metro or Tramway in order to assist you in getting you where you need to go simply and effectively. Waiting times and walking distances are greatly reduced allowing users to save the 2 or 5 minutes that they needed not to miss their next train or be late for an important appointment. It encourages mobility and helps citizens optimise their commuting times. For more information (in French): http://www.paris-cilasortiedumetro.fr/

划时代的峰会将全球关键的公共、民营、研究、城市规划和创意界人士聚到一起

瑞士日内瓦2012年4月18日消息 – 将于2012年5月14-16日在巴黎举办的新城市峰会将把全球的思想领导者、市长及城市管理者、知名的首席执行官们和民间社会代表汇聚在一起，共同商讨当今最重要的一个议题 — 21世纪城市的未来。

全球城市化是人类历史上最引人注目、最重要的人口现象之一。到2050年时全世界将会有70多亿人生活在城市。以中国这个世界高速城市化的地区作为例子，现在中国的城市人口正在快速地接近10亿，而目前还有其他快速城市化的地区，它们的发展，对自然、社会和经济的深刻变革有着强烈的需求。在全球范围内，新的城市世界将对发达国家和发展中国家的经济、政府、社会和个人产生巨大影响。这一大趋势很可能会以十分深刻的方式影响我们每个人，只是我们对这种方式尚未完全了解。

“高瞻远瞩 携手共建”是2012年新城市峰会的主题是，充分体现了新城市基金会的信念 — 即为了了解我们的城市未来并为之做出贡献，我们需要基于果敢的思维和分析的新合作伙伴关系。

由全球最杰出的城市思想家出席的高层全会关注的领域主要在以下方面：未来城市世界的愿景，主题工作坊将探讨交通运输、创意及相互关联的城市、注解城市、公平的城市、水资源等，同时也会探讨如何打造绿色地区和为城市基础设施融资等话题。地区专题会议将重点关注城市中国、拉美、印度和大巴黎。由领先的工业设计与工程公司青蛙设计（frog）主持的高度交互式会议“驾驭超城市”将管窥一个未来的城市 — 在这一城市中，不同的软件层构成了数字-实体环境的强大计算平台。

已确认的发言人和参会者包括来自各行业、公共领域、研究和设计界的领导者，如下：

•          贝特朗·德拉诺埃（Bertrand Delanoe），巴黎市长

•          卡西姆·里德（Kasim Reed），亚特兰大市市长

•          哈利法·萨勒（Khalifa Sall），达喀尔市长

•          卫翰思（Hans Vestberg），爱立信首席执行官

•          威兰珂（Wim Elfrink），思科公司执行副总裁

•          庄睿思（John Rice），通用电气副董事长

•          黛安娜·布雷迪（Diane Brady），《商业周刊》高级编辑兼内容主任

•          埃德温•希思科特（Edwin Heathcote），《金融时报》建筑师与设计评论家

•          丹尼尔·里伯斯金（Daniel Libeskind），建筑师

•          皮尔·蒙尚（Pierre Mongin），巴黎大众运输公司（RATP）首席执行官

•          法赫德·阿施德（Fahd Al Rasheed），阿卜杜拉国王经济城董事总经理兼首席执行官

•          让-查尔斯·德高（Jean-Charles Decaux），德高集团联席首席执行官

•          萨斯基亚·沙森（Saskia Sassen），哥伦比亚大学教授

•          欧雷戈·阿列克谢耶夫（Oleg Alexeev），斯科尔科沃基金会副总裁

•          里基·伯德特（Ricky Burdett），伦敦政治经济学院LSE Cities 中心主任

•          谢承祥，中国黄石市副市长

•          阿吉特·古拉布昌德（Ajit Gulabchand），印度斯坦建筑集团董事长

•          威维克·巴德林纳特（Vivek Badrinath），Orange Business Services首席执行官

•          帕拉格·可汗纳（Parag Khanna），新美洲基金会高级研究员

•          让·皮斯特（Jean Pistre），建筑师

•          詹姆斯·李（James Lee），iContinuum建筑师

•          杰弗里·韦斯特（Geoffrey West），圣塔菲研究所特聘教授

•          卡洛·拉提（Carlo Ratti），麻省理工学院感知实验室

•          安东尼·威廉姆斯（Anthony Williams），华盛顿特区原市长

•          罗宾·蔡斯（Robin Chase），Buzzcar首席执行官，Zipcar创办人

•          帕布罗·法里亚斯（Pablo Farias），福特基金会副总裁

•          张勤，中国住房和城乡建设部城乡规划司副司长

•          李东明，国家开发银行金融规划合作部的总经理

•          黛安·埃斯纳（Diann Eisnor），Waze副总裁

本届峰的举办尚属首次，吸引了全球顶级媒体集团，包括CNN、彭博、《商业周刊》、《金融时报》和新浪网。峰会合作伙伴包括城市领域的主要创新者，例如巴黎和上海玛格达·唐妮丝画廊的城市和街头艺术家、爱创家的社会创新者、杰出的新技术创新者和新兴企业，包括将在峰会上展示城市创新的Waze和Autolib。本届峰会也将审视新城市基金会在医疗和交通运输领域的尖端项目。

