"I was delighted the city could host this seminar," said Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge. "What we do in this region is look for the best type of policies and practices. This type of conference identifies the best practices and provides alternatives that we otherwise would not have."

ISoCaRP (www.isocarp.org) is a global association of professional planners. Founded in 1965 with the object of bringing together recognized and highly qualified individual planners in an international network, ISoCaRP is officially recognized by the UN, UNESCO and the Council of Europe.

"I am excited to welcome such a distinguished group of international and local innovative thinkers," says keynote speaker and Riverside City Council member Art Gage. "I look forward to welcoming them to our city on Tuesday morning."

"This is the first time ISoCaRP has held a seminar in the US," says Ric Stephens, Planning Director for AEI-CASC. The theme of this year's conference, "Innovative Communities: Creative Planning in the Inland Empire and the World," will highlight how planners must respond to 21st century challenges with creative strategies to 'make great communities happen.'

Local speakers include Judy Corbett, a principal with the Local Government Commission in Sacramento, CA; Randall Lewis, of Lewis Operating Corporation; Randy Jackson from the Planning Center; Jeff Gault, Chief Operating Officer of Empire Companies; Charles Rangel, Director of the Inland Empire Section of the APA and Vice President of Corporate Relations at Young Homes; as well as Milton Ospina of ESRI.

International speakers include Dr. Elias Beriatos, a professor with the University of Thessally, Greece; Dr. Alfonso Vegara of Madrid, Spain, who is the president of ISoCaRP; NG Kar Shu, principal planner with the Hong Kong Planning Department; Irene Rubitski, a Magistrate with the City of Salzburg; Manfred Schrenk with MultiMediaPlan in Vienna and organizer of the European IT conference CORP; Dirk Engelke a planning consultant from Karlsruhe, German; Dr. Milica Bajic with the University of the West Indies; and Dr. Yoshinobu Kumata, of Chiba University and member of the Science Council of Japan.

For more information call IES-APA Executive Director Lynne Binder at (760) 799-2740 www.ies-apa.org and www.calapa.org

Related Link: APA Inalnd Empire Section - CA Chapter

For more information contact:

Lynne Bynder
IES-APA
40747 Baranda Court
Palm Desert
CA 92260
USA

Phone: 760-799-2740
Email: lbynder@dc.rr.com
Web: http://www.ies-apa.org/