National Conference on the Creative Economy kicks off today

Friedman, Florida, Toffler headline conference in Fairfax County; CNN's Sesno, FORTUNE's Fisher to lead panel discussions

Fairfax County, Virginia USA, Wednesday, October 24, 2007 -

The 2007 National Conference on the Creative Economy, organized by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, kicks off today and continues tomorrow with Richard Florida, Thomas Friedman and Alvin Toffler delivering the keynote presentations. FORTUNE columnist Anne Fisher and CNN’s Frank Sesno will lead panel discussions.

Today’s (October 24) program begins with a keynote speech by Florida:

• 8:30-9:30 a.m. – Florida, author of “The Rise of the Creative Class,” will deliver a speech entitled “The World Is Spikey” to discuss how regions are becoming more specialized in economic activity, creating a global battle for talent.
• 12 noon – 1:30 p.m. – Friedman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The World is Flat,”  will explain how a flattening world will impact countries, companies, communities and individuals and why green is the new red, white and blue.
   

Tomorrow’s (October 25) program features a keynote presentation from Toffler and a town hall discussion led by Sesno:

• 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Toffler, whose works include the seminal “Future Shock,” will present the final keynote address examining the crucial role that creativity will play in determining which countries, communities and individuals succeed in the global economy.
• 2:10-3:10 p.m. – Sesno’s town hall discussion about how the ideas presented at the conference can be prioritized, implemented and assessed for companies and communities. He also will hand out a survey on what companies and communities can do to be more creative.
  During the conference, Fisher will moderate panels on the “Best Companies to Work for” and competing for talent.

Additional conference highlights include presentations by:

• Dr. Gerald Gordon, President and CEO, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and host of the conference
• Dr. Jack Dale, Superintendent, Fairfax County Public Schools
• Joe Watson, author and CEO of Reston, Va.-based Without Excuses and StrategicHire
• David DeLong, author of “Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce”
• Robert Lynch, President and CEO, Americans for the Arts
   

Conference participants will take home strategies and tactics on workplace topics such as:

• Attracting and retaining the creative class
• Creating a culture of creativity in the workplace to improve the bottom line
• Using diversity to promote creativity
• Harnessing the power of an aging workforce
• Boosting creativity in homeland security
• Improving communities and the economy through creative companies
   

For a complete agenda, visit www.creativeeconomies.org.

Conference sponsors are the Fairfax County government, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, FORTUNE, The Push Group LLC, Siddall, ICMA, Americans for the Arts, SkillSource Group, Potomac Tech Wire, the Washington Business Journal and Tech Journal South.

Fairfax County, host of the conference, is an example of the creative economy: 57 percent of county residents work in “creative occupations” in information technology, professional services, education and other fields.  Time magazine this year called Fairfax County “one of the great economic success stories of our time.” Visit www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org.