Saturday Feb 5th, 2022
at ChoZen Retreat
ChoZen is an eco-retreat sanctuary nestled along the banks of St.Sebastian river & nature preserve. Our aim is to build a sustainable future for people and the environment in which we all coexist in harmony. Come experience the deep, healing power of nature and community. Take a journey along the ChoZen path with us. www.chozenretreat.com
“During this mini-retreat, we will connect with thought leaders, visionaries, and policymakers in the regenerative and sustainable development arena to discuss how we can rapidly prototype solutions for the built environment right here in Florida, one of the most at-risk geographies to climate change and sea-level rise, sharing demonstration projects and best practices from around the world.
We will explore various sustainable solutions such as OCEANIX, the UN-Habitat-backed floating city, and other projects and concepts from around the globe which offer promise to Florida’s real climate challenges.”
10:30am-12:00pm // SESSION I
Introduction to Regenerative Futures
ABOUT: Our first session kicks off an introduction to regenerative futures. It will highlight the vision of a regenerative future in Florida, as a region with at risk geography to sea level rise and flooding. With the devastating effects of climate change, declining biodiversity, and widening inequality globally, inclusive and effective tools like regenerative placemaking are needed as catalysts towards a sustainable future. The conversation will touch on global environmental challenges, and identify place-based, and community-driven solutions. We will ask provocative questions about how we can take concrete steps towards effective cultural, political, and ecological changes?
10:30am – 10:55am : Welcome by Tony Cho, CEO of Future of Cities,. Introduction to regenerative placemaking as a tool for urban transformation within the built environment. Lead discussion into what regenerative futures are, the vision of a regenerative future in Florida.
10:55am – 11:20am: Transition by Victor Kisob, former UN Assistant Secretary-General and former Deputy Executive Director of UN-Habitat who will discuss the global challenge of doubling the built environment in the next 40 years and what this means for coastal cities like Lagos, Nigeria or Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, both projected to have over 50 million residents by 2060.
11:20am – 11:45am: Final discussion about some global regenerative solutions by Bjarke Ingels of Masterplanet and Bjarke Ingels Group, his vision and some sample global projects.
11:45am – 12:00pm: Open discussion with in-person and virtual attendees.
About the Speakers:
Tony Cho: Tony Cho is the founder and CEO of the Future of Cities Platform, a multi-faceted organization aimed at impacting the lives of 1 billion people through innovations in the built environment. Cho is also the founder of Metro 1, a forward-thinking real estate brokerage, management and development firm focused on shaping neighborhoods and developing sustainable cities in South Florida for more than 17 years. The company has completed over $3 billion in real estate transactions since 2005 and has been recognized every year since 2011 as one of the top 25 commercial real estate firms by the South Florida Business Journal. As an entrepreneur and early pioneer in Wynwood, Mr. Cho served as a founding member of the Wynwood Business Improvement District (BID), and championed the progressive rezoning of the area — known as the Wynwood NRD (Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan) — which transformed blighted streets into a diverse, 24-hour mixed-use arts and entertainment district. Mr. Cho is the founder of the Magic City Innovation District, which is transforming 18 acres of industrial warehouses and land in Little Haiti into a center for innovation, jobs and creativity. This 8,000,000 square foot, multi-year, mixed-use project will help spur economic, social, and cultural growth while providing an access point for jobs in an underserved community.
Victor Kisob: Victor Kisob is the former UN Assistant Secretary-General and former Deputy Executive Director of UN-Habitat where he provided global leadership in promoting socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements and adequate housing for all. As cities face unprecedented demographic, economic and spatial challenges, Mr. Kisob worked closely with government leaders at both the regional, national and city level to implement the United Nations’ New Urban Agenda. He held this position from 2018 to 2021. Mr. Kisob has more than three decades of service in human resources management, spanning international affairs, policy, strategy, operations, and partnerships. He has extensive international experience, and was previously stationed in Israel, Palestine, Austria, Somalia, Zambia and Ethiopia.
Bjarke Ingels: Bjarke Ingels founded BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group in 2005 after co-founding PLOT Architects in 2001 and working at OMA in Rotterdam. Bjarke defines architecture as the art and science of making sure our cities and buildings fit with the way we want to live our lives. Through careful analysis of various parameters from local culture and climate, everchanging patterns of contemporary life, to the ebbs and flows of the global economy, Bjarke believes in the idea of information-driven design as the driving force for his design process. Named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME Magazine in 2016, Bjarke has designed and completed award-winning buildings globally. Alongside his architectural practice, Bjarke has taught at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, and Rice University and is an honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen.
2:00pm – 3:45pm // SESSION II
Emergent Technology Solutions: The Promise of Blockchain, DAOs, Web3 as tools for a more equitable, resilient & Regenerative Future.
ABOUT: The promise of blockchain to decentralize and democratize access to real assets including real estate has the potential to dramatically disrupt the built environment and help to create a more equitable future for all of humanity. DAOs, NFTs & Web3 offer new opportunities for co-designing regenerative futures that allow for more inclusive participation and full transparency. In this session, experts will explore current ideas, thinking and platforms that are accelerating this transition from the current paradigm to a new paradigm with the potential to dramatically impact our future.
2:00pm – 2:20pm : Xavier Hawk – CEO of Phireon Global Partners
2:20pm – 2:40pm: Amanda Cassatt – Serotonin Co-founder & CEO
2:40pm – 2:55pm: Sam Cassatt – Founder at Aligned Capital
2:55pm – 3:10pm: Dr. Sarah Manski, Assistant Professor, Business/Global Affairs at GMU researching the Political Economy of Blockchain Technology
3:10pm – 3:25pm: Discussion on how blockchain can enhance the physical built environment, with David Gong, a researcher at the Korea-based CBDC-Blockchain Research Institute (CBRI). David will talk about linking distinct physical locations with shared governance and culture, starting with Busan Metropolitan City, which is the blockchain regulatory sandbox for all of South Korea, and how this relates to the OCEANIX City prototype.
3:25pm – 3:45pm Open discussion with virtual and in-person attendees
About the Speakers:
2:00pm – 2:20pm
Xavier Hawk
CEO of Phireon Global Partners
Xavier Hawk is a Wildly Charismatic Genius CEO of Phireon Global Partners & host of BASELINE, who architected the world’s first stable priced multi asset backed crypto currency and negotiated the first Blockchain for a nation. He is an entrepreneur, blockchain expert, permaculture design expert, complementary currency consultant, renewable energy advocate, artist, and humanitarian. A keen speaker and advocate of sustainability projects, humanitarian causes, and complementary currencies, Xavier has shared his vision and expertise across a range of key media platforms around the world, including; magazines, radio and television. He has spoken about Blockchain technology on stages in LA, San Fran, NY, Miami, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Tel Aviv.
2:20pm – 2:40pm
Amanda Cassatt
Serotonin Co-founder & CEO
Amanda Cassatt is an explorer of technology, economics, and culture. An early crypto entrepreneur, she helped bring Ethereum to market as ConsenSys’ Chief Marketing Officer from 2016 through 2019. During that time, Amanda also created Ethereal, the crypto cultural event series that hosted some of the first NFT galleries and popularized Ethereum from SXSW to Davos. Amanda currently serves as CEO of Serotonin and President of Mojito. She was included on both the Forbes and Inc. 30 under 30 lists in 2016, and speaks at events from TechCrunch Disrupt to the WEF. Her work on Ethereum and NFTs has been covered in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone.
2:40pm – 2:55pm
Sam Cassatt
Founder at Aligned Capital
Aligned capital a new investment firm designed to anticipate civilization-scale, evolutionary changes in human behavior, and to invest in their core technologies.
2:55pm – 3:10pm
Dr. Sarah Manski
Assistant Professor, Business/Global Affairs at GMU researching the Political Economy of Blockchain Technology
Dr. Manski is a scholar of technology, political economy, commons economics and globalization at George Mason University. She studies uses of technology for popular sovereignty. Her research is situated at the intersection of global business, new technologies, and social enterprise concerning commons-based peer production, self-sovereign identity, generative value accounting, supply chain transparency, and strategic approaches for constructing a 21st century technological commonwealth. Dr. Manski is a widely cited author, speaker at technology conferences globally, advisor to VERSES.io and the Civana Foundation, affiliate researcher with the P2P Foundation and the George Mason University Center for Social Science Research (CSSR), and Expert Reviewer for the National Science Foundation’s SBIR program.
3:10pm – 3:25pm
David Gong
Policy Researcher CBRI
David is a researcher at the Korea-based CBDC-Blockchain Research Institute (CBRI), a new think tank specialized in blockchain and central bank digital currencies. He is an early contributor to Columbia University’s undergraduate organization for distributed ledger technology, Blockchain@Columbia, member of the LionDAO, and holds a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University.
5:15pm-7:00pm // SESSION III
Sustainable Solutions for a Resilient Florida /Sustainable Policy Framework + OCEANIX + ReefLine
ABOUT: In our final session, we will be discussing and exploring sustainable solutions and progressive policies right here in Florida and projects like OCEANIX as potential solutions. As a state on the frontlines of rising sea levels and flooding, Florida has been home to many innovative solutions to improve flood resilience. One of these ideas is that of a floating city which may seem like a utopia, but today, the first self-sustained and resilient floating city is on the way in Busan, South Korea. OCEANIX is a UN-backed project that is proposing a floating, sustainable urban infrastructure to host 10,000 people on the water. Is this the future of resilience in Florida? Join Chris Castro, Director of Sustainability of Orlando, Marc Collins Chen, Co-founder and CEO of OCEANIX, and Mayor Park Heong-Joon of Busan as they delve deeper into sustainable solutions for climate resilience.
