CHICAGO: The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Financial Times today launched the Chicago Forum on Global Cities. This three-day forum on the future of global cities is bringing civic, business, cultural and academic leaders from London, Beijing, Paris, Dubai, Singapore and beyond to Chicago May 27 to 29 for a series of discussions about what drives global cities and how they in turn drive the world.

“We’re living in an age of urbanization, and global cities are helping shape our ideas, culture, economics and politics,” said Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times. “With that in mind, we think it’s critical to launch a discussion across private industry, arts, academic and public disciplines about what this means for our collective future.”

Some 2,500 members of the public and 600 forum delegates, representing 25 countries, are attending the three-day forum. The forum takes place in venues across Chicago, including public opening and closing programs at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park and Navy Pier, as well as plenaries at the world-renown Art Institute of Chicago and panels at the Spertus Institute, Murphy Auditorium, University of Chicago and Chicago Cultural Center. Delegates also will visit Pullman Historic District, Lurie Children’s Hospital, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Jardine Water Purification Plant.

“Chicago is a natural backdrop for this discussion,” said Ambassador Ivo H. Daalder, president of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “It’s home to top businesses and is a mecca of innovation featuring some of the world’s best universities, cultural institutions and architecture. At the same time, Chicago faces many of the challenges all global cities face. We hope these discussions help all of us develop solutions to these challenges and to harness the power of global cities for positive change.”

All forum panels will be livestreamed at ChicagoForum.org. Specific programs and panels include:

Participants can join the conversation online by following @ChicagoForum and by using the forum social media kit and hashtag #GlobalCities2015. During the opening program, Global Cities Driving the Global Economy, moderators will take questions from Twitter using tweets with #GlobalCities2015.

Generous sponsorship for the Chicago Forum on Global Cities is being provided by AbbVie, Aon, The Boeing Company, Hyatt Hotels Foundation, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Motorola Solutions, Northern Trust, UL, United Airlines and Walgreens Boots Alliance. Foundation support is provided by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

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Laura Lucas Magnuson
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs:
+1 (312) 821-7519 or llucasmagnuson@thechicagocouncil.org

Ryann Gastwirth
Financial Times:
+1 (917) 551-5094 or ryann.gastwirth@ft.com

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, founded in 1922, is an independent, non-partisan organization committed to educating the public — and influencing the public discourse — on global issues of the day. The Council provides a forum in Chicago for world leaders, policymakers and other experts to speak to its members and the public on these issues. Long known for its public opinion surveys of American views on foreign policy, The Chicago Council also brings together stakeholders to examine issues and offer policy insight into areas such as global agriculture, the global economy, global energy, global cities, global security and global immigration. Learn more at TheChicagoCouncil.org and follow @ChicagoCouncil for updates.

The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of 720,000. Mobile is an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving almost half of total traffic. FT education products now serve two thirds of the world’s top 50 business schools.