22 GOING GLOBAL

BARCELONA & NEW YORK

World Trade Centre Toronto and the City of Toronto led trade missions to Barcelona and NYC, promoting the region’s smart city & fintech strengths.

he need for smarter cities is a global one. Complexities in- volving rapid population growth, changing demographics, aging city infrastructure and constrained public budgets are pressuring cities. They must quickly adopt technologies to remain prosperous, resilient, and inclusive. The global mar- Tketplace for smart city solutions is estimated to reach $1.8-trillion by 2020. A similar digital revolution is underway in the financial services industry. Driv- en by deals in continental Europe and Asia, global fintech investment exceeded $28-billion in 2015. As the hub of Canada’s financial services industry and the second largest financial centre in North America, the Toronto region is well po- sitioned to capitalize on global fintech activity. The region is one of the fastest growing fintech hubs in the world, with an investment rate exceeding that of Silicon Valley, NYC and London in the last six years. ONBOARD Winter 2018 GETTY IMAGES (BARCELONA) IMAGES GETTY

2018 – EMBRACE THE GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT 23 GOING GLOBAL BARCELONA Smart City Expo World Congress

IN NOVEMBER, WTC-T organized a delegation from WHERE: Spain (Barcelona) the City of Toronto, including Councillors Michael WHEN: Thompson and Michelle Holland, Chief Informa- November 2017 (5 days) tion Officer Rob Meikle, and City Librarian Vickery WHY: Bowles of the Toronto Public Library, to attend Smart • Promote Toronto’s smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) 2017 in Barce- cities expertise at a global lona. The goals were to promote Toronto’s expertise congress attended by over in smart city tech, and exchange best practices with 120 countries leading global counterparts in the sector. • Establish the opportunity SCEWC is the world’s leading event on smart cit- for a Toronto presence at a future smart cities ies—a must-attend meeting place for companies, congress cities and institutions that are fully engaged on the • Share best practices with path towards building a smarter city. The 2017 edi- global counterparts to tion of this event put 675 exhibitors in front of nearly establish how Toronto can 19,000 attendees from more than 700 cities across 120 continue to develop its countries. Events such as the SCEWC provide oppor- smart cities sector tunities to develop targeted connections leading to a WHO: smarter and deeper dialogue with like-minded cities Councillor Michael such as New York, London, Barcelona, Hong Kong Thompson, Chair, Toronto Economic Development and Singapore. Strategic dialogue ultimately leads to Committee & Chair, Invest investment and trade opportunities. Toronto Councillor Michelle Holland, Vice Chair of the City f Toronto’s “MAKING TORONTO A 21ST- Economic Development Committee & Advocate for the CENTURY SMART CITY REQUIRES Innovation Economy COLLABORATING WITH OTHER CITIES Rob Meikle, Chief Information Officer, AND VALUE-ADD STAKEHOLDERS City of Toronto AROUND THE GLOBE” Vickery Bowles, – Rob Meikle, Chief Information Officer, City of Toronto City Librarian, Toronto Public Library

“It’s interesting to connect with representatives from other cities and find out what they’re doing,” said Vick- ery Bowles, City Librarian, Toronto Public Library. “To speak with people from places like Tel Aviv and Copen- hagen is a tremendous opportunity to learn what peo- Delegates at the opening of Smart City Expo World Congress 2017 ple around the world are doing with their own smart city

initiatives, and what projects they’re focused on.” Online edition BOT.com/ Along with the opportunity to visit exhibitors and net- work with global peer cities, delegates also made their own presentations at SWEWC: Councillor Holland spoke on The Art of Placemaking: Inclusive Public Spaces & Green Areas, and Rob Meikle followed his Making Safer, Smarter & Healthier Cities presentation by collaborating ONBOARD with Vickery Bowles on Smart Cities: the Toronto Expe- Councillors Holland and Thompson listen as City partner rience. Bowles also presented on Digital Fabrication: UrbanLogiq demonstrate their innovative technology Transforming Citizens from Consumers to Producers. GETTY IMAGES (BARCELONA) IMAGES GETTY 24 GOING GLOBAL NEW YORK CITY Sidewalk Labs & Grand Central Tech