新城市基金会主席洛桑（John Rossant）表示：“我们仅处于了解全球城市化的影响的早期阶段。这是一个前所未有的大规模现象，将影响我们所有人的生活。新城市峰会是极为重要的，因为它是将各领域的杰出城市思想家和建设者汇聚到一起的唯一场所，它让全球对话都专注在城市上。从宏观愿景一直到具体的解决方案，我们希望本届峰会是一个分水岭式的事件。”

如需了解有关峰会的更多信息，请访问www.newcitiessummit2012.org

关于新城市基金会：新城市基金会是一个有关城市化未来的创新和交流的全球性平台。其主导原则是：21世纪所特有的前所未有的城市发展速度既带来了独特的挑战，也提供了在发达国家和发展中国家建设更可持续、富有活力、创新化和公平社会的机遇。

新城市基金会将当地政府、企业、研究机构、非政府组织、创业者和创意行业的成员汇聚在一起，共同探索全球城市的未来。新城市基金会与其成员一起管理着各种特别任务小组、检验有关医疗和交通运输等关键城市主题的新模式、技术和流程。新城市峰会是新城市基金会的核心工作之一。首届峰会将汇聚数以百计的公共、民间、学术和非盈利领域的领导者。这一仅凭邀请参加的活动将举办多场引人深思的专题对话，嘉宾包括全球最著名的城市领导者，同时将展示各种创新，并组织各种交互式主题工作坊。

新城市基金会是位于瑞士日内瓦的非盈利组织，在巴黎、纽约和里约热内卢设有办事处。成员包括通用电气公司、思科公司、爱立信、Orange（法国电信集团旗下企业）、法国燃气苏伊士集团、Citynove -老佛爷百货集团、福特基金会、阿卜杜拉国王经济城、青蛙设计、美国《大都市》杂志、纽约大学、美国麻省理工学院“感知城市”实验室、社会利益信息技术研究中心（CITRIS）、卡内基·梅隆大学、巴黎高等商学院、城市中国计划和气候组织等。请访问www.newcitiesfoundation.org

峰会将尤其关注创新和技术在改变城市未来的过程中所发挥的作用。

La transition d’une part toujours croissante de la population mondiale vers un mode de vie urbain est l’un des phénomènes démographiques les plus spectaculaires et significatifs de l’histoire de l’humanité. En 2050, la population des métropoles mondiales dépassera les 7 milliards d’habitants. La Chine atteindra très prochainement le milliard de citadins : l’Asie et les autres régions du monde qui font face à une rapide urbanisation, devront opérer une transformation radicale sur le plan social, politique, et économique. A l’échelle mondiale, dans les pays développés comme dans les pays émergents, cette nouvelle configuration urbaine aura un impact fondamental sur nos économies, nos gouvernements, notre environnement, nos sociétés et sur chacun d’entre nous. Nous commençons à peine à saisir l’ampleur de ce phénomène.

Thinking Ahead, Building Together. Le thème choisi pour la première édition du New Cities Summit reflète une conviction profonde de la New Cities Fondation : afin de saisir notre avenir urbain et d’y apporter des réponses adéquates, nous devrons forger des partenariats innovants fondés sur des réflexions et analyses novatrices et audacieuses.

Lors de ce Sommet, des discussions de haut niveau entre experts mondiaux des questions urbaines seront consacrées à la vision du monde urbain de demain, et des ateliers thématiques aborderont des sujets spécifiques: la mobilité, la ville créative et connectée, la ville annotée (à l’heure des réseaux sociaux), la ville équitable, l’eau, les technologies vertes et le bâtiment ainsi que les outils pour financer l’essor urbain. Des panels régionaux seront dédiés à la Chine, à l’Inde, ou encore au Grand Paris. Une session très interactive, « Navigating the Meta City », conçue et animée par l’agence de design et d’innovation frog, offrira un aperçu d’une ville futuriste où l’infrastructure numérique permet de vivre dans un univers de réalité augmentée.

