Creativity plays a crucial role in culture; creative activities provide personal, social and educational benefit; and creative inventions are increasingly recognized as key drivers of economic development.
Beyond Productivity: Information Technology, Innovation, and Creativity, National Research Council

San Jose, the "Capital of Silicon Valley," will be the backdrop for the inaugural Global Leadership Forum on Economic and Cultural Development, August 6-8, presented by the City of San Jose and ZeroOne San Jose.

This invitation-only gathering will highlight innovative approaches taken by leading city-regions to integrate economic development, cultural development, and urban design in order to attract and retain creative talent and companies. Keynote speakers include Vincent Lo, Chairman of Shui On Group, Hong Kong, and John Seely Brown former Chief Scientist of Xerox Corporation and Director of the Palo Alto Research Center.

The Global Leadership Forum will showcase model projects in these categories:

• Cultural and Creative Industry Strategies that are succeeding in implementation
• Urban Redevelopment Projects integrating workplace, residential, cultural and education components
• New Media Initiatives linking information technology and creative practices in art and design
• Interactive Architecture that connects public spheres, enlivens everyday life and fosters new levels of social interaction in cities

The Global Leadership Forum will provide opportunity for public/private leadership teams from Asia, Europe and the Americas to share model projects and learn from a global peer group. Participants will leave with new knowledge, new relationships, and new opportunities for region-to-region collaboration with other creative centers. Forum participants will also learn about San Jose's strategy integrating economic and cultural development, and meet business and civic leaders from San Jose/Silicon Valley.

The Forum is being held in conjunction with the International Symposium of Electronic Arts and ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge (August 7-13, 2006). The Symposium will involve more than 3,000 technologists, researchers, and artists from 50 nations who are working at the interface of art, science, and emerging technologies. ZeroOne San Jose is a new art and technology festival to be held biennially in San Jose, and is unique in North America. More than 50,000 people will attend performances, exhibitions, lectures, and concerts at the festival.

Invited Participants:

Beijing*, Cambridge/East England*, Guadalajara, Helsinki*, Hong Kong, Linz*, Liverpool*, Melbourne*, Mexico City, Osaka*, San Jose*, Bilbao/Basque Region*, Seoul*, Shanghai*, Singapore*, Taipei*, Wellington and Yokohama*

*Confirmed

Invited participants click here for registration, hotel and travel information.

Questions? Contact Kim Walesh, Office of Economic Development, City of San Jose, .