WHERE: United States (NYC) WHEN: November 2017 (1 day) WHY: • Advance the growth and talent attraction narrative for Toronto tech companies, through the Mayor’s remarks at a reception for technology stakeholders and other VIP guests • Visit Sidewalk Labs and learn more about the specific innovations they have made related to urban technology, as they partner with Waterfront Toronto on the Quayside development • Raise the profile and LATER IN NOVEMBER, Jan De Silva, President & create additional media CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade accompanied opportunities related Mayor John Tory and a delegation from the City of to the November 2017 Toronto, MaRS Discovery District, the Toronto Fi- announcement of a Grand Central Tech—MaRS Discovery nancial Services Alliance (TFSA), JPMorgan Chase John Tory on Bloomberg District partnership Canada and Blackrock Canada to New York City. WHO: The Mayor’s primary goal was to promote the Toron- Mayor John Tory, to region as a hub for growth, talent attraction and to the startup activity City of Toronto business development in the fintech sector. happening in Toronto Jan De Silva, President & CEO, Delegates met with Sidewalk Labs’ CEO Dan and New York. Togeth- Toronto Region Board of Trade Doctoroff and his team to learn about its indus- er, we’re capitalizing on Siri Agrell, Director Strategic try-leading developments in smart city tech, and this momentum to build Initiatives, Office of the Mayor, its partnership with Waterfront Toronto to develop a multi-city investment City of Toronto the Quayside district as a global hub of urban in- pipeline,” said Jeff Hin- Vic Gupta, Principal Secretary, New York City Mayor’s Roundtable novation. The solutions advanced in the Quayside dle, Managing Director, Office of the Mayor, City of Toronto project will be brought to scale in the multi-bil- Finance & Commerce Jeff Hindle, Managing Director, Fintech & Commerce, MaRS lion-dollar development of the Port Lands, an at MaRS. GCT’s focus on innovation in health, fin- Discovery District underdeveloped area of more than 325 hectares tech and smart cities solutions also aligns with MaRS’ Marcia Moffat, Managing along Toronto’s eastern waterfront. primary sectors and complements the support that Director, Head of Blackrock Canada A Mayor’s Roundtable was also convened to pro- MaRS offers to Canadian entrepreneurs in Toronto. Jennifer Reynolds, mote the partnership between MaRS Discovery Dis- “On our trip to NYC, I was inspired by the col-

ONBOARD Winter 2018 President & CEO, Toronto trict and flagship tech accelerator Grand Central Tech laborative nature of entrepreneurs. We’re seeing a Financial Services Alliance (GCT). MaRS@GCT will serve as an extension of MaRS trend: collaboration across startup ecosystems in- David Rawlings, CEO, in the heart of New York City, offering support, services creases the chances of building global successes,” JPMorgan Chase Canada and physical workspace to Canadian technology start- said Hindle, reflecting on the mission. “Companies George Spezza, Director ups seeing to expand globally. can’t just be islands alone. They have to grow glob- Business Growth Services, City of Toronto “Grand Central Tech and MaRS share a strategic ally to succeed and apply their innovations to prob- vision. This partnership is helping to draw attention lems all over the world.” GETTY IMAGES (NEW YORK) (NEW IMAGES GETTY

2018 – EMBRACE THE GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT 25 COVER STORY