Des  intervenants et des participants – dirigeants d’entreprises multinationales, maires et hauts fonctionnaires urbains, universitaires de renom, designers – ont d’ores et déjà confirmé leur présence :

• Fahd Al Rasheed, PDG, King Abdullah Economic City
• Oleg Alexeev, Vice-Président, Skolkovo Foundation
• Vivek Badrinath, PDG, Orange Business Services
• Robert Beugré Mambé, Gouverneur du District d’Abidjan
• Diane Brady, Rédactrice en chef de Businessweek
• Ricky Burdett, Directeur, LSE Cities
• Xie Chengxiang, Maire adjoint, Huangshi, République Populaire de Chine
• Jay Carson, PDG, C40 Cities
• Robin Chase, PDG, Buzzcar, Fondateur de Zipcar
• Jean-Charles Decaux, co-PDG, JCDecaux
• Bertrand Delanoë, Maire de Paris
• Paul Delaoutre, Directeur Général, Branche Grands Magasins, BHV, Galeries Lafayette
• Patrick Devedjian, Président, Conseil Général des Hauts-de-Seine
• Li Dongming, Directeur, Urban Fund, China Development Bank Capital
• Di-Ann Eisnor, Vice-Présidente, Waze
• Wim Elfrink, Vice-Président Exécutif, Cisco
• Pablo Farias, Vice-Président, Ford Foundation
• Clara Gaymard, Présidente, GE France
• Ulysse Gosset, Commentateur, Affaires Étrangères, BFM TV
• Ajit Gulabchand, Président, Hindustan Construction  Group
• Edwin Heathcote, Critique d’architecture et de design, Financial Times
• Ron Huldai, Maire de Tel Aviv
• Parag Khanna, Directeur de Recherche, New America Foundation
• Seifallah Lasram, Maire de Tunis
• Nathalie Leboucher, Vice-Présidente, Smart Cities, France Télécom – Orange
• James Lee, Architecte, iContinuum
• Partick Le Galès, Directeur de recherche, Sciences Po
• Daniel Libeskind, Architecte
• Pierre Mansat, Adjoint au Maire de Paris
• Gérard Mestrallet, PDG, GDF Suez
• Jean-Louis Missika, Adjoint au Maire de Paris
• Wolfgang Müller-Pietralla, Directeur de la Prospective, Volkswagen AG
• Jean Pistre, Architecte
• Zhang Qin, Directeur adjoint, Département d’urbanisme,  Ministère du Logement, République Populaire de Chine
• Carlo Ratti, SENSEable Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Kasim Reed, Maire d’Atlanta
• John Rice, Vice-Président, GE
• Gregor Robertson, Maire de Vancouver
• Khalifa Sall, Maire de Dakar
• Saskia Sassen, Professeur, Columbia University
• Christian Sautter, Adjoint au Maire de Paris
• Pierre Simon, Président, Paris – Ile de France Capitale Economique
• Hans Vestberg, PDG, Ericsson
• Vhils, Artiste
• Geoffrey West, Professeur émérite, Santa Fe Institute
• Anthony Williams, ancien Maire de Washington et professeur à Harvard

De grands médias internationaux sont déjà partenaires du Sommet : CNN, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, le Financial Times et Architecture d’Aujourd’hui. Le Sommet bénéficie également du soutien du monde de la création avec des représentants du street art en partenariat avec la Galerie Magda Danysz  de Paris et Shanghai, de spécialistes de l’entrepreneuriat social comme Ashoka, ou encore d’entreprises innovantes et start-ups telles que Waze, qui offriront des démonstrations pendant l’événement. Celui-ci mettra en lumière les projets urbains d’avant-garde de la New Cities Foundation dans les domaines de la santé et de la mobilité.

« Nous commençons tout juste à appréhender les conséquences de ce phénomène d’urbanisation mondiale » a déclaré John Rossant, le Président de la New Cities Foundation. « C’est un phénomène d’une ampleur sans précédent qui touchera chacun d’entre nous. Le New Cities Summit est d’une importance capitale car il est le seul événement qui rassemble les grands penseurs, spécialistes de questions urbaines et les bâtisseurs issus de secteurs divers et le seul capable d’orienter le débat mondial sur les enjeux urbains. En proposant autant une vision globale sur ces questions que des solutions concrètes, nous avons pour ambition de faire de ce Sommet un rendez-vous décisif. »

Nous vous invitons à consulter le site www.newcitiessummit2012.org pour obtenir des informations complémentaires sur le Sommet.

