Photo Credit: Martha Rial
A s world leaders gathered in our community for The Pittsburgh Summit 2009, they found a region
“… can I just mention … how grateful
I am to the city of Pittsburgh for all
the volunteers who’ve come out, the
beautification that’s taken place …
across the board, what you’ve seen,
I think, is the best civic spirit.”
– President Barack Obama
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – September 20, 2009)
Photo Credit: Erica Dela Vega
that has undergone a remarkable economic, environmental and quality of life transformation. We have
built a well-balanced and diversified economy in which the private sector continues to invest and create new
jobs. We have leveraged our long-standing strengths in advanced manufacturing, financial and business services
and energy. We have invested in research and development at our 35 colleges and universities to innovate new
industries in health care, life sciences and information and communications technology. And we have enhanced
a world-class quality of life, with arts and culture, outdoor recreation and green buildings.
Our region is still a work in progress, but we have learned many lessons about what it takes to create a regional
economy that can provide sustainable prosperity. The Pittsburgh Summit provided an unparalleled opportunity
to tell our story to leaders and to thousands of reporters from around the world. And it will pay dividends for
years to come in terms of increased visitation, investment and job creation.
Our success would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of all the people who work for Allegheny
County, the City of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and VisitPittsburgh, as
well as everyone who works for the many member organizations of The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership. We thank
them, and we thank the thousands of volunteers who joined with us to welcome the world to our region. And we
thank our fellow citizens of southwestern Pennsylvania for their support in taking on a once-in-a-lifetime challenge.
Our report details the partnership initiatives that welcomed the world to our region and is not intended to con-
vey the enormous amount of public safety planning and successful implementation, which was the responsibility
of the public sector.
We hope that you will enjoy reading this report on a truly remarkable chapter in our region’s history.
Sincerely,
Dan Onorato Luke Ravenstahl
Allegheny County Executive Mayor, City of Pittsburgh
John Surma Doris Carson Williams
Chair, Allegheny Conference Chair, VisitPittsburgh
on Community Development
THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP 1

