The NEXT Summit on Cities, Urban Development and Community Safety

The CITY Institute at York University is pleased to announce its first NEXT Summit, presented in collaboration with the myGoverNEXT Foundation, a non-profit initiative. We are delighted to bring together public policy researchers, provincial and municipal officials, scholars and community leaders for a day of dialogue on some of the pressing challenges facing contemporary cities both in Canada and Colombia.

The Inaugural NEXT Summit on Cities, Urban Development and Community Safety
Sept. 28, 2026 | 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Room 519, 5th Floor, Kaneff Tower | Keele Campus, York University

The summit will explore how governance can become more representative, inclusive and responsive to emerging urban challenges, while strengthening the capacity of cities to develop solutions and deliver meaningful outcomes for residents and citizens in both Canada and Colombia.

A select panel of provincial, municipal and intenrnational officials will examine the politics and policies of urban development and community safety, with a particular focus on Brampton, Ont., Medellín (Colombia) and other cities in Colombia. Discussions will consider a range of contemporary urban issues, including public transit safety, women’s and gender-based safety, urban infrastructure, artificial intelligence and digital technologies, as well as the broader challenges municipalities face in responding to evolving questions of safety and security.

The summit is co-sponsored with Dharmendra Singh, founder of the myGoverNEXT Foundation, a public policy researcher with the Ontario Public Service (OPS) currently leading policy work at the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security on intellectual property, innovation and research commercialization in Ontario’s postsecondary sector. Singh is also a York University alumnus.

Guest Speakers
Prabmeet Sarkaria, minister of transportation, Ontario; MPP for Brampton South

Charmaine Williams, associate minister of women’s social and economic opportunity, Ontario; MPP for Brampton Centre

Luis Gabriel Gomez Grisales, deputy, Departmental Assembly of Antioquia, Colombia

Keynote Speaker: Professor Luisa Sotomayor

For more detailed program schedule, visit: https://www.yorku.ca/cityinstitute/events/the-inaugural-next-summit-on-cities-urban-development-and-community-safety/

Limited seating available. Kindly RSVP here.

Registrations will close Sept. 21.or once venue capacity is reached.