City of Pittsburgh set to organise inaugural edition of GMIS America in 2021
The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) announced a new partnership model that will enable more cities around the world to mobilise the global manufacturing community and encourage cross-border collaboration and partnerships to advance prosperity across the world. The city of Pittsburgh in the United States is the first to join the new partnership model and will organise the inaugural edition of GMIS America in 2021.
Cities that are keen to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development and advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development can choose to partner with GMIS through this model, which will entitle the partner city to host an annual GMIS satellite event. Namir Hourani, Managing Director of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, announced the partnership with the city of Pittsburgh during the closing ceremony of the #GMIS2020 Virtual Summit, which took place on September 4-5. He said: “The story of Pittsburgh resonates very well with what GMIS is all about, and so to wrap this up, I am excited to announce that the City of Pittsburgh will be the first City to join the new partnership model and will organise the very first edition of GMIS America in 2021. And of course, bring a GMIS event back to the City of Pittsburgh every year.”
The announcement was followed by a panel discussion between William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, and Christopher Martin, Director of Engineering and Research and Development, Bosch, to highlight Pittsburgh’s successful story of transitioning into a city at the forefront of innovation and advanced technologies.
Pittsburgh: Renaissance city
Pittsburgh’s rejuvenation, from a traditional heavy manufacturing heartland that had fallen on hard times to become a modern, advanced technology, innovation and robotics hub in the space of just a few decades, is one of the success stories of the 21st century. The ‘Steel City’ was the epicentre of a region that produced much of the steel in north-east America during one of the greatest periods of economic expansion in US history. But a period of stagnation during the latter part of the 20th century left the city facing an uncertain future.
However, Pittsburgh’s traditional manufacturing legacy combined with its strong leadership, skilled labour, quality infrastructure, collaborative mindset, and proximity to two world-class, research-focused universities have allowed the city to reinvent itself as a major centre of technological innovation and advanced manufacturing in the United States.
William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, said: “During the 1980s and 1990s, de-industrialisation tore the economic heart out of our region. We went through a depression greater than the Great Depression. But at the same time, the seeds were planted for what we're seeing now as our new economy. They were planted in artificial intelligence, in robotics, and in life-sciences, and so many other areas where we have become a global leader, including advanced manufacturing. Today, Pittsburgh is once again on the world stage, but this time not for the production of steel, aluminium, or glass, but for the creation of innovation. Organising GMIS America in 2021 is testament to how we have overcome the struggles of the past 30 years and turned our fortunes around.”
Christopher Martin, the Director of Engineering and Research and Development at Bosch, which established a base in the city in the 1990s just as its economy was re-emerging from a long slump, said: “We're in Pittsburgh quite simply because of the foundations that were laid at Carnegie Mellon University many years ago. The Bosch Center for AI represents one of our flagship efforts around the globe for our investment in the future of artificial intelligence and the partnership with Carnegie Mellon University is one of the pillars of our success. Through that we get to bring those benefits to the world.”
He added: “We're really looking forward to being part of that conversation and to showcase all the great things happening in our region.”