NEW YORK—United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan will deliver the morning keynote address at the economic development conference co-hosted by New York City Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi and New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. The conference titled, “Global Connection: Investment, Trade, Culture and Tourism” will take place:
Friday, December 11, 1998, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. New York University’s Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge 40 Washington Square South, New York, NY “The UN community is good for New York’s economy, spending some $2.2 billion every year,” Annan said. “I am committed to doing my utmost to make sure that this historic partnership thrives and endures. This economic development conference is one way to help achieve this goal.”
The conference will feature three panels and more than a dozen representatives from the business, cultural and academic communities. Bell Atlantic’s Vice Chairman and President Ivan Seidenberg will be the keynote speaker in the afternoon session.
The discussion topics include:
-The ways to strengthen the relationship between the city’s investment community and the global market;
-The specific steps that must be taken to increase investment opportunities that promote local economic development;
-New York City economy’s effectiveness in utilizing the resources of its diverse immigrant population, and the cultural industry’s role in stimulating domestic and international tourism.
Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford, dean of NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, said: “Now more than ever, we must look at how we are enriching the lives of New York City’s diverse population, how we are bringing people together, and how we are delivering the services they need to succeed. I am proud to join with New York City Comptroller Alan Hevesi in this fourth annual economic development conference. This conference fosters the kinds of ideas that will inspire us to think globally about the challenges we face as a society.”
“New York City is the global connection between the United States and the world,” Hevesi said. “The recent fluctuations in the global financial markets combined with the City’s limited resources pose an immense challenge to our economy and prosperity in the future. The conference will bring together top business leaders and will stimulate meaningful discussion and debate on economic development issues. Our goal is an increase in communications and economic activity between New York and the rest of the world.”
Participants in the conference include: Richard B. Fisher, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., as a panel moderator; Mitchell Moss, director of Wagner School’s Taub Urban Research Center; Mary Schmidt Campbell, dean, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts; Rae Rosen, senior economist, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Adian St. P. Walsh, OBE, partner in charge, KPMG Peat Marwick LLP; Lawrence J. White, professor, NYU Stern School of Business and James Lebenthal, chairman, Lebenthal & Company. Top executives from the Frankfurt Balkind, Citibank, AT&T Solutions, Chase Capital, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the New York Public Library, and the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau will also participate.
About the New York City Comptroller As Comptroller, Hevesi is a trustee and/or adviser for the City’s five pension funds. Several of his initiatives have earned prestigious awards for innovations in government and excellence in financial reporting. In addition, Hevesi has become an international leader in monitoring the progress of Swiss banks and other European financial institutions in making restitution to victims of the Holocaust and their heirs. He played an integral role in prompting the banks’ agreement earlier this year to restore $1.25 billion in assets to Holocaust survivors and heirs.
About the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service The Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service is at the heart of NYU’s mission: “A Private University in the Public Service.” The largest public service school in the United States, the Wagner School provides students with the academic preparation, field experience, and leadership skills necessary to excel in public service. It often hosts prominent officials discussing critical issues. The school has expanded its curriculum, initiated new student exchange agreements, trained foreign non-profit managers and businessmen and women and works on transitional democracies in Central and Eastern Europe and the development of public administration in Latin America.