City of Telosa

Around the world, there is a large and growing group of people who recognize the need for a new and improved way of doing things that is more sustainable, more equitable, and provides a higher quality of life with greater opportunity for everyone. The strength of this rapidly expanding movement was on full display at the Bhutan Innovation Forum 2024 that members of the Telosa team attended (Oct 1-3). The speaker's list included several Nobel Laureates, international development experts, world-class urban designers, tech and innovation leaders, and global development companies.    We are extremely encouraged by this significant trend. In a few short years, Telosa has become an important voice in this vital conversation. We have brought together global thought leaders and assembled a vast array of best practices from around the world. Together with Polco, we constructed and implemented the first comprehensive Community Connections Index (CCI) in the world to measure social capital and the strength of community bonds within towns and cities. The amount of support we are receiving from around the world only strengthens our resolve to realize our mission to provide a blueprint and example of a more equitable and sustainable future for everyone. https://bit.ly/3zSV232

Bjarke Ingels (Founder, BIG) was a keynote speaker at one of the largest international groups ever assembled in the Kingdom of Bhutan for the initial Innovation Forum (Oct 1-3). Mindful Entrepreneurs, Sustainability Experts, Innovators & Conscious Leaders were brought together for a shared purpose to rethink and discuss a plan for a new model city - Gelephu Mindfulness City.   Bhutan established a global trend by introducing a new way to measure a nation's success beyond economic growth. It is now applying that same innovative thinking to a new development model focused on sustainable design, economic opportunity, a stewardship of our natural resources, and a higher quality of life for people. Working toward a future of Peace, Prosperity and Progress in Bhutan and a model for the rest of the world. These are values and principles shared by Telosa. https://bit.ly/3zSV232

The Bhutan Innovation Forum (Oct 1-3) brings together thought leaders, notable people in business, academics, finance, and philanthropists from around the world to discuss a new framework and how it could be successfully applied to Bhutan and beyond.    By combining the expertise of this impressive group of people, including representatives from Telosa, this conference could very well provide the foundation for a new model of mindful, sustainable, and dynamic social and economic development. We encourage you to view the Schedule and Speakers. https://bit.ly/4gGhmxC

In the same way that Bhutan redefined how the world measures well-being and the success of a nation with the Gross National Happiness index, it is now actively working to redefine how nations creatively develop their economies while maintaining a strong sense of community, balance with nature, and shared prosperity.    On Oct 1-3, the Bhutan Innovation Forum will be held just outside the country's capital of Thimphu. The purpose of this conference is to bring together thought leaders, notable people in business, academics, finance, and philanthropists from around the world to discuss this new framework and how it could be successfully applied to Bhutan and beyond. Telosa is delighted to participate. https://bit.ly/4gGhmxC

Fifty years of research proves that stronger social bonds are key to community health, happiness, safety, and prosperity. In this webinar recording, from Polco and Telosa, learn more about how you can drive public trust and connections using data-driven decision-making.   Webinar Takeaways: 1) Strengthening trust and collaboration between residents and local leaders creates better overall community outcomes. 2) Leaders can empower inclusive and equitable growth through data-driven decision-making. 3) The Community Connections Index (CCI) is an essential community-building and performance measurement resource for leaders to make lasting, positive change. https://bit.ly/3B70VtD

Come join us and Polco for this special webinar on Connected Communities. Learn how to strengthen your social bonds, build social capital, and create a community welcoming to all.   Strong community bonds and social connectedness is about much more than volunteering, bake sales and town hall attendance. It is about the fundamental ways that the people of a town or city relate to each other, cooperate, and contribute to a better quality of life for everyone. Polco has teamed with the Telosa Community Foundation to create a new, free, easy-to-use tool to assess community connection that will help local governments, regional agencies, and residents make better decisions that empower cities to take concrete steps to make measurable improvements in strengthening their bonds, networks of reciprocity, and sense of inclusion and belonging. Empirical studies over the past 50 years have shown that stronger social bonds make communities healthier, happier, safer, and more prosperous. Learn more about how you can make your community stronger,  inclusive and more equitable! https://bit.ly/3ASQQAA

Come join us and Polco for this special webinar on Connected Communities. Learn how to strengthen your social bonds, build social capital, and create a community welcoming to all.   Strong community bonds and social connectedness is about much more than volunteering, bake sales and town hall attendance. It is about the fundamental ways that the people of a town or city relate to each other, cooperate, and contribute to a better quality of life for everyone. Polco has teamed with the Telosa Community Foundation to create a new, free, easy-to-use tool to assess community connection that will help local governments, regional agencies, and residents make better decisions that empower cities to take concrete steps to make measurable improvements in strengthening their bonds, networks of reciprocity, and sense of inclusion and belonging. Empirical studies over the past 50 years have shown that stronger social bonds make communities healthier, happier, safer, and more prosperous. Learn more about how you can make your community stronger,  inclusive and more equitable! https://bit.ly/3ASQQAA

The Paralympics open this week in Paris as the ultimate spotlight on human potential, spirit of friendly competition, and people coming together for a shared purpose. A record 4,000 athletes from 168 delegations will participate in these games. The athletes will compete in 22 events ranging from swimming to wheelchair rugby to archery. The anticipation of spirited and quality competitions has driven ticket sales to over 3 million with millions more spectators cheering and watching via television and streaming. The athletes competing embody the 4 important values that have come to define the Paralympics: courage, determination, inspiration, and equality. They give hope to what is possible and that we are all not defined by limits that others place on us. Just as in Telosa, everyone has an opportunity to succeed and no one is left behind. In addition, the staging of the Paralympics drove Paris to improve accessibility by upgrading bus and tram lines, and the introduction of 1,000 accessible taxis which will contribute to France being a more inclusive society. https://bit.ly/3YYJDZK

We are not defined by the limits others place on us. Neither are cities. When Jaime Lerner, a renowned urban planner and architect, became the mayor of Curitiba in 1988, they had a major problem. The bustling Brazilian city of 2.2 million people was clogged by traffic congestion making daily life difficult for the residents, depriving a formerly prosperous downtown of crucial customers, and restricting the city’s growth. Limited resources made a multi-billion-dollar subway system unaffordable, and the borrowing costs would deprive future citizens of the resources needed for schools and parks. The innovative mayor decided on a different course. They would completely revamp the existing inefficient and unreliable bus system into the BRT: Bus Rapid Transit system. By implementing a new dedicated bus lane for traffic, redesigning the bus stops for easier loading and offloading, and adding more buses to the system, they turned a major drawback of the city into one of its biggest success stories. Today, Curitiba has one of the most heavily used, yet low-cost, transit systems in the world and its citizens enjoy congestion-free streets and pollution-free air. The city uses about 30 percent less fuel per capita than other large Brazilian cities. Curitiba proves that cities do not need to accept the limitations inherited or status quo thinking to define their success for the future. https://bit.ly/3WY8drb

As the Olympics close after over two extraordinary weeks of sports excellence and spectacle, we salute Paris for also using innovative green/sustainable construction techniques, materials, and design to provide housing for Olympic athletes that will ultimately benefit the Parisian workforce. In an industrial area just north of Paris, an Olympic Village was constructed to house thousands of competitors from around the world. It will now be converted into affordable housing, much needed in the French capital. In addition, Paris exhibited sustainability with the first Olympic flame that shined without fossil fuel and expanded over 100 miles of new bike lanes. It is this type of innovative thinking and intelligent resource utilization that can help cites thrive. Building on the success in Paris, the 2028 LA Olympic Games has also announced plans to focus on sustainability practices and aims to be car free. https://bit.ly/3M8QLLi