New Plymouth Invited to World Knowledge Forum

A gathering of worldwide leaders in business, government, media, academia and the arts will be hearing how New Plymouth District has become a great place to live.

The World Knowledge Forum has invited Mayor Peter Tennent to speak at its gathering in Korea this week on sustainable communities, and how governments, companies and the public can work together to build a city that is good to live in.

“The invitation came out of the blue, and it’s a great chance to share what we’ve learned here with people who can make tangible differences very quickly in communities around the world,” says Mayor Pete.

Established in 2000, the World Knowledge Forum gathers leaders to discuss possible solutions for problems that are already, or might become, an issue in the world community. The main aim is to highlight the importance of knowledge-sharing towards a balanced prosperity of the global economy.

This year 190 speakers – including Virgin CEO Richard Branson, former prime ministers Bertie Ahern (Ireland) and John Howard (Australia), and former World Bank CEO James Wolfensohn (CRCT: WOLFENSOHN) – will be talking on a wide variety of topics under the theme ‘Collabonomics (collaboration + economics) and Greater Asia’. (The full list of speakers is available below.)

Mayor Pete believes New Plymouth District came to the attention of the World Knowledge Forum through the International Awards for Liveable Communities, in which New Plymouth has been shortlisted for a Whole City Award.

“While it’s fantastic to be recognised by national and international agencies for our community’s efforts in making this a great place to live, at the end of the day it’s also about sharing what we’ve got and helping make other people’s communities better too,” says the Mayor.

All of Mayor Pete’s travel and accommodation costs are met by the World Knowledge Forum, which attracts up to 5,000 delegates to its panels.

Speakers at the World Knowledge Forum