Park Summit 2016

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PARKS ARE AT THE HEART OF NEIGHBOURHOODS?

FIND OUT AT PARK SUMMIT 2016

Join us at Canada’s largest gathering of park leaders and champions, planning and design professionals and city builders.

• LEARN: From international and Toronto leaders who are transforming parks into the heart of communities
• CONNECT: Meet and connect with like-minded park enthusiasts at a lively social gathering
• EXPERIENCE: Tour a local park projects that is making a difference

At Park People Park Summit, be inspired by innovative approaches and proven practices to address social, economic and environmental issues through the power of parks.

AGENDA:

1:00pm Doors Open

1:30pm Welcome & Opening Remarks

2:00pm Keynote Presentation: David Escobar-Arango

3:00pm Toronto Parks Showcase Presentation featuring Winter Stations, The Green Line, For Youth Initiative and Flemingdon Urban Fair Committee

4:00pm Parks Social

4:45pm Park Experience tour of Regent Park projects

Live performance featuring Kaeja d'DANCE

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

David Escobar-Arango, Planner of “Library Parks” in Medellin, Colombia

Once described as the murder capital of the world, a story told in the current Netflix series “Narcos”, Colombia’s second largest city, Medellin is now hailed as a “miracle of reinvention.” Much of that transformation is thanks to David Escobar-Arango, the city’s former Director of Planning, and his team.

The City of Medellin has been transformed through the design and development of new parks, cultural centers, and educational opportunities. One such initiative – Library Parks (Parques Biblioteca) – is a series of public libraries set in city parks that offer educational tools and programs to benefit local communities, as well as providing a hub for further urban development and green projects. Strategically located in some of the city’s most disadvantaged communities, Medellin’s five library parks have become integral centers for social development that address an identified need for more cultural and educational space. Additional projects include theExplore Park of Science and Technology and Medellin Digital Botanical Garden.

Critical to the success of these initiatives was working closely with community at all stages of these projects.

David Escobar-Arango has worked as a public servant; executive in the ICT sector and since 2014 he is running an NGO that promotes entrepreneurship among low income communities in his country.

He has lectured and consulted in Colombia and Latin America in fields such as: Urban Development, Project Management in the Public Sector, local economic development, entrepreneurship and ICTs / smart cities. David holds a degree in Production Engineering from EAFIT University and Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

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