Next week, the 2019 California Economic Summit kicks off in Fresno, marking the eighth annual gathering of private, public and civic leaders from across California’s diverse regions.
You can read more about the Summit’s top priorities in the new 2019 California Economic Summit Playbook, the policy and program guide for this year's Summit. The Playbook introduces the topics and action plans that will be reviewed, refined, and championed by Summit attendees in concurrent sessions.
This year, the Summit deepens its commitment to creating inclusive, sustainable growth by dedicating its efforts to helping all Californians in all of the state’s regions have access to the “Building Blocks of the CA Dream.” These interconnected policy areas include:
- Health and Well-being
- Housing, Mobility and Connectivity
- Lifelong Learning
- Ecosystem Vitality and Working Landscapes
- Prosperous Economies, Thriving Workers
- Effective Governance and Robust Democracy
- Inclusive Communities
Tremendous economic growth and beautiful landscapes attract people from around the country and the world to our state in search of the “California Dream.”
What they find is a paradox, a land of countervailing superlatives. California is a global leader in social inclusion, environmental policy, and technological innovation but it also has the highest rate of poverty in the nation after adjusting for the very high cost of living here.
A closer look reveals that California is made of diverse regions distinct from one another but also all tied together by water, energy, food, workforce, transportation systems, innovation ecosystems, capital, education, recreation and more. Each region contributes to the interdependent system that powers the state’s prosperity.
It is for this reason that the two groups that have been leading the California Economic Summit effort for the past eight years – California Forward and the California Stewardship Network – integrated into a single organization this year. And it is for this reason that over the course of the past six months, we partnered with the Newsom Administration in its Regions Rise Together initiative to create a statewide plan for shared prosperity, to achieve “California for All.”
We look forward to seeing you in Fresno and continuing the important work of the Summit into new year!
VIDEO: The Summit and the Building Blocks of the CA Dream
Watch the new Summit explainer video to learn more about the Building Blocks of the CA Dream and the 2019 California Economic Summit:
CA Summit Video from Amber Bolden on Vimeo.
