2018 Engaged Cities Award Summit
Cities of Service shined a light on creative and effective citizen engagement strategies at the 2018 Engaged Cities Award Summit. Mayors, city leaders, and partners who are committed to creating better cities together with citizens helped make the event a huge success. The 10 finalists shared their insights and creative strategies with attendees, who came away with new ideas they can use in their own cities.
Throughout the day, participants learned about best practices and new approaches to problem solving with citizens and made connections with fellow city leaders. These relationships will be the foundation of future collaboration. We all came away inspired and ready to tackle new challenges together.
Scroll through photos from the event below.
If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or participation in the next Engaged Cities Award Summit, please email Amy Miller at [email protected].
Watch Highlights from our 2018 Engaged Cities Award Summit
Tom A. Bernstein, President of the Cities of Service Board of Directors and President and Co-Founder of Chelsea Piers, addressed the audience to kick off the summit. He said, "Jane Jacobs wrote that: 'Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.' That philosophy is what drives the work of Cities of Service, inspires all of our cities to do great work – and gives me great hope for the future."
Rocio Gutierrez, Secretary of the Office of Peace and Civic Culture for Santiago de Cali, Colombia, and Natalia Oviedo, Head of External Affairs and Cooperation, spoke about their strategy to reduce community violence. The city empowered local councils to create initiatives that would build trust and reduce conflict in their neighborhoods. Santiago de Cali was one of three winning cities.
City leaders took the chance to connect with their colleagues from other cities.
Huntington Mayor Steve Walsh showed his old jacket to Chuck Salter, Editorial Director for Fast Company. It is now much too big for him since he took steps to lose weight. The obesity rate of the entire city has also dropped from 49 to 35 percent.
Pia Pakarinen, Deputy Mayor for Education of Helsinki, Irma Sippola, Project Manager Migrant Youth, and Muttaqi Kahn, founder of Numu (Young Muslims NGO), spoke about some of the challenges immigrants experience in Helsinki. The city has co-designed a number of programs with immigrants to provide additional support and help integrate them into Finnish society.
Oswaldo Mestre, Chief Service Officer of Buffalo, New York, asks a question during a Q&A.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum discussed how the city used of data to inform decision making with Nicole Flatow, Editor of CityLab.com. Tulsa was one of three winning cities.
Marcia Hope Goodwin, Chief Service Officer of Orlando, Florida, chats with another attendee.
James Anderson, Vice President of the Cities of Service Board of Directors and head of Government Innovation programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies, spoke with Gary, Indiana Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson about mayoral leadership.
Gabriella Gomez-Mont, head of the Laboratorio Para la Ciudad in Mexico City, gave a presentation explaining how the city engaged citizens to help draft the constitution.
Katja Meusel, Executive Officer for Participation in Hamm, Germany, spoke with Laura Bliss, Staff Writer for City Lab, about transforming an abandoned mine into a park with the help of citizens.
Mayor Pauline Cutter, pictured here with Frank Mirabal, Director of Community Engagement from Albuquerque, won our rock paper scissors tournament.
Kris Carter, Co-Chair, Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, Boston, Massachusetts; Khanh Duy Russo, Director, Office of Strategic Partnerships and Performance, San Jose, California; and Annie M. Bierbower, Civic Engagement Liaison, Fort Collins, Colorado discussed using technology to more effectively engage citizens.
Matteo Lepore, Deputy Mayor for Bologna, Italy; and Francesca Martinese, Head of International Relations and Projects Office explained how their strategy engaged citizens to transform urban spaces and dramatically increase collaboration between residents and local government. Bologna was one of three winning cities. They spoke with Richard Buery, Former Deputy Mayor of New York City and Senior Fellow, GovLab.
Thought provoking questions encouraged attendees to think about citizen engagement throughout the day.
Joe Micheli, Head of Commissioning - Early Intervention, Prevention & Community Development, York, UK; with Michele D'alena, Civic Imagination Office's Manager, Bologna, Italy.
Andrea Coleman of Bloomberg Philanthropies spoke with another attendee during a break.
James Wagner, Chief of Performance Strategy and Innovation, Tulsa, OK; Mayor Wade Troxell, Fort Collins, Colorado; and Ginny Sawyer, Project and Policy Manager, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Attendees discussed some of the challenges they faced and shared ideas between sessions.
Natalia Oviedo, Head of External Affairs and Cooperation for Santiago de Cali, Colombia; Frank Mirabal, Director of Community Engagement from Albuquerque; and Chuck Salter, Editorial Director for Fast Company speak after the summit.