Bilbao Urban Innovation and Leadership Dialogues 2015 Report

Geraldine Ide Gardner
Kevin Cottrell
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), in partnership with the City of Bilbao, was pleased to host the second edition of the Bilbao Urban Innovation and Leadership Dialogues

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), in partnership with the City of Bilbao, was pleased to host the second edition of the Bilbao Urban Innovation and Leadership Dialogues

(BUILD) from September 16-18, 2015. At BUILD’s inaugural convening in 2014, GMF launched a unique forum for leading transformative change in cities that supports greater sustainability, inclusion, and global engagement. The diversity of voices and contexts represented at BUILD allowed us to identify the common challenges and the potential for shared solutions between U.S. and European cities and local, regional, and subnational leaders. Participants discussed the common elements of leading change, establishing cross-sector coalitions and thoughtfully engaging communities.

BUILD 2015 continued the discussion from the previous year by focusing on three main pillars:

  • Linking sustainable and equitable urban transformation agendas with the need to bolster global engagement;
  • Focusing on the elements of global engagement that U.S. and European cities should act on now; and
  • Introducing innovative urban development concepts.

This report outlines the participants, speakers, and outcomes from BUILD’s second annual convening.