5:15pm – 5:30pm : Chris Castro, Director of Sustainability City of Orlando, introduces the latest sustainable breakthroughs for Orlando and Florida at large and sets the stage for other demonstration projects.
5:30pm – 5:45pm: Marc Collins Chen, Co-founder and CEO of OCEANIX City, will introduce OCEANIX City and the Busan, South Korea, sustainable floating city prototype project. Floating cities are a new approach to flood resilience, climate adaptation and community development.
5:45pm – 6:00pm: Ximena Caminos, Founder and Artistic Director of The Reef Line – will introduce The Reef line, a unique project that brings attention to and mitigates the dangers of climate change in Miami Beach, while simultaneously enriching the city’s vivid art scene.
6:00pm – 6:10pm: Mayor Park Heong- Joon of Busan, South Korea, will speak about his vision for his city, which is a candidate for Expo 2030, under the theme “Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future”. He will also discuss the importance of attracting innovations such as blockchain and floating cities to Busan.
6:10pm – 6:40pm: Daniel Schmachtenberger, founder of The Consilience Project, on the opportunities of prototyping closed-loop, full-stack civilizations from scratch on the ocean, before becoming an interplanetary species.
6:40pm – 6:45pm: Tony Cho: Closing – Why Florida can lead regenerative future urbanization to connect to the land, ocean and space.
6:45pm – 7:00pm: Open discussion with in-person and virtual attendees.
About the Speakers:
5:15pm – 5:30pm
Chris Castro
Director of Sustainability City of Orlando
Chris Castro is an award winning sustainability professional, eco-entrepreneur, and community organizer with a passion for accelerating the transition to a smart, resilient and sustainable future. Chris is most notably known for his work as the founder and president of IDEAS For Us, an international nonprofit and United Nations accredited organization working to develop, fund, and scale environmental solutions around the World; and co-creator of the renowned ‘Fleet Farming’ urban agriculture program that started in Orlando. Chris is currently the Director of Sustainability and Co-chair of the Smart Cities initiative for Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and the City of Orlando.
5:30 – 5:45pm
Marc Collins Chen
Co-founder and CEO of OCEANIX City
Marc is an entrepreneur and former government Minister of Tourism of French Polynesia. He has over 20 years of experience leading startups. Marc co-founded OCEANIX in 2018 and has the distinction of organizing the first ever International Conference on Floating Cities to address the impact of sea level rise on Island Nations. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences and media platforms. Marc studied engineering and business management at the University of Texas at Austin. Marc has a cosmopolitan background — born in Hawaii to a Chinese mother and American father, raised in Mexico City, and moving to his ancestral home of Tahiti after college.
5:45pm – 6:00pm
Ximena Caminos
Founder and Artistic Director of The Reef Line
A cultural entrepreneur, Ximena Caminos is a creative powerhouse. Internationally renowned as a non-traditional curator, she’s a cultural agitator who pioneered new ways to approach and discuss contemporary art and cultural manifestations at large. She has been appointed Artistic Visionary Planner for The Underline, the largest public art project in the US as well as Former Artistic Director and Chair of Faena Art and Partner and CCO of the multi-awarded Faena Districts. In 2017 Caminos founded the cross-disciplinary cultural platform HoneyLab. She is a member of the New Museum Leadership Council, Founding Member of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s Latin American Circle, an XPrize Ambassador and the recipient of many awards, amongst them the Knight Foundation Arts Champion Award, Knight Foundation Arts Challenge Award, and the Blavatnik Family Foundation Grant.
6:00pm – 6:10pm
Mayor Park Heong-Joon of Busan
South Korea
is a South Korean journalist, educator and politician. He was a former professor of the Sociology Department and Graduate School of International Studies at Dong-a University. He has been the Mayor of Busan since 8 April 2021. Park represented the Grand National Party (GNP) in the National Assembly as the Member for Suyeong from 2004 until in 2008. He served as the Secretary-General of the National Assembly from 2014 to 2016. He also served as the Senior Secretary to the President for Political Affairs from 2009 to 2010 under President Lee Myung-bak. Prior to his political career, Park worked as a journalist of JoongAng Ilbo and Monthly Mal.
6:10pm – 6:40pm
Daniel Schmachtenberger
The Consilience Project
Daniel is a founding member of The Consilience Project, aimed at improving public sensemaking and dialogue. The throughline of his interests has to do with ways of improving the health and development of individuals and society, with a virtuous relationship between the two as a goal. Towards these ends, he’s had a particular interest in the topics of catastrophic and existential risk, civilization and institutional decay and collapse as well as progress, collective action problems, social organization theories, and the relevant domains in philosophy and science. He is motivated by the belief that advancing collective intelligence and capacity is foundational to the integrity of any civilization, and necessary to address the unique risks we currently face given the intersection of globalization and exponential technology.