A propos de la New Cities Foundation

La New Cities Foundation est une plate-forme mondiale d’innovation et d’échange sur la ville de demain. La Fondation est convaincue que la forte croissance démographique urbaine qui caractérise le 21^è siècle représente à la fois des défis importants mais également une opportunité unique de construire des communautés urbaines plus durables, plus dynamiques, plus innovantes et plus équitables aussi bien dans les pays développés que dans les pays émergents.

La NCF réunit les représentants de gouvernements locaux, les grandes entreprises, les organismes de recherche, les entrepreneurs et les industries de la création pour aborder la question de l’avenir des villes dans le monde. La NCF pilote un certain nombre de groupes de travail avec ses membres, expérimentant de nouveaux modèles, technologies et procédés sur des thématiques clés comme  celles de la santé ou de la mobilité. Le New Cities Summit est la pierre angulaire des travaux de la New Cities Foundation : la première édition rassemblera des centaines de leaders et experts des secteurs privé et public, du monde universitaire et du secteur associatif. Cet événement sur invitation proposera à la fois des panels de haut niveau où figureront les plus grands experts des questions urbaines, ainsi que des démonstrations d’innovations et des ateliers thématiques interactifs.

La New Cities Foundation est un organisme suisse à but non lucratif basé à Genève et qui dispose de bureaux à Paris, New York et Rio de Janeiro. Elle a pour membres GE, Cisco, Ericsson, Orange, GDF Suez, Citynove – Groupe Galeries Lafayette, la Ford Foundation, King Abdullah Economic City, frog, Metropolis, NYU, the SENSEable City lab à MIT, CITRIS, Carnegie Mellon University, HEC Paris, Urban China Initiative, et le Climate Group entre autres. Pour de plus amples informations, vous pouvez nous rendre visite : www.newcitiesfoundation.org.

Pour toute question média, veuillez nous contacter par téléphone au +33 6 03 67 88 21 ou par e-mail à l’adresse électronique caroline.emmet@consultants.publicis.fr

Geneva, Switzerland – April 18, 2012 – The New Cities Summit, to be held on May 14 -16, 2012 in Paris, will unite global thought leaders, mayors and city managers, leading CEOs and representatives of civil society to discuss one of the most important topics of our time: the future of cities in the 21^st century.

The global shift from rural to urban living is one of the most dramatic and important demographic phenomena in human history. By 2050, more than 7 billion people will live in cities worldwide. In countries like China, which is rapidly approaching a billion city dwellers, and other parts of the world urbanization requires a profound physical, social and economic transformation. Globally, this new world of cities will have a massive impact on our economies, on government, on societies and on us as individuals in both the developed and the emerging world. This mega trend is likely to impact each one of us in ways that we know will be profound, but are not yet fully understood.

The theme of the 2012 New Cities Summit, Thinking Ahead, Building Together, reflects the New Cities Foundation’s belief that understanding and contributing to our urban future requires new partnerships built on bold, audacious thinking and analysis.

High-level plenaries featuring some of the world’s greatest urban thinkers will focus on the vision of tomorrow’s urban world, and detailed workshops deal with topics including mobility, the creative and connected city, the annotated city, the just city, water, building greener districts and infrastructure financing for the urban boom. Regional sessions will explore Urban China, Latin America and India as well as Greater Paris. “Navigating the Meta City” a highly-interactive session led by frog, a leading design and innovation firm, offers  a glimpse into a future city in which various layers of software constitute a powerful computing platform for hybrid digital-physical environments.

Confirmed speakers and participants include leaders from industry, the public sector, research, and design, among which:

