# World Cities Summit Mayors Forum and Young Leaders Symposium - **Source:** Ministry of National Development - **Published:** 2017-05-17T08:30:00.000Z - **Author:** Ministry of National Development - **Original:** https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/view/world-cities-summit-mayors-forum-and-young-leaders-symposium - **Topics:** Regional Markets ## Featured rationale Expanded exchange among city leaders may accelerate adoption of tested urban solutions, potentially influencing planning, infrastructure and liveability strategies across participating cities. ## AI summary The eighth World Cities Summit Mayors Forum in Suzhou on 17–19 May 2017 expected over 60 mayors and nearly 50 senior leaders. ## Original article The World Cities Summit (WCS) Mayors Forum and WCS Young Leaders Symposium are held at Kempinski Hotel Suzhou, in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, from 17 to 19 May 2017. Singapore’s Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance Mr Lawrence Wong will serve as Chairman of the Forum, and will lead the Opening and Closing Plenaries on 18 and 19 May 2017. The host city will be represented by Suzhou City Acting Mayor Mr Li Yaping. Key Highlights The WCS Mayors Forum, a key feature of the World Cities Summit, was initiated by Singapore in 2010 in response to the urgent need for cities to come together to address pressing urban challenges. Organised by Singapore’s Centre for Liveable Cities and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, it has since become one of the most important platforms for Mayors and city leaders to share best practices, as well as to generate new insights, ideas and solutions that can be applied to many cities. From 32 mayors in 2010, this year’s – the 8th edition of the WCS Mayors Forum – expects over 60 mayors from cities across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the Oceania, as well as close to 50 senior leaders from the industry and international organisations, to attend. WCS Mayors Forum is held in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China – the 2014 Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Laureate. Suzhou was awarded for its outstanding achievements over the past two decades in balancing rapid urban growth with preservation of its historical and cultural core, and raising the quality of life for its residents. The Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize – a biennial international award launched in 2009, is named after Singapore’s first Prime Minister, Mr Lee, who was instrumental in developing Singapore into a distinctive, clean and green garden city within a few decades. Under his leadership, Singapore developed into a liveable city with a high quality living environment. Other Prize Laureates include Bilbao City Hall, Spain (2010), New York City, United States of America (2012) and Medellín, Colombia (2016). The annual WCS Young Leaders Symposium, into its 4th edition this year, is another flagship event of the World Cities Summit. The event brings together a select group of close to 50 Young Leaders from diverse sectors who, through their work and achievements, are shaping the global urban agenda. This year, these leaders come together to discuss issues and launch initiatives on the topic of “Curating the City: Heritage and Culture”. Theme and programme Themed “Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Embracing the Future through Innovation and Collaboration”, the discussion at this year’s WCS Mayors Forum will include “Advancement and Challenges of Cities: Planning and Governance”, “Curating the City: Heritage and Culture”, “The Tenacity of a City: A Resilient and Sustainable Environment” and “Engines of Growth: Balancing Liveability with Growth”. These topics reflect the importance and priority city leaders should assign to