The G-20 Summit and Community Involvement

In one of our previous blogs we wrote about the G-20 Summit that will be held in Pittsburgh this September. As we stated, Pittsburgh was chosen because the city is a model for the restructuring of the US and the global economies. Pittsburgh's economy, once based on steel and manufacturing had to change in the 1980s. Now the city's economy is focused on technology, healthcare, and robotics. Additionally, many of the new businesses and building in Pittsburgh are environmentally friendly.

Community involvement and interest has exceeded many peoples' expectations. In fact, hundreds of community members and business owners have attended several planning meetings. An IntellaCore representative attended one of these meetings and found that the community was very supportive of the summit.

Their ideas included the following:

• Put welcome signs inside the airport and outside, in all foreign languages presents
• Take delegations on a tour of Pittsburgh highlights
• Make lobby posters to welcome all 19 countries
• Downplay the sports
• Promote local food and no bottle of water
• Exhibition of green businesses
• Opportunity for protestors to speak
• A short video to present the city – in social media
• Jazz concerts to highlight African American culture
• Create a drama of public voice
• Manufacture a yellow and black button with “I’m from Pittsburgh” for citizens
• Teach what is the G20 to children and students of all age
• Organize public transportation
• Emphasize the medical research & role of this sector in the local economy
• Promote the local economy, local companies in each event

Many of these ideas came from business owners hoping to benefit from the summit. As the conference approaches, we are hoping that there are more ideas that will benefit the Pittsburgh region as a whole. With the community's ideas, we can see that the people of Pittsburgh are recognizing that the G-20 Summit is an excellent opportunity to highlight Pittsburgh's economic opportunities for continuous growth. As the Summit approaches, we hope that Pittsburgh businesses try to move out of their regional box and into the global, Internet economy.