• Fahd Al Rasheed, Managing Director and  CEO, King Abdullah Economic City
• Oleg Alexeev, Vice President of the Skolkovo Foundation
• Vivek Badrinath, CEO, Orange Business Services
• Robert Beugré Mambé, Governor of Abidjan
• Diane Brady, Senior Editor and Content Chief, Bloomberg Businessweek
• Ricky Burdett, Director, LSE Cities
• Xie Chengxiang, Deputy Mayor, Huangshi, People’s Republic of China
• Jay Carson, CEO, C40 Cities
• Jean-Charles Decaux, co-CEO, JCDecaux
• Robin Chase, CEO of Buzzcar, Founder of Zipcar
• Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, France
• Paul Delaoutre, CEO, Department Stores Division, BHV, Galeries Lafayette
• Li Dongming, Manager of the Urban Fund at China Development Bank Capital
• Di-Ann Eisnor, Vice President, Waze
• Wim Elfrink, Executive Vice President, Cisco
• Pablo Farias, Vice President, Ford Foundation
• Clara Gaymard, President, GE France
• Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman of the Hindustan Construction  Group
• Edwin Heathcote, Architect and Design Critic, Financial Times
• Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv, Israel
• Parag Khanna, Senior Research Fellow, New America Foundation
• Seifallah Lasram, Mayor of Tunis, Tunisia
• Nathalie Leboucher, Vice-President, Smart Cities, France Télécom – Orange
• James Lee, Architect, iContinuum
• Partick Le Galès, Professor, Sciences Po
• Daniel Libeskind, Architect
• Pierre Mansat, Deputy Mayor, Paris, France
• Gérard Mestrallet, CEO, GDF Suez
• Jean-Louis Missika, Deputy Mayor, Paris, France
• Wolfgang Mueller-Pietralla, Head of Future Affairs Volkswagen Group Research, Volkswagen
• Jean Pistre, Architect
• Zhang Qin, Deputy Director, Department of Urbanism,  Minister of Housing, People’s Republic of China
• Carlo Ratti, Director, SENSEable City Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta, United States of America
• John Rice, Vice Chairman, GE
• Gregor Robertson, Mayor of Vancouver, Canada
• Khalifa Sall, Mayor of Dakar, Senegal
• Saskia Sassen, Professor, Columbia University
• Christian Sautter, Deputy Mayor for Innovation,  Paris, France
• Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson
• Vhils, Artist
• Geoffrey West, Professor Emeritus and past President, Santa Fe Institute
• Anthony Williams, former Mayor of Washington, DC, United States of America

In its inaugural year, the Summit is attracting top-level media groups, including CNN, Bloomberg Businessweek, and the Financial Times.  The Summit’s partners also include key  innovators in the urban world, such as urban and street artists from the Magda Danysz Gallery in Paris and Shanghai, social innovators from Ashoka, great new technological innovators and start-ups  including Waze and Autolib’ who will give demos of their urban innovations at the Summit. The Summit will also examine the New Cities Foundation’s own cutting-edge projects in the areas of healthcare and mobility.

“We are only at the early stages of understanding the impact of global urbanization,” says John Rossant, Chairman of the New Cities Foundation. “This is a phenomenon of unprecedented scale that will affect all of our lives. The New Cities Summit is essential as it is the sole venue which brings together great urban thinkers and builders from a range of disciplines which focuses the global conversation on the city. From the big picture vision to the hands on solutions, we want this Summit to be a watershed event.”

To find out more about the Summit, please visit www.newcitiessummit2012.org

About the New Cities Foundation: The New Cities Foundation is a global platform for innovation and exchange on the future of urbanization. The NCF is guided by the principle that the unprecedented rate of urban growth that defines the 21st century represents a unique set of challenges as well as a chance to build more sustainable, vibrant, innovative and equitable communities in the developed and the emerging world.

The NCF brings together members of local governments, corporations, research institutions, NGOs, entrepreneurs and creative industries to address the future of cities around the world. The NCF manages a number of task forces with its members, testing new models, technologies and processes on key urban topics such as healthcare and mobility. The New Cities Summit is the centerpiece of the New Cities Foundation’s work. The first Summit will gather hundreds of public, private, academic and non-profit sector leaders. This invitation-only event will mix thought-provoking panels featuring some of the most recognized global urban leaders with innovation demos and interactive thematic workshops. The Summit will focus particularly on innovation and the role of technology in transforming our urban future.

NCF is a Swiss non-profit based in Geneva with offices in Paris, New York and Rio de Janeiro whose members include GE, Cisco, Ericsson, Orange, GDF Suez, Citynove – Groupe Galeries Lafayette, the Ford Foundation, King Abdullah Economic City, frog, Metropolis, NYU, the SENSEable City lab at MIT, CITRIS, Carnegie Mellon University, HEC Paris, the Urban China Initiative, the Climate Group and others. Visit us at www.newcitiesfoundation.org

Geneva, Switzerland – April 18, 2012 - New Cities Foundation, a global platform for innovation and exchange on the future of urbanization, welcomes Carnegie Mellon University, a premier research university, as its latest academic member. The partnership with NCF involves four of Carnegie Mellon’s university-based research institutes: Remaking Cities Institute (RCI), Traffic21Institute, Institute for Complex Engineered Systems, and the Pennsylvania Smarter Infrastructure Incubator.

The institutes, through the efforts of students and faculty, address a broad range of interests and industries in order to solve real world problems. The research projects run by the institutes have focused on topics such as lighting, traffic and infrastructure. The results of these studies have played an influential role in defining public policy at a state and national level. CMU’s work on issues pertaining to urban development continues to attract support from government agencies, foundations and corporate partners, which are also at the core of the NCF membership community.

