9:00am PT

Welcome Sessions

Kwantlen First Nations Welcome Drumming

ICF Welcome

BC Government Welcome

Host Communities: Mayors Welcome

Speakers Include:

• Robert Bell, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• John Jung, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• Louis Zacharilla, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• MLA Megan Dykeman, MLA for Langley East
• Jack Froese, Mayor, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
• Michael Morden, Mayor, City of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

9:30am PT

Community-Focused Hackathon: Turning Ideas into Reality

Towns and cities across the globe face ever-changing issues & challenges as they endeavor to address the needs of citizens, businesses, and community growth. We opened our doors and invited citizens to join two pre-conference challenges designed to engage the community in creating solutions.

Watch the top 4 HackerEarth / City of Maple Ridge Hackathon finalists as they pitch their ideas. Conference delegates will be able to vote live for their top pick.

Moderators:

• Karen Stewart, Chief Information Officer, City of Maple Ridge, BC, Canada
• Rob McCann, Founder, Clearcable Networks; President, Hamilton Technology Centre

10:00am PT

Intelligent Communities Profiles and Solutions

Events like this can only be made possible by generous sponsors. We gratefully acknowledge all of our event sponsors for their support. Watch their videos to learn more about their innovative work and contributions to the global community.

10:15am PT

Conversations | From Surviving to Thriving

Moderator: John Jung, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum

Addressing Growth with Resilience

Looking at growth and sustainability with different lenses isn’t new for our panelists. They are leading future thinkers who know master planning is at the core of our future. From thinking deeply about the criticality of the global food supply chain, to envisioning how inclusive access to technology plays a key part in economic transformation and progress, to reimaging the future of the places we call home through a hyper-local, regenerative framework, to the need to redefine workplaces and embrace clean tech for generations to come.

Join City of Stratford’s Mayor Dan Mathieson and ReGen Villages’ James Ehrlich to learn more about growth with resilience.

Speakers include:

• Dan Mathieson, Mayor, City of Stratford, Ontario, Canada
• James Ehrlich, Founder - ReGen Villages, Palo Alto, USA

Tackling Crisis and Disparity - Integral to Economic Progress

It is said that cities belong to their citizens. Across the globe, cities large and small tackle crises of every kind. Inequities in standards of living including income, housing, food security, etc. continue to pose hardships. Some of the greatest risks are imposed on youth. Citizen-centric models that seek to transform cities through an inclusive lense and with economic, social, and cultural aspirations go hand-in-hand. Learn from Agustin Argelich about how Spain is bringing new ways for citizens to become involved in civic life as it forges its economic future.

Speakers include:

• Agustin Argelich, President, Argelich Network, City of Barcelona, Spain

Capacity Building – Building the Best for our Future

Building capacity comes in all shapes & sizes. From cooperating across borders to build a global innovation ecosystem that capitalizes on strengths, to bilateral research collaboration with internships and joint venture development, to tackling urban challenges through cooperative policy with a focus on open innovation, open data, and open participation. Our panelists will share insights into how building the best for our future opens global doors for opportunity and prosperity.

Speakers include:

• Troy DeFrank, Director - Pacific Northwest, Trade & Invest BC. City of Seattle, USA
• Lissa Matyas, Vice-President, International Partnerships, Mitacs. City of Montreal, Canada
• Päivi Sutinen, Director, City as a Service Development, Espoo, Finland

12:00pm PT

 Special Presentation | The ICF Method - Strategies & Success Factors

The Intelligent Community Forum is a global network with a think tank at its center. It connects cities and regions across the globe for collaboration on economic development and for exchange of expertise and information that drives progress. Social and cultural growth combined with economic growth is integral to the ICF Method. Learn from ICF Co-Founders about how applying and assessing six critical factors set the foundation for cities to survive and thrive.

Speakers Include:

• Robert Bell, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• John Jung, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• Louis Zacharilla, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum

9:00am PT

Keynote | Will the Pandemic Kill Globalization?

Economists project that foreign direct investment will decline up to 40% through 2021, putting the squeeze on international free trade and revitalizing the domestic supply chain arena. As decision makers and business leaders navigate through pandemic driven financial hurdles, the future of globalization will be at the forefront of business discussions across the globe. Our illustrious keynote speaker brings decades of expertise in the smart cities sphere and will garner your attention as he shares insights into the future of
globalization.

Speakers Include:

• Stephen Hilton, Founder & Director, City Global Futures. City of Bristol, United Kingdom
• Wendy Dupley, Director, Economic Development & Civic Properties, City of Maple Ridge, BC, Canada (Moderator)

9:30am PT

Community-Focused Codathon: Turning Ideas into Reality

Coding competitions like codathons are an excellent way to harness clever and innovative technology-based solutions to address challenges that a community is facing. Learn about how the Township built an coding competition template that can be reused for future events and how the CodingMatters event, sponsored by Microsoft, challenged competitors to provide functioning prototypes that address challenges in one of five defined themes. We will take a look at the top prototype submissions and discuss the challenges they aim to solve.

