Speeches

Winnipeg was the site of the November gathering of Canada's Committee on Cities and Communities to discuss the draft report "Creativity Unbound: A New Vision for Cultural Policy in Canada." Carol was selected as one of the respondents for the work, along with former Winnipeg Mayor Glenn Murray; Simon Brault, President, Culture Montreal; Kip Bergstrom, Executive Director, Rhode Island Economic Policy Council; Wanda Koop, artist and founder of Art City; and Eric Young, president of E.Y.E.

Leadership Alabama invited Carol to facilitate its Economic Development class day in Huntsville in October. Class members had an opportunity to participate in a branding exercise for their cities and hear Carol talk about the changes cities must make to succeed in the a global economy driven by ideas.

Carol spoke on the campus of LeMoyne Owen College during Architecture Month in Memphis. Her topic was the importance of urban design and the nurturing of distinctive culture to smart cities.

Carol Coletta gave the keynote speech on "The Creative City" at the November 11th unveiling of Greenville's Vision 2025. The visioning process, led by the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, maps out ambitious plans for this thriving city which boasts one of America's best downtowns. Five hundred top business and civic leaders in the area attended. The afternoon speech followed a noon presentation she made at the Riley Institute at Furman University on "The Young and Restless."

Steven Wolff of AMS Planning and Research was the curator of two special sessions at the joint convention of Americans for the Arts and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. More than 300 arts activists from around the country participated in the sessions with panelists representing the New England Council's Creative Economy Initiative, American Film Institute's new theatre development in Silver Spring, Maryland, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Cincinnati Business Committee. Carol Coletta moderated the discussion. The theme of the session was "Changing the Frame: Moving the Arts from Beneficiary to Contributor."

Carol Coletta was the keynote speaker at the Miami wrap-up of a series of conversations about the role of arts in economic development and human services sponsored by Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood. The meetings, organized by Partners for Livable Communities, were designed to elevate arts on Governor Jeb Bush's agenda as he pursues a tight set of goals for Florida. Secretary of State Hood, former mayor of Orlando, has been a long-time champion of arts, libraries, and historical assets and has advocated their inclusion for the first time in the state's economic development plan.

Carol Coletta was a panelist at Living Cities, June 9, where she and Boston Globe urban reporter Anthony Flint spoke to officials from the nation's top foundation and financial institutions about how to engage the media in the work of Living Cities to revitalize inner city neighborhoods. The panel was moderated by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation chairman Hodding Carter.

Carol Coletta spoke to Leadership Florida May 13 on Creative Cities. Andres Duany, whose presentation was next on the agenda, echoed many of her comments. In his always compelling style, Andres said research always shows that mobile young people want to live in mixed-use walkable communities.

The presidents of independent colleges of art and design throughout North America gathered at Toronto's latest landmark, Ontario College of Art and Design, for their annual meeting April 1-3.  The presidents spent one full afternoon considering presentations on creative cities from Dr. Meric Gertler, University of Toronto, an author and authority on innovation economies and creative communities; Rita Davies, Executive Director, Culture Division, City of Toronto, who shared the "Culture Plan for the Creative City;" and Carol Coletta of Smart City Consulting on creative economies and smart cities.

Carol Coletta completed a two-day speaking tour of Broward County, sponsored by the Broward County Cultural Division. Audiences included the current class of Leadership Broward, the Coral Springs Visioning Summit and the County Cultural Forum in Tamarac. She also met with members of VisionBroward who prepared the innovative Creative Industries Task Force report.

A huge group of Reno, Nevada civic leaders gathered at the April WIN meeting to hear Carol Coletta talk about creative communities and what Reno can do to become one.  Following the presentation, County Manager Katy Singlaub arranged a smaller group discussion about specific strategies for Reno. The group included a number of 20-34 year-olds eager to help Reno continue to develop a new set of amenities. 

Carol's visit to the area also included a presentation to civic leaders in Truckee, California, sponsored by the Sierra Business Council.

"Place Making and Community Building" were the themes at the annual symposium of the Knight Program in Community Building, held in Miami, March 22-23. Carol Coletta had the opportunity to interview three luminaries as part of the agenda: Knight Foundation president and CEO Hodding Carter, III, University of Miami president Donna Shalala, and the developer who transformed Soho and South Beach, Tony Goldman. Also on the agenda were Yankelovich Partners president Walker Smith and nationally syndicated columnist Neal Peirce.

Carol Coletta was a featured speaker at Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco's first statewide economic development conference since her inauguration in January. Almost 1,000 people attended the all-day meeting in Baton Rouge on March 24, which was also webcast live. The conference theme was "Louisiana Is Open for Business."

Creative Fresno convened April 1, 2004. It's the brainstorm of City Councilman Henry Perea, and he has generated support for the initiative throughout the region. Carol Coletta was keynote speaker for the event.

Carol Coletta will speak at the Institute of Human and Machine Cognition's Evening Lecture Series Thursday, March 4 in Pensacola, Florida.

Previous speakers have included "Tipping Point" author Malcolm Gladwell, Seaside founder Robert Davis and urban planner Ray Gindroz. Upcoming speakers are John Norquist, former mayor of Milwaukee who now heads the Congress on New Urbanism and William Hudnut, former mayor of Indianapolis and currently senior fellow at ULI.

Carol Coletta was the keynote speaker for the Atlanta region Urban Land Institute's annual awards banquet. As a consultant in urban redevelopment and host of the award-winning "Smart City" radio program, she presented cutting-edge thinking on what makes cities succeed today.

Performing artists, critics, and adventurous arts enthusiasts from around the world gathered in Portland in September to attend the first Time Based Art Festival. The festival was a production of PICA, the innovative contemporary art organization run by Kristy Edmunds.

Nights were filled with performances and parties in "found" performance spaces all over downtown, while daytime events included arts talks and a major panel discussion on the importance of creativity to communities. The discussion was held in the offices of legendary ad agency, Weiden and Kennedy, and featured Dan Weiden, economist Joe Cortright, Portland Mayor Vera Katz, and "Smart City" host Carol Coletta.

Carol Coletta was a featured speaker at Torontos Creative Places + Spaces conference in October 2003. Arts administrators, government officials, artists, developers, architects and economic development officials from Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Europe and Australia convened in Toronto October 17-19 to trade strategies for making their communities more creative places. Sponsored by Toronto Artscape, the conference featured presentations on arts-related projects and research from around the world, including The Custard Factory in Birmingham, UK, The Distillery District and 401 Richmond in Toronto, and Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts.

Carol Coletta, host of the award-winning public radio program "Smart City," gave the keynote address for the 2003 CEO Forum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on October 28. She joined CEOs across the region for a two-hour discussion on how Fort Wayne can succeed in the changing economy.

Florida's economy is built on more than seniors and sun worshipers, and state economic development leaders want the world to know it.

The Florida Chamber Foundation, Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood, and Enterprise Florida President Darrell Kelley are traveling the state to present their new economic development plans to business leaders. Their tour has included major meetings in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, with trips to Miami and Tampa planned in early 2004.

Carol Coletta, host of the award-winning public radio show "Smart City" and co-host of the Memphis Manifesto Summit, has keynoted each of the presentations to highlight the new value Florida is putting on creativity and talent attraction and retention.