“CMU clearly understands the importance of leveraging resources amongst multiple partners for the greater good,” stated Mathieu Lefevre, Executive Director, New Cities Foundation. “The four institutes that have joined NCF bring a depth of technical expertise and knowledge that undoubtedly enriches our growing network. We look forward to future collaborations that involve CMU and our other members in crafting further innovative initiatives.”

Carnegie Mellon and NCF’s partnership is based on a mutual understanding and a common goal towards sustainable urbanism. CMU and NCF will work closely to proactively promote and disseminate important news and research to their individual communities. CMU will also be given the opportunity to leverage its expertise to directly impact the development and direction of future NCF’s Task Forces, which bring together specialists in business, local government and academia. Driven by NCF Founding Members, the task forces’ goal is to produce innovation based on pilot projects conducted in real world settings that will shape future urban practices and policies.

“This a wonderful new partnership as the university works to help find solutions to continued infrastructure deterioration by using data-driven, intelligent automatic decision support tools,” said James H. Garrett, Jr., head of Carnegie Mellon’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and faculty co-director of the Pennsylvania Smart Infrastructure Incubator.
Senior Executives from CMU will be present at the New Cities Summit and will have the opportunity to engage with leading industry and public officials on latest developments in urbanization and key research being developed by CMU.
About Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a global research university with more than 11,000 students. About one-half of the students are graduate level and there are about 4,000 faculty and research professionals across its seven schools and colleges: Carnegie Institute of Technology, College of Fine Arts, College of Humanities and Social Sciences,Heinz College, Mellon College of Science, School of Computer Science and the Tepper School of Business.

About New Cities Foundation
The New Cities Foundation is a global platform for innovation and exchange on the future of urbanization. NCF is guided by the principle that the unprecedented rate of urban growth that defines the 21st century represents a unique set of challenges as well as a chance to build more sustainable, vibrant, innovative and equitable communities in the developed and the emerging world.

NCF brings together members of local governments, corporations, research institutions, NGOs, entrepreneurs and creative industries to address the future of cities around the world. The Foundation manages a number of task forces with its members, testing new models, technologies and processes on key urban topics such as healthcare and mobility. The New Cities Summit is the centerpiece of the New Cities Foundation’s work. The first Summit will take place in Paris in May, 2012 and will gather approximately 800 public and private sector leaders. This invitation-only event, innovative in both content and form, will mix thought-provoking panels featuring some of the most recognized global urban leaders with innovation demos and interactive thematic workshops on specific issues such as mobility, Urban China, energy and finance – among others.

NCF is a Swiss non-profit based in Geneva with offices in Paris, New York and Rio de Janeiro whose members include GE, Cisco, Ericsson, Orange, GDF Suez, Citynove – Groupe Galeries Lafayette, the Ford Foundation, Metropolis, NYU, the SENSEable City lab at MIT, CITRIS, HEC Paris, the urban China Initiative, the Climate Group and others. Visit us at www.newcitiesfoundation.org

Geneva, Switzerland – April 3, 2012 - New Cities Foundation, a global not-for-profit platform for innovation and exchange on the future of urbanization, announces the addition of  King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as its newest member. KAEC, one of the world’s most ambitious new urban projects and future home to 2 million residents, is part of the Kingdom’s on-going drive to expand and diversify its economy, create employment opportunities for its young population and attract foreign investment, global trade, commerce and industry.

NCF views King Abdullah Economic City as a critically important project since it is the first of its kind in the region and will serve as a model and catalyst for future smart cities across the world.  KAEC   is developed on innovative models of public-private partnerships which are is, in NCF’s opinion, a core building block for creating successful and sustainable future cities. KAEC can also  be an important laboratory for future cities because it will roll out new governance models, technologies and a new lifestyle which will influence the urban future in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and globally.

The partnership between NCF and KAEC will be highlighted at the New Cities Summit in Paris from 14-16 May 2012, where Fahd Al-Rasheed, Managing Director and CEO of KAEC, will be participating as a featured speaker.

“KAEC is one of the most ambitious and exciting urban projects anywhere,” Mathieu Lefevre, Executive Director of the New Cities Foundation. “It is particularly timely that KAEC joins the Foundation as we get ready to bring together global urban leaders for the New Cities Summit to shape tomorrow’s best urban practices.

“I am therefore delighted to welcome Fahd Al-Rasheed to our line-up of high-level speakers at the Summit in May.”

Adding his comments, Fahd Al-Rasheed, , said:  “KAEC emanated from King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s vision of a socio-economic transformation for Saudi Arabia’s citizens and residents alike, through the implementation of an ambitious diversification plan, that will lead to sustained economic development and quality of life improvement for the Kingdom’s citizens for generations to come.”

