Concordia brings its cities expertise to the Le Monde festival
Le Monde returns!
The iconic French newspaper is coming back to Montreal to hold its second annual Le Monde festival. The gathering, on October 25 and 26, will bring together major Quebec and French personalities from the academic, economic, cultural, political, scientific and innovation worlds to debate and share ideas.
This year’s theme is Agir / Act. Concordia, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the TOHU circus venue are each hosting events.
Concordia's cities experts are taking part in two festival events on October 25.
In the morning, Le Monde, NewCities and Concordia are presenting Réinventer la ville : agir… vite ! at the J.A. DeSève Cinema in the J.W. McConnell (LB) Building. Speakers will reflect on present-day challenges and opportunities driving cities to act — or react.
Christophe Guy, Concordia’s vice-president of research and graduate studies, will help introduce the French-language event. Pascale Biron, professor and chair of the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, is joining a panel discussion entitled Les villes face à l’urgence climatique. Alex Megelas, programs coordinator for the Office of Community Engagement, is taking part in another discussion called Comment agir ? Exemples de terrain.
Ursula Eicker, Concordia’s Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Communities and Cities, will deliver the keynote address, Qu’est-ce qui rend une ville intelligente? or, What makes a smart city?
“A smart city is by definition a city that uses its data and communication infrastructure to provide smart and highly efficient services,” Eicker explains.
Yet, she adds, “To become climate neutral, cities must also radically change their built infrastructure. And a city is only smart if it includes all its people and provides affordable housing and lively and green public areas for exchange, communication and better living.”
Participants in Silvano De la Llata’s workshop will use miniaturized, movable elements to plan a public space.
Open urbanisms
Later on October 25, Concordia’s 4TH SPACE will welcome visitors to the Open urbanisms: Re-thinking public spaces workshop. Participants get to conceptualize and plan a public space — Parc des Gorilles in Montreal — using miniaturized, movable elements representing trees, urban furniture and temporal structures.
Silvano De la Llata, assistant professor in Concordia’s Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, is leading the free, English-language workshop.
Eicker says that the university is a fitting venue for an event that looks at cities on the move.
“Concordia has just won a Canada Excellence Research Chair on next-generation cities and is now bringing together numerous research activities on smart, sustainable and resilient cities and communities,” she says.
“With a holistic view on future cities, the university is the ideal host to motivate the debate.”
To help promote the festival, Le Monde is offering a discount subscription price to all Concordians:
- For students aged 18 to 25: 1€ (approx. $1.45) for the first six months, then 8.50€ (approx. $12.33)/month.
- For faculty, staff and alumni: 1€ (approx. $1.45) for the first three months, then 9.90€ (approx. $14.36)/month.
Don’t miss the Le Monde festival on October 25 and 26 in Montreal.
Tickets to the French-language Réinventer la ville : agir… vite ! at the J.A. DeSève Cinema are $14.50. Open urbanisms: Rethinking public spaces will be held at 4TH SPACE in English and is free. Both venues are in the J.W. McConnell (LB) Building, 1400 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal.
