Statement from Mayor Robertson on TED Conference coming to Vancouver:

The world-renowned TED Conference moving to Vancouver is great news for our tourism industry and validation of our work to make our city a world leader in sustainability and innovation.

TED talks are known around the world for being a source of inspiration, innovation and an opportunity to rethink some of our most pressing challenges. Millions of people watch the talks in person and online. Having the TED organizers choose Vancouver as their new home is a big vote of confidence in the creative entrepreneurs, social innovators and community leaders who make Vancouver a leading-edge city.

The City is proud to have excellent partners in the Canadian Tourism Commission, Tourism Vancouver and the Vancouver Convention Centre that worked hard to support the TED Conference coming to Vancouver. We will work with TED and our sponsors to ensure the conference is a success and that we enable a variety of spin-off events to capitalize on being the host city. We look forward to welcoming TED here in 2014 and showing them everything Vancouver has to offer.

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Mayor Gregor Robertson will be supporting a Council motion next week to develop a mobile ‘City App,’ which would increase access to city services and information for Vancouver residents and businesses.

“Vancouver is continuing to demonstrate leadership on how digital innovation can make a city more open, accessible and accountable to its citizens,” says Mayor Gregor Robertson. “A new mobile ‘City App’ would make the City’s key services accessible both quickly and more conveniently.”

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 Good morning, and welcome. And a very special welcome to those of you coming here from beyond Metro Vancouver.

 We’re all grateful to the Coast Salish First Nations, in whose traditional territory we’re gathered today, for their generous hospitality.

I want to thank Chancellor Taylor and Chris Gailus for presiding over our Summit today.

Most of all, I want to thank each of you for joining us for two very busy days and for taking on the challenge of city-building.

And I want to take just a few minutes this morning to talk with you about that challenge. Because we’re only now coming to realize just how enormous it is.

City-building — sustainable, long-term city-building — is one of the most significant challenges we’ve ever faced. I don’t just mean in this generation. But ever.

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