The Trinidad and Tobago High Commission, London is pleased to convey the link to the VIII Americas Competitiveness Forum 2014 scheduled to take place on October 8th– 10th 2014 in Trinidad and Tobago. http://competitivenessforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/VIII-ACF-Flyer-Information-Catalogue.pdf
Over 1,000 local, regional and international representatives from business, government, civil society and academia will converge at the HYATT Regency Hotel in Port of Spain to participate in the VIII Americas Competitiveness Forum (ACF) under the theme “The Human Imagination at Work: Driving Competiveness, Powering Innovation” .
This three-day event comprises plenary sessions, panel discussions, competitiveness workshops and specialised sessions which are hosted by high-level speakers. The ACF facilitates government-to-government, business-to-government and entrepreneurial meetings as well as hosts social and cultural events to further facilitate networking among participants.
The overarching goal of the ACF is to inspire programmes, policies, and partnerships that will improve economic prosperity at local, regional, and international levels and ensure a brighter future for all the people of the Region and will focus on:
- Panel 1: Energy Competitiveness and Innovation
Speakers: Jane Allen, Global Leader for Renewable Energy-Deloitte; Dr. William Warren Smith, President of Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)and Dr. Roger Hosein, Senior Lecturer, Trade & Economic Unit, U.W.I
- Panel 2: Financing Business, Investment and Growth
Speakers: Gadi Mazor, Senior Partner and CTO, OurCrowd and Israel Dennis Evans, Cluster Head – Caribbean, Citibank
- Panel 3: Creativity, Innovation, Research and Application
Speakers: Frans Johansson CEO, The Medici Group; Dr Keith Nurse Professor and CEO, UWI Consulting Company; Deborah Wince-Smith President and CEO, Council on Competitiveness and Christine Norton, Director and Representative of UNESCO Kingston Cluster Office for the Caribbean.
- Panel 4: Breakthrough Innovations and the New Generation
Speakers: Dr Kiran Akal President and Creative Director, Infinite Worlds; Mehul Trivedi CEO and Co-Founder, NoiseToys Inc; Suhas Gopinath CEO and Founder, Global Inc. and Claude Zdanow Founder and CEO, Stadiumred
- Panel 5: Services Industry as a Driver of Innovation
Speakers: Kris Singh, President of Service Research and Innovation Institute; Pamela Coke Hamilton, Executive Director at Caribbean Export Development Agency; Oscar Bazán, Executive Vice-President for Planning and Business Development, Panama Canal Authority and Kyle Maloney Director/Fundador, Novu Technologies Ltd
- Panel 6: Innovation in Education
Speakers: Gabriel Sanchez Zinny, President and Founder of KUEPA; Dr. Fred Mednick Founder, Teachers without Borders; Chris Young, Executive Director, CIFAL Atlanta; Dr. Michael Penfold; Director for Public Policy and Competitiveness, CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and Dr. Roger Pulwarty Director, Senior Advisor for Climate Research, and Director, National Integrated Drought Information System, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development, in collaboration with the Council for Competitiveness and Innovation (CCI) and Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA) will be hosting for the first time, The Forum for Partnership in the Americas on October 8th centred around the theme of “Tapping Imagination for Sustainable Business Innovation” designed for senior executives and leading entrepreneurs. Attendees will be exposed to highly relevant, inter-related topics which will enable you to re-imagine the boundaries of your business, apply world-class perspectives and practical tools that power innovation and sustainable growth, actively interact with other participants gaining valuable insights and sharing ideas across industries, markets and nationalities and gain access to business-to-business meetings and business opportunities which will provide the opportunity to secure potential business partners and new markets that can drive business expansion.
Speakers for this forum are :
- Daniel Levine, one of the world’s best-known trends experts who will discuss how to use the power of trends to make your products and services irresistible;
- Peter Sage, an extreme entrepreneur with over twenty years of experience growing fast-paced enterprises examines how innovation meets free enterprise in the 21st century and
- Gabor George Burt, the global authority on re-imagining boundaries discusses how to apply the Slingshot Framework to continuously re-imagine your business.
Additionally, the Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development will host a three-day “Innovation Village” on October 9th -11th where exhibitors can showcase innovations in the area of Information and Communication Technology, Military Defence, Health & Safety and the Environment. Argentina, Brazil, China, France and Germany are already confirmed to participate. For more information, please contact innovation@planning,gov.tt
For additional information and registration, please visit: www.competitivenessforum.org
Kind regards, Candice Latchman, Trade and business division
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