Keynote

Side by Side: Building the Economy from Place, People, and Purpose

Explore how place-based economies can restore dignity, opportunity, and civic trust.

DATE

Apr 18, 2026

START TIME

END TIME

LOCATION

OCAD U Main Campus

Ilse Treurnicht

Entrepreneur and former CEO of the MaRS Discovery District

Zita Cobb

Founder, Shorefast

Economies should be collective choices, designed side by side with communities. Drawing on her work transforming Fogo Island into a global model of community-led development, Zita Cobb, Founder of Shorefast, will reflect on what it takes to build an economy that genuinely serves democracy from the ground up. In conversation with Ilse Treurnicht, this session will explore how place-based economies can restore dignity, opportunity, and civic trust.