The decision to bring the Group of 20 to Pittsburgh was
without precedent for a community our size and for the
global community itself. Although meetings of the G-20
have taken place for a decade, the heads of government of
the 19 countries and the European Union came together for
the first time only in November 2008 in Washington, D.C.
They met again in April 2009 in London in a continuing re-
sponse to the global economic crisis.
Photo Credit: White House – Samantha Appleton
All of this makes perfect sense. Convene the leaders of the
world’s largest economies in a national capital and they have
their own embassy resources close at hand. Security re-
sources are plentiful. And the world’s news media already
have an established presence.
2 THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP
Photo Credit: Margaret Stanley, Allegheny County Photographer
So, when President Barack Obama offered to host the next
summit in Pittsburgh in September 2009, he raised more
than a few eyebrows. For the first time, the G-20 leaders
would meet outside a national capital.
For our region the summit posed a set of challenges in terms
of security and media relations that dwarfed any previous
event. For 24 hours, Pittsburgh would be the White House,
10 Downing Street, the Kremlin, Ottawa, Beijing, The Hague
and 14 other capitals all rolled into one. Thousands of re-
porters were expected to follow the leaders to southwestern
Pennsylvania. And the community would have to organize
itself in little more than three months to welcome the world.
The challenge called for a new approach to public-private
partnership in a region known for having invented the idea
65 years earlier. Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato
and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl asked VisitPittsburgh
and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development
to work with them to develop a plan. Thus was born The
Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership.
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
Unlike local host committees established in Pittsburgh to sup-
port such national and international events as the Major League
Baseball All-Star Game, the Bassmaster Classic and the U.S.
Open golf tournament, there was no steering committee for
the G-20 Partnership. There was no time to form one or even
to conduct a series of meetings to plan for the event. The need
to develop, fund and implement an approach was immediate.
Instead of a committee of individuals, The Pittsburgh G-20
Partnership became a partnership of organizations, each bring-
ing an area of expertise and resources to bear. The County
and the City focused their efforts on the enormous public
safety and public works challenges. The private sector partners
focused on hospitality, communication and education.
The founding partners established a
mission – to provide a safe and welcom-
ing setting for an important global
conversation. “We set three goals,” said
Dennis Yablonsky, CEO of the
Allegheny Conference.
• Leverage the opportunity to raise
awareness of the positive realities of
today’s Pittsburgh
• Generate leads for business investment
and future conventions and conferences
• Let talented people the world over know
that there were tens of thousands of
open jobs in the region and numerous
career opportunities.
The Allegheny Conference coordinated private sector activi-
ties within the region, from the development of signage and
messaging for the Partnership to fundraising and community
relations. VisitPittsburgh took the lead in identifying accom-
modations for the delegations and media and suggesting ven-
ues for official summit events. The hospitality operation alone
involved 13 hotels, the airport and the convention center,
staffed by volunteers, public relations professionals and for-
eign language speakers. Together, the organizations orches-
trated what became a global public relations initiative.
Photo Credit: Beth Hollerich, Allegheny County Airport Authority
Dozens of partners stepped up to provide time, talent and
resources to advance the effort. The Sports and Exhibition
Authority supported a record build-out (in labor hours) of
the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The Allegheny
County Airport Authority prepared to service the fleets of
jumbo jets and aircraft that would fly to Pittsburgh for the
summit. The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh provided
educational programming, including a global student sum-
mit and a “Beer Summit” that garnered international public-
ity. GlobalPittsburgh and the Welcome Center for
Internationals and Immigrants provided and coordinated
hundreds of foreign language speaking volunteers to staff
the hospitality desks. Pittsburgh Cares coordinated the ac-
tivities of more than 1,000 volunteers who participated in
a county-wide clean up in advance of the summit and a day
of service on September 25 that encouraged downtown
workers displaced by the summit to donate their time for a
day of community improvement. The Pittsburgh Down-
town Partnership and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust spruced
up Downtown Pittsburgh, provided street level activity and
even provided a Festival of Lights.
Supported by a series of weekly conference calls and occa-
sional face-to-face meetings, advisory groups provided guid-
ance on strategic communication and global protocol.
These volunteers, many drawn from Pittsburgh’s global cor-
porations and honorary consuls representing several of the
G-20 countries, helped to shape a strategy to make the most
of the weeks leading up to the summit to tell Pittsburgh’s
story to the world.
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
In an environment that was full of uncertainty and constant
change, the partnership model provided flexibility and re-
sponsiveness. Each organization brought its own expertise
to the effort, minimizing duplication of effort and maximiz-
ing limited resources. Developed in a few days, the partner-
ship approach may well serve s a model for similar initiatives
in the future.
3
 Why Pittsburgh?
Why Not?
The reaction of the White House Press Corp was something
between a gasp and a chuckle when Press Secretary Robert
Gibbs announced the selection of Pittsburgh as host of the
September 2009 G-20 Summit. Perhaps it was little wonder.
Pittsburgh’s profile as a global economic center had diminished
in recent decades and the region was consistently grouped
with the rest of the “Rust Belt,” an outmoded term from the
1980s that no longer reflects Pittsburgh – or much of the rest
of the American Heartland for that matter.
Yet, from the beginning, The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership had
an important ally on its side in telling the truth about the re-
gion’s economic, environmental and quality of life transfor-
mation – the President of the United States himself.
“Pittsburgh is a world-class city …
it represents the transition of the
U.S. economy from an industrial
state to a mix of strong industry –
steel – but also now biotech and
clean energy. It has transformed
itself … and serves as a model
for turning the page to a
21st-century economy.”
– U. S. President Barack Obama
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
4 THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP
One thing the Partnership knew for sure – the summit
would bring an unprecedented level of media attention to
our region, with thousands of reporters from around the
world covering not just the summit but the Pittsburgh story
as well. “Since this would be the first time the G-20 heads
of government had ever convened outside a national capital,
the place itself mattered.” said Bill Flanagan, president of
the Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership, “And that provided an op-
portunity for Pittsburgh.” But what exactly was the story
the region would tell?
Photo Credit: Juan Carlos Briceño
The White House itself had framed the story as one about re-
gional economic recovery and transformation. In concert
with numerous partners across the community, the Al-
legheny Conference and VisitPittsburgh worked closely with
Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh to get the re-
gion’s message straight.
By early August they had made the case:
Pittsburgh made perfect sense as a setting
for the summit for “Three Reasons:”
• Pittsburgh builds upon its historic strengths as a
hub for manufacturing, finance, business services
and energy.
• Pittsburgh leverages human capital to create new
industries based on research, innovation and
entrepreneurship.
• Having learned from a smoky, industrial past,
Pittsburgh invests in its natural and cultural assets,
infrastructure and facilities to improve quality of life.
The Partnership made a simple but ambitious request of all
of its members: use the “Three Reasons” as a framework to
tell your own stories about the part you have played in a
great American comeback. The hope was that community
leaders, from advanced manufacturers to health care
providers, from arts organizations to green builders, would
reinforce one another with a consistent message about the
region as they did interviews.
The strategy worked. By the time the summit was over, news
stories the world over reflected the “Three Reasons.”
It helped that the message was true.
It helped that we could back up every claim with
facts and figures.
And it helped that we were honest. We celebrated our
comeback, but we also acknowledged the challenges that
remain. It also helped that this was Pittsburgh, a commu-
nity with a tradition of coming together to tackle tough
issues and to capture great opportunities.
Our comeback is real.
But only because so many people we
willing to help tell the story did the rest
of the world believe what we had to say.
Nobody’s chuckling now.
The world did come to Pittsburgh.
Why not?
5
 Photo Credit: VisitPittsburgh