“KAEC is an innovative model of public private partnerships where the private sector undertakes the development as a whole and the public sector provides the right business environment to allow these investments to flourish.  As such, KAEC represents a key gateway for global companies to access markets in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the region, and we have been very successful at attracting some of the world’s best brands to the Economic City.”

“No expense is being spared to make KAEC a model for 21^st century urban development and we are delighted that, as a member of the New Cities Foundation, we can share our acquired experience and expertise with our peers and engage world class partners in developing this ambitious project,” he concluded.

About King Abdullah Economic City

• KAEC is one of the largest and most significant economic projects run by the private sector in the Middle East. The city is 168 million square meters of land to be developed into a fully integrated city. It consists of 6 main components: the seaport, the industrial valley, the education zone, the central business district, the residential area and the resorts.
• Economic Cities are a solid proof of the continuous efforts carried by the Saudi Government to support economic development and growth, as part of its aim to attract foreign investments and provide work opportunities for Saudi talents and encourage the foreign trade movement which in return will reflect with great benefit on various industrial, commercial and social domains in KSA.
• Economic Cities Authority (ECA) is the main body responsible for providing financial and managerial supervision of the Saudi Economic Cities Projects. ECA plays a huge role in facilitating all processes and procedures needed by investors in terms of government relations on a 24/7 basis.

www.kingabdullahcity.com

About New Cities Foundation
The New Cities Foundation is a global platform for innovation and exchange on the future of urbanization. NCF is guided by the principle that the unprecedented rate of urban growth that defines the 21st century represents a unique set of challenges as well as a chance to build more sustainable, vibrant, innovative and equitable communities in the developed and the emerging world. NCF brings together members of local governments, corporations, research institutions, NGOs, entrepreneurs and creative industries to address the future of cities around the world. The Foundation manages a number of task forces with its members, testing new models, technologies and processes on key urban topics such as healthcare and mobility.

The New Cities Summit is the centerpiece of the New Cities Foundation’s work. The first Summit will take place in Paris in May 2012 and will gather approximately 800 public and private sector leaders. This invitation-only event, innovative in both content and form, will mix thought-provoking panels featuring some of the most recognized global urban leaders with innovation demos and interactive thematic workshops on specific issues such as mobility, urban China, energy and finance – among others.

NCF is a Swiss non-profit based in Geneva with offices in Paris, New York and Rio de Janeiro whose members include GE, Cisco, Ericsson, Orange, GDF Suez, Citynove – Groupe Galeries Lafayette, the Ford Foundation, Metropolis, NYU, the SENSEable City Lab at MIT, CITRIS, HEC Paris, the Urban China Initiative, the Climate Group and others.

www.newcitiesfoundation.org

GENEVA/SAN FRANCISCO – March 20, 2012 – The New Cities Foundation (NCF), a global platform for innovation and exchange on the future of urbanization, announced today that frog, one of the world’s foremost design and innovation firms, has become its newest member.  With an interdisciplinary mix of 1,000 designers, strategists, and engineers, frog helps companies develop highly differentiated, user-friendly products and services. NCF’s rapidly-growing membership base includes GE, Cisco, Ericsson, Orange, GDF Suez, Citynove – Groupe Galeries Lafayette, the Ford Foundation, Metropolis, NYU, the SENSEable City Lab at MIT, CITRIS, HEC Paris, the Urban China Initiative, the Climate Group, and USC’s Annenberg Innovation Lab, among others.

The NCF/frog partnership will enable NCF to provide valuable insights to its community about the increasing importance of design, user experience, and connected ecosystems in the urban world. “The addition of frog to our membership is crucial to our mandate to develop a community of experts who come from a multitude of disciplines and who will all play an important role in developing the urban world and redefining the way we live going forward,” said Mathieu Lefevre, Executive Director, New Cities Foundation. “A user-centered and design-driven approach is crucial in cities as it determines the ease and efficiency of, for example, a city’s transportation system, services and the overall enjoyment and efficiency of the city itself.”

Doreen Lorenzo, President of frog, said: “The explosive rise of mobile devices, social computing, and ‘big data’ is fast changing how we live, work, and play. frog is poised to address the challenges and innovation opportunities in the Connected Cities of the future. As a member of the NCF, we are thrilled to engage with this community of experts and innovators to help shape and humanize the next urban revolution.”

