Mayor Bloomberg, esteemed mayors, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It’s a privilege to welcome you again to the City of Amsterdam.
It’s a great honour for this city to host the first in-person CityLab since twenty-nineteen!
Let me first thank Bloomberg Philanthropies and The Aspen Institute for the program, which brings together so much expertise on how to improve the lives our citizens. Mayor Bloomberg, I know I speak for everybody here when I say your and promoting progress and innovation has been impressive.
I wonder if you recognise the following quote:
“After the question of keeping world peace, metropolitan planning is probably the most serious single problem faced by man [….]” It was actually a statement by the World Health Organisation in 1964. But it’s still true today. That’s why we’ve put the focus on Digital Urban Planning. Our multidisciplinary team uses digital technology to engage local communities in urban planning. This is only possible because Bloomberg Philanthropies selected Amsterdam as a partner in the Digital Innovation Program.
This is really wonderful. And what makes me ever more excited is the opportunity to host so many mayors and world class thinkers and innovators.
This is extraordinary, and we should make good use of this great opportunity.
Because it’s about time that cities take back the initiative as global actors.
Remember 2019? Cities were magnets to people and businesses.
We were living in the age of the ‘Triumph of the City’.
Mayors were about to ‘Rule the World’.
Then came the Covid crisis, which was quickly followed by Putin’s unprovoked, unjustified and barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, it has become clearer every day that the global order is shifting.
Covid and geopolitics have accelerated a process of, what is called deglobalisation.
To be honest, even before Covid we saw a backlash against globalisation, fuelled sometimes by populist and xenophobic campaigns on the one hand, but also on the other hand by legitimate social and ecological concerns.
Unsustainable globalisation and the unsustainable growth of cities are part of the same problem.
Acknowledging the problems associated with globalisation does not mean we should embrace the protectionism and nationalism that seem to have gained support in recent years.
We must often act locally, but always think globally.
So, it is clear that we have to look for alternative strategies to promote progress and international cooperation.
It is wonderful that the economist Mariana Mazzucato will be one of the speakers at this conference.
Her concept of the entrepreneurial state is catching on.
Contrary to popular belief the state, more than private business, has played a crucial role as the indispensable initial investor in major innovations, such as internet, pharmaceuticals and green technology. Professor Mazzucato has said: “if we want growth today to be more innovation-driven, more inclusive and more sustainable, then we need a more active state, not a less active one.”
In addition, Mazzucato argues for a mission-based approach to the economy.
The idea is based on President Kennedy’s Apollo Project to put a man on the moon. It cost 4 per cent of the US Federal Budget and took over 400,000 workers, but society reaped the rewards of the huge spill-over effects, like the development of the first software.
Professor Mazzucato encourages us to take, and I quote: “the same level of boldness and experimentation to the biggest problems of our time […]”
One of these problems is the following.
The citizens of almost all our cities rely heavily on digital platforms owned by big tech firms, to follow the news, communicate with friends or maintain networks and purchase or rent things.
They collect vast amounts of private data.
Their algorithms and a toxic mix of commercial and political interests that capture these platforms poses a potential threat to democracy.
Most of us share ideas and principals concerning the digital world.
InTwenty-eighteen Barcelona, New York City and Amsterdam jointly launched the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights. Already over 50 cities have joined.
Now it’s time to take our ambitions a step further and think like entrepreneurial states.
I propose to join forces as cities, and cooperate with our citizens, and tech companies who share our values, to create a new public digital space that promotes digital sovereignty. In the early days of the internet, we had such an initiative in Amsterdam called the Digital City.
We need a Digital City for the Twenty-First Century.
The users will be like citizens, with rights and obligations.
First and foremost, they will always be the owners of their own data.
Rules and regulation must come about through a democratic process.
It should be a platform to maintain friendships, build networks, do business, have free debate and engage in international collaboration and innovation.
The value it creates can be spread more equally among users.
All without our data being collected by big companies.
Without our being manipulated by algorithms.
Without undue surveillance by state agents, either foreign or domestic.
Dear friends,
The Digital Republic can be the moonshot project that inspires the progressive, innovative forces in our cities.
Creatives, ethical hackers, digital activists, software engineers.
Let’s unleash their talent for the common good.
Entrepreneurs who want to contribute to a fair digital world but can’t get around the monopolies of big tech.
Let’s give them an alternative.
Our citizens who are tired of the cynicism in international politics.
By collaborating on a common mission, let’s give them a reason to be hopeful again.
In Twenty twenty-five the City of Amsterdam will be celebrating its 750th birthday.
We’re going to mark this occasion not only with festivities, but also with lasting legacies.
We’re taking the initiative to build a new digital public space, a new Digital City.
Our dream is to do this in cooperation with other cities, with innovators, and of course with Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute.
Needless to say, we will be asking Professor Mazzucato for advice.
I look forward to discussing it further with you.
I hope you have a fruitful conference and magnificent time in Amsterdam!
Thank you for your attention.