Moderators:

• Steve Scheepmaker, Director – Corporate Administration, Township of Langley, BC, Canada

10:00am PT

Conversations | From Surviving to Thriving

Moderator: Robert Bell, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum

Building an Innovation Ecosystem

Having the vision to build a progressive, forward-thinking organization that operates
on the foundation of cooperation opens doors to create new opportunities and
embrace innovators, entrepreneurs, & investors. Hear from an ICF Taiwan visionary, ICF’s 2020 Intelligent Community of the Year (Tallinn, Estonia), and from Vancouver Island’s “Start-up Whisperer” about what it takes to develop and sustain the value-proposition of a renowned innovation ecosystem.

Speakers include:

• Jiunn Shiow Lin, Director, Information Technologies Industries Division, Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan
• Graham Truax, Executive Director, Innovation Island Technology Association. City of Nanaimo, Canada
• Toomas Türk, Chief of Innovation, City of Tallinn, Estonia

Accessibility Fundamentals

No matter where you live, the pandemic has shown us just how essential universal
connectivity is. High-speed broadband or better is being increasingly seen as a
citizen right. It illustrates the need for digital equality and it equally stands to power
economic growth. Rural communities and cities alike can chart a new innovation
course where investment in accessibility translates into investment in people and
community. Learn from our panelists just how that has become a reality in their community.

Speakers include:

• Kalum Lauritzen, IT Lead, City of Nelson, BC, Canada
• Doug McCollough, CIO, City of Dublin, Ohio, USA

Innovation Hubs

At the core of innovation hubs around the world is a simple concept … supporting the growth of innovators to support making communities around the world a better place. Each of our panelists knows first hand the leadership it takes and the diverse benefits that both emerge and flourish well beyond expectations. Join us to learn from their insights.

Speakers include:

• Joost Helms, Director, Eindhoven International Project Office (EIPO). City of Eindhoven, The Netherlands
• Li Wen (Ema) Hsieh, Director, ICF Institute, Taiwan
• Rob McCann, Founder, Clearcable Networks; President, Hamilton Technology Centre. City of Hamilton, Canada

12:00pm PT

 Special Presentation | Innovation Through People and Partnerships

At KPU we work, study, and live in a region south of the Fraser River which overlaps with the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the Kwantlen, Musqueam, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, and Kwikwetlem peoples.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University –where thought meets action.

Speaker:

• Stephanie Howes, Dean of Business, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, City of Surrey, Canada

9:00am PT

Keynote | Envisioning the Future Together

While the world’s most valuable resource may have once been oil, today its data. Technology and IT are playing an ever-increasing role in our lives and learning how to best use it brings opportunities to make better decisions about the issues we face. Improving the world we live in begins with community and people. Our passionate keynote speaker will share insights from his career dedicated to innovation on how learning about the needs of others can inspire us to come together to co-create solutions.

Speakers Include:

• Dale Lutz, Co-CEO and Vice-President of Development, Safe Software Inc
• Val Gafka, Senior Manager, Economic Investment and Development, Township of Langley, BC, Canada

9:30am PT

Canada’s Investment in COVID-19 Recovery

Canada’s new universal broadband program and COVID-response infrastructure initiatives & program.

Speakers:

• Councillor Garth Frizzell of Prince George, President, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Canada
• Gudie Hutchings, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development

10:00am PT

Community-Focused Hackathon and Codathon Winner Announcements

Watch live as finalists advance to the winner stage to be named 2021 HackerEarth / City of Maple Ridge Hackathon competition winners and 2021 Microsoft / Township of Langley Codathon winners.

Moderators:

• Robert Bell, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• John Jung, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• Louis Zacharilla, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• Dale Lutz, Co-CEO and Vice-President of Development, Safe Software Inc

10:15am PT

Conversations | From Surviving to Thriving

Moderator: Lou Zacharilla, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum

Inclusive Prosperity and Resilience

To invest in our future and power stronger economies, to create more equitable opportunities, and to contribute to a more sustainable world that embraces every community is at the core of inclusive prosperity and resilience. Each of our panelists shares critical thinking on the urgency and the opportunities that are required for the integrity of
global resilience.

Speakers include:

• Brenda Knights, CEO, seyem
• Doug McCollough, CIO, City of Dublin, Ohio, USA
• Kadie Ward, Commissioner and Chief Administrative Officer at Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development

Regional Cooperation

Collaborating to attract and drive investment, accelerate economic growth, and foster social/cultural development requires putting the welfare of people first in order to strengthen the quality of life and inclusive opportunities for all. In an ever-increasing global competitive environment, working together to advance strategic investment attraction is fundamental to paving the path for sustainability, livability, and prosperity. Learn from our panelists about the vision for regional cooperation and gain insights into critical factors that have resulted in achievements and new opportunities.

Speakers include:

• Anne Lawrence, Head of Industry Development, Sunshine Coast Council, Queensland, AUSTRALIA
• Jerry W. Dobrovolny, Commissioner and Chief Administrative Officer, MetroVancouver Regional District, Canada

12:00pm PT

 Special Presentation | Closing and Smart21 Communities Announcement

Closing from the Mayors of the host communities.

Speakers include:

• Jack Froese, Mayor, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
• Michael Morden, Mayor, City of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

The announcement of the Smart21 Communities of 2021.

Speakers Include:

• Robert Bell, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• John Jung, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum
• Louis Zacharilla, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum