North Capital Forum

Pollution does not stay in its country of origin; it spreads through the air, water, food, and production chains across countries. The panel “Pollution and Climate Change Know No Borders'' addressed air pollution, effective climate action, and cross-border collaboration. We heard from policymakers and leaders who are working on climate action and cross-border collaboration.

Globalization and digitalization have driven massive change in trade - most notably in the volume and frequency of shipments. However, the trade data infrastructure has not kept up with the pace, leading to the slew of breakdowns throughout global supply chains and bottlenecks at land and sea ports, seen in headlines regularly. North American companies and regulators alike, are taking a radically new approach to modernize how trade data is created and managed by developing open standards-based technologies like “Verifiable Credentials” that anyone, anywhere can use.

The panel “Trust and Transparency in Trade: A Verifiably Digital Disruption” addressed how Verifiable Credentials, a new digital data format that uses cryptography to prove legitimacy and enable critical trade information, flows seamlessly across existing system silos - without sacrificing security, privacy, or competitiveness.

Transnational funding, shared knowledge, and access to the North American market are adding variables to an equation that presents more challenges but also broader possibilities. The panel “The Value of Venture Capital and Transnational Funding between the U.S. and Mexico” discussed the value of venture capital and transnational funding by having entrepreneurs share the lessons and journeys that have characterized their success stories.

Maintaining and strengthening North American democratic institutions is vital to the region's security, good governance, and economic prosperity. The panel “Democratic Institutions: Key Pillars of North America’s Prosperity” discussed the future of North America's democratic institutions, the threats they face, and what must be done to strengthen them.

Universities can no longer be in the business of solely educating a small segment of society's 18-to-22-year-olds, and companies can no longer expect that their employees' "education" ends before they are hired. To meet the demands of North America's democracies and of our 21st Century knowledge economy, institutions of higher education must transform themselves into more accessible centers of lifelong learning. The acceleration of technological innovation further requires universities, as well as companies, to create more creative pathways for developing a skilled workforce and helping individual learners upgrade their skills. This panel, “The Imperative of Lifelong Learning for North America’s Future,” addressed how universities and corporations are meeting this challenge, by re-imagining traditional learning practices and partnering together to foster lifelong education and workforce training.

The United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA) has incredible potential to help the North American region remain competitive by boosting investment, protecting jobs, and increasing regional innovation. However, there are still areas for improvement. The panel “USMCA Forward: Making A More Competitive, Inclusive, and Sustainable North American Economy” explored the opportunities and challenges in realizing the potential for the USMCA to deliver a more widespread and long-lasting economic prosperity for the region.

As the global environment continues to change and disruptions increase in different and fundamental aspects around the world, North America faces a series of challenges that, with the right decisions, could turn into unprecedented opportunities. The increasing need for nearshoring, the importance of innovative manufacturing capabilities, growing unicorns and soonicorns, and extensive awareness of sustainable development from the private sector set a unique landscape full of possibilities for the country. The panel “Mexico: North America’s best-kept secret to unleashing innovative sustainable growth” addressed these topics in collaboration with a group of experts, inviting them to share their perspectives on how Mexico can boost its potential to support North America’s innovative sustainable growth.

Affiliate: McKinsey

Speakers:

• Monica Aspe - AT&T Mexico

• Antonio del Valle - CMN

• Asutosh Padhi - McKinsey

• Rob Wildeboer, - Martinrea

• Adolfo Babatz - Clip

Moderator: Marina Cigarini - McKinsey

From software developers to end users, small and medium-sized enterprises to big corporations, from poverty and inequality reduction to increased profits, and from the public to the private sector, technology can be a source of prosperity. The panel “Tech for Good: How Technology can be a force for good in economic development” analyzed the role of regulators, governments, SMEs, and big tech companies working together to foster economic development in North America.

Affiliate: AWS

Speakers:

• Jana Palacios - USC

• Rossana Fuentes Berain - Mexico Media Lab

• Andres Ponce de Leon - entropía AI

• Javier Lopez Casarin - Congressman, Mexico

Moderator: Stoney Burke - The Aquia Group, US-Mexico Foundation

Globalization and digitalization have driven massive change in trade - most notably in the volume and frequency of shipments. However, the trade data infrastructure has not kept up with the pace, leading to the slew of breakdowns throughout global supply chains and bottlenecks at land and sea ports, seen in headlines regularly. North American companies and regulators alike, are taking a radically new approach to modernize how trade data is created and managed by developing open standards-based technologies like “Verifiable Credentials” that anyone, anywhere can use.

The panel “Trust and Transparency in Trade: A Verifiably Digital Disruption” addressed how Verifiable Credentials, a new digital data format that uses cryptography to prove legitimacy and enable critical trade information, flows seamlessly across existing system silos - without sacrificing security, privacy, or competitiveness.

Affiliate: Transmute

Speakers:

• Vincent Annunziato - CBP

• Isabel Paras - DEACERO

• Jorge González - The Nearshore Company

• Alejandro Mendoza - Prodensa USA

• Jorge Marquez - Grupo Mexico Transportes

Moderator: Karyl Fowler - Transmute

COVID-19 has imposed difficult challenges on how governments provide critical services, from overwhelmed social benefits systems to a lack of information channels. To face the challenge, city governments have turned to digital technologies to broaden their reach and streamline the delivery of citizen services. During the panel “Designing the future of city innovation in North America,” we learned from technology experts who are bringing these innovations to public service at the local level, learned which are the biggest barriers for establishing new public interest technology solutions, how the digital innovation ecosystem is growing, and what we can do in North America to foster technological cooperation as we move towards a growing digital future.

Affiliate: New America

Speakers:

• Sara Hall - City of Philadelphia

• Eduardo Clark - Mexico City

• Samir Mayekar - City of Chicago

Moderator: Monica Lozano - NCF22 Co-Chair