Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute Announce Bloomberg CityLab 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico
The eleventh CityLab October 14 – 16 will convene over 500 mayors, policymakers, innovators and creatives to surface and share scalable urban solutions
Initial featured speakers include Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor-Elect Clara Brugada, Juarez Mayor Cruz Pérez Cuéllar, Mexico’s Digital Transformation Head José Peña Merino, Mexico’s Foreign Secretary-designate Juan Ramón de la Fuente, singer-songwriter Elsa y Elmar, Architects Fernanda Canales and Lesley Lokko, Former Bogotá mayor Enrique Peñalosa, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Nairobi Governor Sakaja Arthur Johnson, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Gdańsk Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Seongnam City Mayor Shin Sang-jin, and more
New York, NY & Washington, D.C. – The eleventh Bloomberg CityLab, the preeminent global cities summit organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with the Aspen Institute, will take place in Mexico City, Mexico October 14 to October 16, 2024.
In 2024, half the world’s population will be living in places holding national, legislative, and local elections. Most of those people live in cities—where the consequences of these elections will play out. As they do, mayors across the globe are drawing inspiration from the urban policies that catapulted former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum to the presidency. Against this backdrop, Bloomberg CityLab 2024 will convene more than 500 mayors and leading policymakers, innovators, and creatives in Mexico City in October. Together they will explore the urban advancements CDMX and other municipalities throughout Mexico and Latin America have made for their residents – from cutting-edge digitization to the reimagination of transportation, public spaces, economic development, climate mitigation, and youth engagement. Through panel discussions, one-on-one interviews, interactive breakout sessions, artistic performances, and excursions across Mexico City, the summit will delve into the solutions shaped by city halls around the world that are poised to reshape nations.
Among the featured speakers will be:
- Michael R. Bloomberg, 108th mayor of New York City, Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies
- Mayor-Elect Clara Brugada of Mexico City, Mexico
- Mayor Cruz Pérez Cuéllar of Juárez, Mexico; Mayor Cherelle Parker of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu of Istanbul, Turkey; Mayor David Holt of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; H.E. Hon. Sakaja Arthur Johnson Governor of Nairobi, Africa; Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver, Colorado; Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz of Gdańsk, Poland; Mayor Matteo Lepore of Bologna, Italy; and Mayor Shin Sang-jin of Seongnam City, South Korea
- José Antonio Peña Merino, head of Mexico’s Telecommunications and Digital Transformation Agency
- Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico’s Foreign Secretary-designate
- Enrique Peñalosa, author, economist, and former two-time mayor of Bogotá, Colombia
- Elsa y Elmar, singer-songwriter and producer
- Fatmata Binta, award-winning chef and Founder of Dine on a Mat and Fulani Kitchen Foundation
- Fernanda Canales, architect
- Iñaki Echeverría, architect and Director of Lake Texcoco Ecological Park
- David Jackson, Director of Local Development Finance of United Nations Capital Development Fund
- Asma Khan, chef and Founder of Darjeeling Express
- Lesley Lokko, architect and Founder of African Futures Institute
- Daphne Lundi, Public Scholar at The Moynihan Center at The City College of New York
- Maria Vassilakou, former vice mayor of Vienna, Austria and Founder of Vienna Solutions
- Nicole Flatow, Editor of Bloomberg CityLab
- Juan Pablo Spinetto, Columnist of Bloomberg Opinion
- Jimena Tolama, Editor-In-Chief of Bloomberg Línea
- Vera Bergengruen, Senior Correspondent of TIME
- Anna Martin, host of the New York Times’s “Modern Love” podcast
- Matt Simon, Senior Writer of Grist
- Jenn White, host of NPR’s “1A”
Many additional speakers will be announced and posted on the Bloomberg CityLab 2024 website in the weeks to come.
Members of the media are invited to apply to attend. Media credentials must be confirmed in advance. For more information, please contact sam@bloomberg.org or jon.purves@aspeninstitute.org.
“Across Mexico and Latin America, more and more cities are tackling big challenges with innovative new solutions, and thanks to former Mayor and now President-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City has been helping to lead the way,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies and 108th mayor of New York City. “Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported many cities’ innovation efforts and we are looking forward to showcasing them and more at our eleventh CityLab summit. We hope they inspire other cities to raise their ambitions, learn from one another, and spread ideas that can move the world forward.”
“I am thrilled to join Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute in welcoming mayors, innovators, policymakers, and creatives to Mexico City for Bloomberg CityLab 2024,” said Mayor-Elect Clara Brugada of Mexico City, Mexico. “The summit will provide an invaluable exchange between urban leaders from every corner of the globe to surface the most inspiring solutions and together, chart our cities’ futures. I look forward to spotlighting the public transformations—from transportation to social services—improving lives here in Mexico City for the benefit of others working in service of cities around the world.”
