Last week BLOXHUB’s Global Partners met in Copenhagen to gather inspiration from recent urban development projects and get an update on new projects and agendas within sustainable urban development, which they can contribute to in the coming year.
The 15 partners live and work in 13 different countries where they keep an eye out for new opportunities to promote BLOXHUB members. They are successful business leaders, entrepreneurs and professional networkers who voluntarily use their position to pave the way for Nordic solutions within sustainable urban development and attract knowledge, solutions, projects and investments.
This week they met up for the annual Global Partner Summit in Copenhagen, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of Copenhagen Goodwill Ambassadors – Copenhagen Capacity’s and Wonderful Copenhagen’s network of approx. 60 prominent expats who act as Copenhagen’s and Denmark’s extended arm in the rest of the world. It was quickly decided to introduce the members of the two different networks of ambassadors and merge some of their program activities, including dinner at the City Hall, a tour of Paper Island where the construction company NCC presented ongoing projects and a boat ride with City Architect, Camilla van Deurs, who gave an introduction to new buildings and endeavors pointing towards Copenhagen’ role as World Capital of Architecture 2023.
Opening Doors to the World
Although BLOXHUB’s corps of Global Partners have only been active for a year they have already been involved in a number of activities, which have opened doors for BLOXHUB members and cultivated international collaborations.
Maria Budtz Sørensen, Project Manager, DVDL New York, explains how one such collaboration came about:
“In my previous role with AIA New York, the largest chapter of the American Institute of Architects, I helped connect BLOXHUB with a committee of volunteer professionals focused on Planning and Urban Design issues in New York City. Through initial meetings, specific projects focused on Net Zero Neighborhood prototyping and innovative Future Streets were identified to have potential for future cross-border exchanges that will likely take place as upcoming workshops between New York planning professionals and key BLOXHUB experts.”
Martine R. Kildeby, Global Network Manager at BLOXHUB and the driving force behind the Global Partner Summit, says:
“Being able to draw on a competent network of enthusiasts who are passionate about promoting green Nordic solutions throughout the world is of enormous importance when it comes to our mission of creating better cities around the world. BLOXHUB’s raison d’être is to cultivate collaboration and partnerships across sectors and borders, and our network of Global Partners functions as a catalyst for that process. Their efforts open doors that we cannot open ourselves from Bryghuspladsen in Copenhagen and they create opportunities for our members that we could not get close to without their involvement and network. These are people with an impressive commitment and willingness to help BLOXHUB, our members and our common cause: to create better sustainable cities – worldwide.”
BLOXHUB members who are interested in direct contact with the Global Partners are welcome to contact Martine R. Kildeby at mki@bloxhub.org.