VICKERY BOWLES, DELEGATE EXPERIENCE City Librarian, Toronto Public Library

Mission delegate Vickery Bowles, City Librarian of the Toronto Public Library, discusses her experience at Smart City Expo World Congress 2017 in Barcelona and the Library’s role in helping Toronto become a centre for smart city technology. TRIP OBJECTIVE: SEEKING TO RAISE THE WITH 100 BRANCHES AND OVER 10.6 MILLION “A city cannot be a smart city if people are left PROFILE OF PUBLIC ITEMS IN ITS COLLECTION, the Toronto Public Li- behind. Digital inclusion and digital literacy are LIBRARIES IN THE brary is the largest neighbourhood-based library key to making a smart city work,” says Bowles. system in the world. Every year, the Library hosts “Access, opportunity, connection — those are SMART CITIES SECTOR, more than 18 million visits to its physical branches the Toronto Public Library’s places in the smart “INSERTING THE PUBLIC and nearly 33 million visits to its website. In addi- city narrative. We’ve been part of the Smart Cit- LIBRARY NARRATIVE tion to the shelves of books and physical media, ies Working Group (SCWG) led by the Board AND THE ROLE WE PLAY today’s Toronto Public Library also emphasizes and by the Economic Development Committee universal wi-fi access, Computer Learning Centres at the City of Toronto since the very beginning. INTO THE DISCUSSION to impart basic skills, and Digital Innovation Hubs We’ve had a lot of support from our colleagues OF SMART CITIES.” with access to the latest technology and training in the SCWG, who understand that inclusion is including 3D printing and scanning, web design, key to a smart city.” COMPANY: coding and audio/video production. Bowles travelled to Barcelona seeking to raise Toronto Public Library the profile of public libraries in the smart cities sec- tor, “inserting the public library narrative and the “IT’S IMPORTANT TO GET role we play into the discussion of smart cities.” The Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) provid- OUTSIDE YOUR USUAL SECTOR ed an ideal venue for profile-raising, with two oppor- AND CIRCLE OF PARTNERS, AND tunities to present to a global audience: on Smart MAKE CONNECTIONS WITH Cities: the Toronto Experience (in collaboration with OTHER COMPANIES: STARTUPS, Rob Meikle, Chief Information Officer of the City of Toronto), and on Digital Fabrication: Transforming ESTABLISHED PARTNERS, Citizens from Consumers to Producers. HIGHLIGHT: INNOVATORS. IT CHALLENGES “A highlight was definitely presenting on YOU TO THINK ‘WHAT DOES THIS ‘fab labs’ for our colleagues in Europe, and “A HIGHLIGHT WAS MEAN?’ FOR ADVANCING YOUR talking about initiatives in Milan, Barcelona, Tel DEFINITELY PRESENTING Aviv, Copenhagen and other cities,” observed ON ‘FAB LABS’ FOR OWN AGENDA.” Bowles. “It was a tremendous opportunity to see what people around the world are doing OUR COLLEAGUES IN with their smart city initiatives and what projects EUROPE, AND TALKING The provision of digital services has become they’re focused on.” ABOUT INITIATIVES IN a cornerstone of the Library’s mission as it looks Bowles also noted the importance of cultivat- MILAN, BARCELONA, to the future. For Vickery Bowles, City Librarian ing potential partners: “We’ve done that with the and chief executive of the organization since SCWG, and also in our partnership with Cisco, TEL AVIV, COPENHAGEN 2015, this is also a key contribution the Library which we’ve learned a lot from. Now we’re look- AND OTHER CITIES,” can make towards Toronto’s smart city initiatives. ing for others to work with and learn from.” Online edition BOT.com/

LESSONS “THIS MISSION WAS VERY WELL-THOUGHT-OUT AND WELL- ORGANIZED: THERE WERE CLEAR GOALS DEFINED FOR THE LEARNED MISSION, AND THE PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION REALLY

ROB MEIKLE, FACILITATED PRODUCING MEANINGFUL AND TANGIBLE ONBOARD Chief Information Officer, City of Toronto OUTCOMES TO ADVANCE OUR STRATEGIC ACTIONS. “ GETTY IMAGES (NEW YORK) (NEW IMAGES GETTY