Ignite the Electric City Summit
The future of Peterborough was reimagined Thurs. April 20 during Fleming College's inaugural Ignite: The Electric City 2023 Summit. Speakers, leaders, builders and thinkers from the region and across Canada came to Fleming College in Peterborough, ON at the invitation of College President Maureen Adamson to tackle some of the city's challenges head-on.
Highlights
Keynote speaker, Former Calgary Mayor, Naheed Nenshi was in attendance. Other guests included Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Marie Wilson, who spoke about moving forward while holding true to Truth and Reconciliation. Economist and professor Mike Moffatt led the conversation around the housing crisis mid-sized cities are facing. Peterborough Regional Health Centre President and CEO Dr. Lynn Mikula spoke at length on how to address the health issues facing the region.
Keynote speaker Mary Rowe, President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute said,
We're in a really critical moment, as cities evolve and develop after the pandemic or through the end of the pandemic and there's a particular opportunity for mid-sized cities the size of Peterborough to really take stock of where they want to go. It is important for people to be here to put a stake in the ground and say we're going to collectively work together to figure out what the future of the city should be.
Panels made up of local business and development leaders, health care services, non-profit and green organizations led discussions around engaging civic activity, creating a compassionate city and ensuring Peterborough becomes a leader in sustainability as it moves forward.
Artist, Shannon Loomer illustrated our transformative dialogue on how to ignite the electric city of Peterborough and region.