Pittsburgh, Allegheny County to Host G20 Brainstorm

The city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County will hold a series of brain-storming sessions in an effort to speed along the process of preparing the region to host the G20 Summit in September. A schedule for the “Welcome the World” brainstorming sessions has been set:

Fri., June 19, 12:00-130 p.m., Point Park University,
Lawrence Hall, Ballroom

Tues., June 23, 12:00-130 p.m., Robert Morris University,
Sewall Center, International Suite

Tues., June 23, 5:30-7:00 p.m., University of Pittsburgh,
Alumni Hall, Connolly Ballroom

A website has also been created to take input from those who cannot attend one of the three live sessions. The bulk of the event will be housed in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Sept. 24 and 25 but officials expect to host satellite events in other venues across the region. Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says, "We have a long and successful history of public-private partnerships in Pittsburgh, and we're building another one to get ready for the G-20." The city and county will use the comments from the sessions and the web as guides as plans are finalized with the help of the White House. Locally the Mayor’s office, County Executive’s office The Allegheny Conference on Community Development, VisitPittsburgh and the Sports & Exhibition Authority are leading the planning process with a special G20 planning committee still to be named.