2024 Living Cities Forum – Full Program and Keynote Speakers Announced

The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has announced that visionary architect and urbanist Nathalie de Vries, co-founder of Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, along with Professor Lesley Lokko OBE, founder of the African Futures Institute and curator of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023, will join the program of international keynote speakers for the upcoming Living Cities Forum in Melbourne and Sydney. 

Presented by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, Living Cities Forum is Australia’s flagship event for urban designers, thinkers and placemakers. The global program features cross-disciplinary speakers who share inspiring, actionable ideas to improve the cities of today and tomorrow.

Moderated by Program Director Andrew Mackenzie and centred on the theme of ‘Common Interests’, this day-long series of international keynotes and conversations in Melbourne and Sydney will spotlight progressive ideas and solutions from across the globe, all trained on the future of the public realm.

The full line up of international keynote speakers are: 

• Nathalie de Vries (Netherlands) – a visionary architect, urbanist and co-founder of Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, known for designing innovative, unexpected, and joyful mixed-use buildings that transform urban spaces. 
• Professor Lesley Lokko OBE (Ghana/Scotland) – a leading voice in architecture, academic, educator, best-selling novelist and founder of the African Futures Institute. Named on the list of the 100 most influential people of 2024 by Time Magazine and curator of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023.

• Martí Franch (Spain) – a landscape architect pioneering low-cost, large-scale green infrastructures in Catalonia, transforming neglected urban areas into vibrant, multifunctional public spaces. 
• Catherine d’Ignazio (US) – a coder, scholar, and artist/designer combining feminism and technology to create more inclusive open spaces, both online and offline. 
• Kabage Karanja (Kenya) – architect and co-founder of Cave Bureau, exploring architecture’s role in urbanism, nature, and culture, and co-curator of the UK Pavilion for the 2025 Venice Biennale. 
• Jill Desimini (US) – An associate professor and landscape architect exploring the design possibilities of vacant lots and residual spaces as sites of public amenity and climate justice, at a time when climate impacts on public space will be greater in poorer neighbourhoods. 

With Melbourne and Sydney on track to become megacities by 2050, reimagining public spaces amid population growth, increased densities, and a warming planet has never been more vital. 

This is a unique opportunity for industry professionals, students, and anyone invested in the future of our cities to hear from a global, multi-disciplinary panel sharing transformative ideas and solutions essential for shaping our urban future. 

Key Details: 

Melbourne: Wednesday 18 September 2024, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm. The Edge, Fed Square, Melbourne. 

Sydney: Friday 20 September 2024, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm. State Library of NSW, Sydney. 

Tickets: 

• $250 – Full price 
• $225 – Concession

Living Cities Forum 2024 is presented by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation in partnership with Fed Square and the State Library of NSW. The Sydney edition was made possible with the support of Government Architect NSW and the Committee for Sydney. Industry partners include Slattery, Brickworks, BVN, Tract, Lendlease, Hassell Studio and Durbach Block Jaggers. Program partners include the Municipal Association of Victoria, RMIT University, Curtin University, UTS, the British Council, the Dutch Embassy, the Spanish Embassy and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. 

Visit www.livingcitiesforum.org for more information.