The partnership will be highlighted at the upcoming New Cities Summit that will take place in Paris from May 14-16, 2012 with the theme Thinking Ahead, Building Together. Building on a recognized track record in organizing high-level global forums, the Summit aims to be the leading annual global forum on 21^st century urbanization. The event brings together together global thought leaders in technology, infrastructure, architecture, energy, transport, national and local government, the media, academia, and the non-profit sector from all regions of the world. Content-rich innovative keynotes and specialist panels with concrete examples of emerging best practices will help place the city on the global agenda.

At the Summit, frog will run an interactive session —  “Navigating the Meta City” — offering a glimpse into a future city in which various layers of software constitute a powerful computing platform for hybrid digital-physical environments.

About frog

frog works with the world’s leading companies, helping them to design, engineer, and bring to market meaningful products and services. With an interdisciplinary team of more than 1,000 designers, strategists, and software engineers, frog delivers connected experiences that span multiple technologies, platforms, and media. frog works across a broad spectrum of industries, including consumer electronics, telecommunications, healthcare, energy, automotive, media, entertainment, education, finance, retail, and fashion. Clients include Disney, GE, HP, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Siemens, and many other Fortune 500 brands. Founded in 1969, frog is headquartered in San Francisco, with locations in Amsterdam, Austin, Bangalore, Boston, Johannesburg, Kiev, Milan, Munich, New York, Seattle, Shanghai, and Vinnitsa. frog is a company of the Aricent Group, a global innovation and technology services firm. frog is a Global Growth Company member of the World Economic Forum.

www.frogdesign.com

About the New Cities Foundation

The New Cities Foundation is a global platform for innovation and exchange on the future of urbanization. NCF is guided by the principle that the unprecedented rate of urban growth that defines the 21st century represents a unique set of challenges as well as a chance to build more sustainable, vibrant, innovative and equitable communities in the developed and the emerging world. NCF brings together members of local governments, corporations, research institutions, NGOs, entrepreneurs and creative industries to address the future of cities around the world. The Foundation manages a number of task forces with its members, testing new models, technologies and processes on key urban topics such as healthcare and mobility.

The New Cities Summit is the centerpiece of the New Cities Foundation’s work. The first Summit will take place in Paris in May 2012 and will gather approximately 800 public and private sector leaders. This invitation-only event, innovative in both content and form, will mix thought-provoking panels featuring some of the most recognized global urban leaders with innovation demos and interactive thematic workshops on specific issues such as mobility, urban China, energy and finance – among others.

NCF is a Swiss non-profit based in Geneva with offices in Paris, New York and Rio de Janeiro whose members include GE, Cisco, Ericsson, Orange, GDF Suez, Citynove – Groupe Galeries Lafayette, the Ford Foundation, Metropolis, NYU, the SENSEable City Lab at MIT, CITRIS, HEC Paris, the Urban China Initiative, the Climate Group and others.

www.newcitiesfoundation.org

Organized by the New Cities Foundation
www.newcitiesfoundation.org

Apps make good cities great

Mobile Apps are the ultimate format that unleashes urban creativity – this is why the New Cities Foundation is launching the AppMyCity! prize. The prize will reward new mobile apps that improve the urban experience, connect people and make the city a more fun, fair, vibrant and sustainable place.

Who can apply?

Any mobile app that fits the following criteria:

1. Be Urban! Have a clear city focus in one of these categories:

• Mobility
• Sustainability
• Equity
• Citizenship
• Retail
• Art and entertainment

2. Be available! on one of the following platforms: iOS, Android, or Windows Phone
3. Be new! – your app needs to have been launched in 2011 or 2012, not earlier
Your app can be in any language or be from any city – all are welcome!

Application Process:

1. Submit your app on Twitter or Weibo by sending the following tweet/microblog :
   NAME OF APP is a candidate for #appmycity! @newcitiesfound
2. Send us a short (1-page max) email explaining what your app does, why it matches our criteria and why it should win. Send this email to appmycity@newcitiesfoundation.org

Your email can be in English, Chinese, French, German, Bengali, Portuguese or Spanish – apologies, these are the only languages our team speaks !

Timeline:

• 12 March: start sending your apps!
• 22 April: Submissions close
• 25 April: Three finalists are announced and invited to Paris for the New Cities Summit 2012 from May 14 to 16. (visit www.newcitiessummit2012.org). The finalists will be invited, all expenses paid, to present their app on the big stage!
• 14 May: Finalist presentations: Each presentation will be 7 minutes and should be supported by visuals for a (very) big screen. Finalists will be judged by a panel of world class technologists, editor, city leaders, academics and entrepreneurs.
• 15 May: The winner of the AppMyCity! prize will be announced during a Gala Dinner at the Grand Palais.

The Prize:

The winner will receive 5,000 Euros to help promote their app and an invitation to spend a week at a world class research lab.