RICS is pleased to announce the annual World Built Environment Forum (WBEF) Summit to debate this year’s theme, The Future of Investment in Real Assets, with a focus on how to harness new technology to mobilize the private capital investment needed to meet the growing global demand for new infrastructure, new real estate and the renewal of existing assets—while considering sustainability and the public good. Now in its fourth year, the Summit is the flagship event of RICS. More than 500 delegates drawn from the highest levels of industry, government and policymaking will debate how to make informed and responsible investments in a changing technological and geopolitical landscape.

Headline speakers include opening keynote speaker Parag Khanna, international best-selling author, Managing Partner of FutureMap and one of Esquire’s 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century. He will bring a global perspective to the intertwined forces shaping investment in the built environment, as well as new insights into the growth of Asia’s economies and global economic and geopolitical change. Former U.S. Senator from Arizona Jeff Flake will open the second day as the keynote speaker to discuss pathways to progress and the need for the U.S. to renew its commitment to decisive rather than divisive global leadership.

Over two days, participants will build a picture of how technology is transforming investment in real assets, outlining workable approaches to building public and investor trust as organizations seek to mobilize more capital into much-needed infrastructure. In the context of investing in the built environment, the 2019 Summit will specifically explore key themes such as the changing nature of work and workplace, the impact of algorithms and tokenization, the real-world outcomes for cities and citizens, new finance models for energy and transport and investment risk allocation.

Other speakers include Joseph Lubin, Co-Founder of blockchain computing platform Etherium and Founder of blockchain venture studio ConSensys; Ed Walter, Global CEO, Urban Land Institute; Kate North, Vice President of Workplace Innovation Advisory at Colliers International; Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; Jennifer S. Vey, Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution; Suparno Banerjee, Vice President and Global Lead, Public Sector and Smart Cities for the Nokia Group; and Maureen Ehrenberg, Global Head of Digital Facility and Asset Management Services at WeWork; among many other industry leaders and top journalists. You can find the full program here.

The WBEF is sponsored this year by organizations such as Newmark Night Frank, Cushman & Wakefield, Shanghai Oriental Investment Supervision Company, Real Capital Analytics, Rider Levitt Bucknall, Turner & Townsend, Arup, International Finance Corporation and Gardiner & Theobald.