Source : Cisco Systems, Inc.

REMINDER: Meeting of the Minds 2012: Challenging Old Paradigms With Urban Innovations and Fresh Ideas From Around the World

Public Sector, NGOs and Private Sector Leaders Convene in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 9, 2012) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO)

What:
Meeting of the Minds is an annual leadership summit that brings together leaders from the world's most innovative organizations to spotlight fresh ideas in urban connectivity and sustainability. The multiday event focuses on interlocking themes: future of cities, advanced/smart networks, economic re-development stimulated by investments in energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Global innovators including government officials, corporate executives, and foundation/NGO leaders showcase innovations that harness innovative ideas paired with the power of advanced technologies (in transport/mobility, networks and connectivity, energy).

Since 2007, when it first convened, Meeting of the Minds has become the premier platform for new initiatives to be launched and for existing innovations to be replicated, scaled and transferred. For more information, and for a complete program agenda visit: http://www.MeetingMinds2012.org/

Meeting of the Minds illuminates specific solutions and smart strategies that are accelerating the emergence of successful cities around the globe -- and creates a smarter and more connected future for all of them. The program features a select group of innovators who are solving critical problems, especially those who lead organizations and companies making smart investment choices. This year's Meeting identifies breakthrough policies and practices enabling our institutions and systems to become more connected and more resilient.

The following list of global leaders presenting on stage offers a sampler of the event's "rethinking" of a city's economic, social and technological development:

  • Mayor Edwin Lee, City & County of San Francisco ("San Francisco's Secret Sauce - Innovation Drives Livability and Sustainability")
  • Mayor Gregor Robertson, Vancouver, British Columbia ("City Breakthroughs and Lessons Learned - The Vancouver Experience")
  • Bill Reinert, National Manager of Advanced Technology, Toyota Motor Sales-USA, ("The Urban Mobility Revolution")
  • Suzanne Seitinger, Director of City Innovation, Philips Lighting North America ("From the Empire State Building to the Bay: The Energy Costs and Environmental Impacts of Smart Lighting")
  • Matt Grob, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Qualcomm Incorporated ("Mobile Internet Transformation - Meeting Network Capacity Needs of Cities")
  • James Anderson, Vice President, Schneider Electric Infrastructure Business - U.S. ("Future Cities Made Real - Efficient, Sustainable, Livable")
  • Dr. Colin Harrison, Distinguished Engineer, Smarter Cities Technical Strategy, IBM ("Next Big Innovation: Smarter Cities")
  • Gordon Feller, Director, Urban Innovations, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group; Co-founder and Convenor of Meeting of the Minds
  • And, more than 300 other leaders from more than a dozen countries, including China, Europe, Canada, Australia!

Additional sessions include: "From Industrial Zones to Innovation Zones"; "The Successes and Failures of Car Sharing -- What is Next"; "New Tools for Social Engagement -- How to Better Engage the Public"; "Building the Smart, Sustainable City -- New Strategies for Law and Policy"; and "The Clean Energy and Water Nexus."

As a global sponsor of Meeting of the Minds 2012, Cisco will be presenting thought leadership papers on topics including the "Smart City Framework," the "City24/7" Smart Screen project, and a "New Model for Government."

When:
October 10 - October 11, 2012

Where:
Julia Morgan Ballroom, 465 California Street, 15th Floor, San Francisco

Who:
Each year, Toyota joins forces with key partners to present this Meeting and to encourage rich dialogues that link public sector, private sector and independent sectors. The program's main organizers are renowned, high-impact non-profit institutions: Regional Plan Association and Urban Age Institute with the Presidio Graduate School and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy as key partners. Global Sponsors are Schneider Electric and Cisco. Gold level sponsors are Philips Lighting, Qualcomm and IBM. Silver Level sponsors are SOM, CH2M Hill, Jones Lang LaSalle, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Netherlands Consul General, The Ford Foundation, Humanitas Wine and Silicon Valley Bank. WSP Group is sponsoring and hosting the October 9 evening Opening Reception. Other organizations have joined as Meeting partners, including SPUR, the Urban Land Institute, Greenprint Foundation, Bay Area Council Economic Institute, International Water Association, CEOs for Cities and US Green Building Council/Northern California.

  • The full Meeting schedule (http://www.rpa.org/motm2012/files/MotM2012-Program.pdf) contains speaker biographies, and provides details about more than two dozen sponsors and partners.
  • Real-time access to the full two-day program is being broadened for this Meeting's sessions. The Meeting features live on-site TelePresence videoconferencing to connect the San Francisco venue with locations around the globe. The webcast (http://www.MeetingMinds2012.org/u) is streamed live throughout the full Meeting program and is free of charge.

Additional Background:

Key facts:

  • Over the course of its first six years, Meeting of the Minds has become the premier leadership summit for connected and sustainable cities. The event provides the setting for intensive exchanges on urban innovation with an invited group of more than 350 leaders from more than a dozen countries. Each one, and their respective organizations, are working towards creating more smart design, planning, policy and technology innovations that enable cities and regions to respond to increasingly complex problems.
  • These innovators gather to learn from each other about scaling-up practical urban innovations, especially in infrastructure. They exchange ideas and action strategies with innovators working in technology, energy, transport, water, finance -- all of whom are building better ways to govern while also growing more prosperous economies for their communities.
  • Participating leaders are drawn from multiple sectors and diverse geographies to share ideas and projects -- with the aim of shaping a common agenda for future innovation. Participants represent leading organizations from public, private and independent sectors headquartered in North America, Europe and Asia.

Presented by:
Toyota
(NYSE: TM) is the world's largest automaker. The company operates under a global earth charter that promotes environmental responsibility throughout the entire company, and recognizes the need for comprehensive approaches to the effective use of resources and to the reduction of pollution and global warming. It presents this event each year in partnership with the lead sponsors.

Lead Sponsor:
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

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Co-Convenors:
Urban Age Institute
The Urban Age Institute is an independent nonprofit 'think-and-do tank' working to support innovators based inside the world's cities. It publishes Urban Age Magazine and delivers programs around the globe. http://www.urbanage.org/

Regional Plan Association
Regional Plan association that nation's oldest independent urban research and advocacy group. RPA prepares long range plans and policies to guide the growth and development of the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan region. RPA also provides leadership on national infrastructure, sustainability, and competitiveness concerns. http://www.rpa.org/

Contact Information:

Contact:
Marc Musgrove
408 525 6302
mmusgrov@cisco.com