in order to promote equity and increase opportunity across a range of urban issues. There are 12 speakers who will share their expertise and insights this year, including notable city leaders such as the Mayor of Fukuoka, Soichiro Takashima, the Councillor for Economic Development, Trade and Employment (Bilbao), Xabier Ochandiano, the Governor of Alexandria Dr Mohamed Sultan, and the Mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever. Interactive sessions amongst the mayors and young leaders will provide further opportunities for more in-depth discussions on these issues. The synopses of the four focal areas of presentations and discussion are provided in Annex A. Other highlights of the programme include: (i) Site visits that will provide the mayors and city leaders first-hand perspectives on how policies and ideas have been implemented successfully in the city of Suzhou and give them a behind-the-scenes look at real issues while providing practical learning experiences. These specially designed learning journeys include Tiger Hill, Suzhou Museum, Humble Administrator’s Garden, and Ping Jiang Historic District. (ii) Cities Exhibition will showcase city projects from Singapore and Suzhou. Both cities, which celebrated 20 years of collaboration in 2014, have proven their abilities to adapt to rapidly changing global trends, and improve the lives of their residents. Their efforts and progress will be reflected in short films, and their planning systems will also be highlighted at the exhibition. Also on showcase will be City Portraits, a digital exhibition profiling attending cities, as well as innovative projects in these cities that aim to benefit their citizens. For more details on the programme and the line-up of speakers, please visit http://www.worldcitiessummit.com.sg/mayorsforum. Commemorative postage stamp postcard To commemorate the convening of the World Cities Summit, the Suzhou Post has made a special application to the China National Philatelic Corporation for the issuance of a commemorative postage stamp postcard for the 8th WCS Mayors Forum. The commemorative postage stamp postcard will be launched on 18 May 2017 - the opening day of the Forum - to increase awareness and influence of the World Cities Summit among the public. ## Chinese translation > Translation model: grok_cli ### 世界城市峰会市长论坛与青年领袖研讨会 世界城市峰会（WCS）市长论坛与WCS青年领袖研讨会于2017年5月17日至19日在中国江苏省苏州市凯宾斯基酒店举行。 新加坡国家发展部部长兼财政部第二部长黄循财先生将担任论坛主席，并主持2017年5月18日与19日的开幕与闭幕全体会议。主办城市将由苏州市代市长李亚平先生代表。 主要亮点 WCS市长论坛是世界城市峰会的重要组成部分，由新加坡于2010年发起，旨在回应城市共同应对紧迫城市挑战的迫切需要。该论坛由新加坡宜居城市中心与市区重建局联合主办，现已成为市长及城市领导者分享最佳实践、并产生可应用于众多城市的新见解、理念与解决方案的最重要平台之一。从2010年的32位市长，到今年——第8届WCS市长论坛——预计将有来自非洲、亚洲、欧洲、拉丁美洲、中东及大洋洲各城市的逾60位市长，以及近50位来自业界和国际组织的高级领导人出席。 WCS市长论坛在中国江苏省苏州举行——苏州是2014年李光耀世界城市奖得主。苏州获奖是因其在过去二十年间在平衡快速城市增长与保护历史及文化核心、提升居民生活质量方面的卓越成就。李光耀世界城市奖——一项于2009年推出的两年一度国际奖项，以新加坡首任总理李先生命名，他在短短几十年内将新加坡发展成为独具特色、清洁绿化的花园城市方面发挥了关键作用。在他的领导下，新加坡发展成为宜居城市，拥有高质量的居住环境。其他获奖城市包括西班牙毕尔巴鄂市政厅（2010年）、美国纽约市（2012年）以及哥伦比亚麦德林（2016年）。 一年一度的WCS青年领袖研讨会今年进入第4届，是世界城市峰会的另一旗舰活动。该活动汇集来自不同领域、近50位通过其工作与成就正在塑造全球城市议程的青年领袖。今年，这些领袖齐聚一堂，就“策展城市：遗产与文化”这一主题讨论议题并启动相关倡议。 主题与议程 今年WCS市长论坛以“宜居与可持续城市：通过创新与协作拥抱未来”为主题，讨论内容将包括“城市的进步与挑战：规划与治理”、“策展城市：遗产与文化”、“城市的韧性：具有复原力与可持续的环境”以及“增长引擎：平衡宜居性与增长”。这些议题反映了城市领导者为在广泛城市议题上促进公平并增加机会而应赋予的重要性与优先地位。今年将有12位演讲者分享其专业见解，其中包括福冈市长高岛宗一郎、毕尔巴鄂经济发展、贸易与就业市议员哈比耶·奥昌迪亚诺、亚历山大省省长穆罕默德·苏丹博士以及安特卫普市长巴特·德韦弗等知名城市领导人。市长与青年领袖之间的互动环节将为就这些议题进行更深入讨论提供进一步机会。四个重点报告与讨论领域的提要见附件A。 议程的其他亮点包括： （i）实地考察将为市长及城市领导者提供第一手视角，了解政策与理念如何在苏州成功实施，并让他们在幕后了解真实问题，同时提供实践学习体验。这些特别设计的学习之旅包括虎丘、苏州博物馆、拙政园以及平江历史文化街区。 （ii）城市展览将展示来自新加坡与苏州的城市项目。两座城市于2014年庆祝合作20周年，已证明其适应快速变化的全球趋势并改善居民生活的能力。其努力与进展将通过短片呈现，其规划体系也将在展览中重点介绍。同期展出的还有“城市肖像”——一个介绍与会城市的数字展览，以及这些城市中旨在惠及市民的创新项目。 有关议程及演讲者阵容的更多详情，请访问 http://www.worldcitiessummit.com.sg/mayorsforum。 纪念邮资明信片 为纪念世界城市峰会的召开，苏州邮政已向中国集邮总公司特别申请发行第8届WCS市长论坛纪念邮资明信片。该纪念邮资明信片将于2017年5月18日——论坛开幕日——推出，以提高世界城市峰会在公众中的认知度与影响力。