Knowledge Cities World Summit

Melbourne, Australia
City of Melbourne
Office of knowledge capital
World Capital Institute

he Knowledge Cities World Summit is an annual event, founded by the World Capital Institute, focusing on the research and management of knowledge cities, knowledge societies, knowledge based development and knowledge ecology. The first summit was held in Monterrey, Mexico (2007) and the second in Shenzhen, China (2009).

The third Summit took place in Melbourne, a city already known as a city for the arts, literature, fashion and major events and internationally recognised as a "Knowledge City”.

Knowledge is a resource, which relies on the past for a better future. In the 21st century, more than ever before, cities around the world rely on the knowledge of their citizens, their institutions and their firms and enterprises. The knowledge image, the human competence and the reputation of their public and private institutions and corporations profiles a city. It attracts investment, qualified labour, students and researchers. And it creates local life spaces and professional milieus, which offer the quality of life to the citizens that are seeking to cope with the challenges of modern life in a competitive world. Integrating knowledge-based development in urban strategies and policies, beyond the provision of schools and locations for higher education, has become a new ambitious arena of city politics. Coming from theory to practice, and bringing together the manifold knowledge stakeholders in a city and preparing joint visions for the knowledge city is a new challenge for city managers. It requires visionary power, creativity, holistic thinking, the willingness to cooperate with all groups of the local civil society, and the capability to moderate communication processes to overcome conflicts and to develop joint action for a sustainable future.

This summit made an important reminder that 'knowledge' is the key notion in the 21st Century development. Considering this notion, the summit aimed to shed light on the multi-faceted dimensions and various scales of operation of the ‘knowledge city’ and 'knowledge-based development' paradigms. At this summit, the theoretical and practical maturing of knowledge-based development paradigms will be advanced through the interplay between the worlds leading academic’s theories and the practical models and strategies of practitioners’ and policy makers’ drawn form around the world.

The Third Knowledge City World Summit provided an inspiring platform for intercultural learning and the exchange of ideas and experience.
The main Summit themes were:
• Knowledge-based (urban) development
• Knowledge-based economy and value generation
• Knowledge cities, regions and societies
• Knowledge cluster, enterprise and organisations
• Knowledge-intensive service activities
• Knowledge assets and capital systems
• Knowledge workers and creative class
• Creativity, innovation, technology and learning communities
• Sustainable (urban) development

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS AND CONTACTS
Knowledge Summit Website