The 12th Meeting of the Minds Annual Summit convened in Sacramento, California with the purpose of spotlighting tools and best practices working for smart city leaders across the globe.

430 leaders gathered to build partnerships across sectors and from city-to-city. The event focused on emerging and tested urban sustainability solutions that are scalable, replicable, and transferable for cities and regions. Discussions were rooted in a deep understanding of technology and equity as key drivers for smart cities.

90 full scholarships were awarded through our competitive scholarship program to public sector leaders, non-profit executives, early stage entrepreneurs and academics to attend the Annual Summit free of charge. 62% of the scholarship recipients were women and approximately 33% were non-white. 

Meeting of the Minds, in partnership with Ann Arbor SPARK and Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti SmartZone, convened a unique one-day thought leadership summit in Ann Arbor focused on emerging autonomous mobility and smart city solutions. Participants had the first-of-its-kind opportunity to tour the recently opened American Center for Mobility (formerly Willow Run) and experience live demos from OEMs and mobility start-ups on the private track and infrastructure assets, followed by small group discussions and workshops. Participants were encouraged to stay for Ann Arbor’s TechTrek on June 15th, which included over 70 local tech start-ups and gazelles.

In 2018, Meeting of the Minds partnered with DigitalC and Cuyahoga County to convene thought leaders in Cleveland for two networking and thought leadership events in May and September. The events featured panel discussions with public and private sector leaders, followed by an interactive Q&A session with the audience. These conversations were designed to provoke a dynamic discussion about the future of the greater Cleveland-Akron-Columbus region and to pinpoint key strategies that will help catalyze the area’s innovation, mobility, and sustainability agendas.

Historically, certain groups have been excluded from smart city events – either by design, negligence, or both. Meeting of the Minds has a deep commitment to demographic inclusion, and we ensure this outreach not just through a free and open digital platform, but also through a scholarship program for all of our events. 

Roughly half of all attendees at our in-person events attend our events for low or no cost – either as scholarship recipients, volunteers, or as presenters. Some even receive financial support to offset the costs of travel and onsite accommodations. Public sector leaders, entrepreneurs, non-profit executives, persons of color, and women are encouraged to apply for scholarships through a competitive application on the Meeting of the Minds website.