Watson Wire: City-to-City Diplomacy

I bounced from the European Union to Japan to the Czech Republic to Finland on Tuesday – all without leaving Austin City Hall.

There’s always a lot of fun and excitement among the international contingent to SXSW, and this year is no different in that regard. I got a taste of that Dubai chocolate that’s been made famous on TikTok (okay, I admit I had significantly more than a “taste”), spoke a little Gaelic to the Taoiseach (that’s the Prime Minister) of Ireland, and gave a really fancy pair of headphones from the Netherlands to a Dutch artist who is now calling Austin home and has written a love song to her new city.

But there’s a very real difference this year. There’s confusion and some real sadness in our talks as people from around the world have come to Austin with so many questions about how America will address the world and if there’s been a shift in American ideals and what it means for the world. Canada, which has had a special “Canada House” at SXSW for years to showcase the country, its people and opportunities for exchange, pulled out of SXSW completely.

I wish I had better answers for our international friends. To be honest, I’m about as confounded as many of them are by our current direction. But one thing that’s become clear during all of this is the critical importance of what the international relations folks call “sub-national diplomacy” – like me and the Mayor of Greater Manchester in the UK sharing a stage to discuss our common challenges and developing real relationships that will serve the business, cultural and education needs of our communities.

While the extraordinary activity underway across the world is certainly creating confusion, fear and some anger, I think I see how it’s also creating potential new opportunity.

Shared Challenges, Shared Opportunities

In the old days, the cities or regions or areas that held economic power or wealth mostly boasted certain assets, such as large quantities of land or large populations, or they were a financial center or a port.

Well, today a city doesn’t need to be a port. Instead, we can be a portal. Today, businesses can access labor, markets, and capital anywhere in the world, any time of day, from a powerful computer that fits in your pocket.?The economic asset that is primarily valuable now has shifted to imagination and creativity. That’s about people – people are the assets. And they can go wherever they want. They can go to cities and regions they want to be in.

City-to-city, region-to-region/city, even nation-to-city diplomacy is the next step in our global economic evolution. We’ve been seeing this evolution progress as the technological means of communication has improved and cities and regions have become stronger economic centers in their own right.?This likely will accelerate in part because, even if those in other parts of leadership can’t find a way to talk, those of us at the local level can. And we can find ways to work together for the benefit of our people. I believe we must. Those benefits may be cultural, educational and/or economic.

At the local level, we share similar responsibilities and challenges. We serve our people and our communities – directly in most cases. We envision a world where those people can thrive and create and make it a better place for our kids.

We can also set aside all the bluster and grandstanding to actually get something done. In cities and in regions, we do it every day to provide services and enhance quality of life for the real people who live and work in our communities.

For example, before I met with Mayor Mariano Gaido of Neuquén, Argentina, he sat down with City of Austin Assistant City Manager Michael Rogers and Austin Water Director Shay Ralls Roalson to talk about water and wastewater.?Neuquén, which serves as a gateway to Patagonia, is flanked by two rivers so protecting both water quality and natural areas are of paramount importance particularly in a community facing incredible growth. Sound familiar?

Director Roalson said the group discussed, among other things, Austin’s improvements to the wastewater treatment processes at the upgraded Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plan as a way to protect river water quality.

She added that the discussion was a great opportunity to hear how other places are grappling with the same issues as Austin, especially places that truly value their natural resources. And it reinforced the importance Austin’s ongoing stewardship of our natural resources, “that what we’re doing is best in class,” Roalson said.

Austin is an international city. People from all over the world want to interact with our city, want to learn from us and are ready to help us, too. My message to all our visitors from around the world was that Austin, Texas, loves having them come to our home every year. We embrace these relationships and value them. We want to be your friend and your partner, and we want these relationships to grow so that we can learn from each other and our people can prosper. And let’s face it – so we can just have some fun together.