St. John's Hosts Successful World Energy Cities Partnership AGM

Representatives of energy cities around the world were in St. John’s last week for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP). Mayor Dennis O’Keefe is the President of this international organization, and this event marked the first time the AGM has been held in St. John’s. This event was also part of Ocean Week, organized annually by the City of St. John’s to recognize the significance of ocean related industries.

"Membership in the WECP affords us a very unique opportunity to gain knowledge from other regions where the petroleum industry plays a large role in the local economy and to learn from their experiences,” says Mayor O’Keefe. “Our interactions with other WECP cities can assist in developing new business relationships and we developed an agenda to build on that momentum.”

The theme of the meeting was Energy Exchange: Sharing Intelligence and Building Connections.  Throughout the event, delegates were given opportunities to connect with other energy cities, as well as the private sector, educational institutions and young people. Some delegates also took advantage of the opportunity to attend the Ocean Innovation 2012 conference also held during Ocean Week.

"Membership in this organization is an excellent means to promote St. John's as a City of Ocean Excellence and is a forum for profiling our capabilities,” says Mayor O’Keefe. “It also provides opportunities for future collaboration and is a means to further some of the goals as outlined in our Roadmap 2021.

“As a City, it was important to share experiences and knowledge with the other cities in the partnership,” adds Mayor O’Keefe. “We found a lot of common ground. We are benefitting immensely from the energy sector, but we are also facing some of the same pressures on infrastructure, capacity and community amenities.” 

The WECP is a collaboration between 19 energy cities around the world including Calgary, Stavanger, Aberdeen, Houston and Perth. This collaboration provides a worldwide network of opportunity for the businesses within the member cities and also provides municipalities with shared knowledge and resources to assist in economic development initiatives.

For further information:
Jennifer Mills
Communications Officer
City of St. John's
Phone: (709) 570-2037
Cell: (709) 690-7586
E-mail: jmills@stjohns.ca

Dennis O'Keefe
Mayor
President, World Energy Cities Partnership
City of St. John's
Phone: (709) 576-8477
E-mail: dokeefe@stjohns.ca