The 2019 Global Cities After Dark forum will be held in Sydney on Friday 15 November. Here, policy makers, nightlife leaders and city planners will join forces with domestic experts, local and state government to focus on solutions following a challenging five years for Sydney’s nightlife.

Framed by three themes – Content and Culture; Creative Space and City Planning; and Policy/Framework and Education – the 2019 forum features keynotes from six international experts, as well as “deep dive” workshops, breakout sessions and a hypothetical enactment, focused on harm minimisation.

Opening the event will be a keynote address from Charles Landry, international author, speaker and the founder of the Creative Cities Index. His keynote ‘From a ‘No, because’ to a ‘Yes, if’ culture: How can our bureaucracies be more creative?’ explores the human perspectives at the heart of our city’s systems. Bureaucracies are beginning to transform, with bureaucrats across the world attempting to rethink possibilities. The challenge is creating the optimum condition to drive change, which allows people to express their values and trigger their desire to contribute.

His keynote highlights how bureaucracies created solely in pursuit of efficiency are extraordinarily wasteful of time and talent, and why creative bureaucracies engage people so that they maximise their potential and elevate their energy.

Also newly announced on the program is a Post Lockout Plan for Sydney group workshop. With strong indications that 2020 will herald a repeal of the lockout laws, this group workshop focuses on how local businesses and communities can build and retain a diverse, safe, inclusive and thriving nightlife in Sydney. The workshop will focus on three key timelines including one year, five years and 10 years post-lockouts.

The City of Sydney’s nightlife and creative sector advisory panel co-chair Kerri Glasscock; AHA’s John Green; detective superintendent Stacey Maloney from NSW Police; Art Pharmacy’s Emilya Colliver; James Winter from Brand X; Night Time Industries Association’s Michael Rodrigues; Left Bank Co’s Michelle Tabet and Property Council’s Will Power will guide three groups through these different timelines of Sydney’s nightlife rebuild.

For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.