“Urban leaders and innovators around the world—including across Mexico and the Latin America region—are on the frontlines of some of our most pressing challenges, and they have a great deal to teach us about resilience and solutions,” said Dan Porterfield, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. “In the spirit of highlighting what’s working and lifting up leaders who are making a difference, the Aspen Institute is proud to partner with Bloomberg Philanthropies to bring this vital global summit to Mexico City for the first time. Bloomberg CityLab is a unique platform for convening mayors and all those who share the goal of making our communities more livable, inclusive, and sustainable.”
Among the summit’s confirmed attendees are 117 mayors from 36 countries across six continents including: Adama, Ethiopia; Banjul, Gambia; Baka al-Gharbiya, Israel; Bologna, Italy; Bratislava, Slovakia; Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; Butuan City, Philippines; Ganne Tikva, Israel; Gdańsk, Poland; Glasgow, United Kingdom; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Harar, Ethiopia; Hogla, Israel; Howick, South Africa; Istanbul, Turkey; Juárez, Mexico; Kadima-Zoran, Israel; Kafr Kar’, Israel; Kisumu, Kenya; Kitchener, Canada; Kumasi, Ghana; Longueuil, Canada; Lower Hutt, New Zealand; Lusaka, Zambia; Maceió, Brazil; Mansa, Zambia; Masaka, Uganda; Mazkeret Batya, Israel; Mexico City, Mexico; Misgav, Israel; Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil; Moncton, Canada; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nairobi, Kenya; Nansana, Uganda; Nesher, Israel; Newcastle, Australia; Oakville, Canada; Pikine, Senegal; Pimpri-Chinchwad, India; Reykjavik, Iceland; Rosario, Argentina; San Fernando, Chile; San Isidro, Argentina; San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Seongnam, South Korea; Skopje, Macedonia; Tirana, Albania; Torino, Italy; Tres de Febrero, Argentina; Umm al-Fahm, Israel; Vilnius, Lithuania; Windhoek, Namibia; and Yokohama, Japan.
From the United States, among those confirmed to attend are the mayors of: Albany, New York; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Anaheim, California; Aurora, Illinois; Beaumont, Texas; Beaverton, Oregon; Boca Raton, Florida; Boise, Idaho; Boulder, Colorado; Champaign, Illinois; Charleston, South Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Chillicothe, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbia, Missouri; Columbia, South Carolina; Dearborn, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; Des Moines, Iowa; Durham, North Carolina; Flint, Michigan; Fort Collins, Colorado; Gary, Indiana; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Hampton, Virginia; High Point, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Lansing, Michigan; Laredo, Texas; Lincoln, Nebraska; Little Rock, Arkansas; Lynn, Massachusetts; Missoula, Montana; Mount Vernon, New York; New Orleans, Louisiana; New Rochelle, New York; Newport News, Virginia; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Overland Park, Kansas; Paterson, New Jersey; Peoria, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pomona, California; Port St. Lucie, Florida; Portsmouth, Virginia; Providence, Rhode Island; Rochester, Minnesota; Rochester, New York; Salem, Oregon; San Bernardino, California; Savannah, Georgia; South Bend, Indiana; St. Louis, Missouri; Tempe, Arizona; Trenton, New Jersey; Union City, California; Vacaville, California; Vancouver, Washington; Waterloo, Iowa; and West Palm Beach, Florida.
Bloomberg CityLab was founded on the principle that important innovation is happening at the local level and that global impact can be achieved when cities share solutions. For over a decade, CityLab summits have convened the most influential mayors and voices from hundreds of cities worldwide. Summits have generated tangible takeaways for attendees and made international headlines. Past CityLab conferences have been hosted in New York, Los Angeles, London, Miami, Paris, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Amsterdam.
Bloomberg CityLab’s presence in Mexico City marks a milestone in the longstanding partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the municipality. Bloomberg Philanthropies helped expand the city’s Digital Agency for Public Innovation office with 20-plus dedicated staff under the leadership of former mayor Claudia Sheinbaum. These efforts led to the digitization of more than 220 public city services which now reach more than 80 percent of Mexico City residents.
To learn more about Bloomberg CityLab 2024, visit citylab.bloomberg.org.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube Threads, Facebook, and X.
About the Aspen Institute:
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, please visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
Media Contacts:
Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Sam Fuld, sam@bloomberg.org
The Aspen Institute:
Jon Purves, jon.purves@aspeninstitute.org