Phipps teamed up with Urban Tree Forge in the Pittsburgh

neighborhood of Lincoln-Lemington to design and build a table
used by summit leaders at the September 24 working dinner. In
less than two weeks, Urban Forge founder John Metzler and his
colleagues turned 12 slabs of salvaged red oak, pin oak and
London plane trees into a handcrafted table seating 32. The
wood was harvested from trees felled by root rot after standing
in the North Side’s Riverside Park for nearly a century.

“We created a product that epitomizes sustainability through

the use of locally harvested urban trees, work of local manu-
facturers and preservation of the local economy,” said Meltzer.
Richard Piacentini, Phipps’ executive director, added, “We were
thrilled to support the administration’s commitment to a green
summit by creating a one-of-a-kind, sustainably produced table
Photo Credit: White House – Lawrence Jackson
that is unique to our region.” The table will be reconfigured

The Venues: for other uses at Phipps.

While the heads of government stayed at Phipps for dinner, First

Recognizing green building leadership and the arts
Striking design, green leadership
In choosing the Pittsburgh venues to host the G-20 summit,
the Obama administration demonstrated its support for
green building leadership as well as the transformative power
of the arts.
Photo Credit: Juan Carlos Briceño
The main summit venue, the David L. Lawrence Convention
Center, was the world’s first and remains one of the largest con-
vention centers to attain a Gold LEED certification from the U.S.
Green Building Council for leadership in energy and environ-
mental design. A design competition funded by the Heinz En-
dowments and the Hillman, Benedum, McCune, Buhl and
Richard King Mellon foundations resulted in a design by
Uruguayan-born architect Rafael Viñoly.
The center’s distinctive swooping roof evokes the nearby
“Three Sisters” bridges – and helps fresh air to circulate
through the building. Riverside louvers also allow air to cir-
culate, while a wall of windows along the Allegheny River
coupled with skylights means that natural light illuminates
75 percent of the structure.
Fifty percent of the construction materials were produced
within 500 miles of Pittsburgh, and 10 percent came from
post-consumer recycled content, further reducing the center’s
carbon footprint.
Wastewater from sinks and drinking fountains is reclaimed for
use in commodes. An on-site aquifer provides water for the
building’s cooling towers, reducing demand on the city’s water
supply. The surrounding greenery is indigenous to southwest-
ern Pennsylvania and relies completely on natural rainfall. To-
gether these features reduce by 66 percent the amount of water
that must be purchased to operate the building.
Stretching across the convention center’s roofline are two rows of
blue light-emitting diode (LED) tubes that make up “For Pitts-
burgh,” an installation by artist Jenny Holzer. Visible at night
from Penn Avenue and 10th Street, one line rolls out the text of
Pittsburgh stories by writers Thomas Bell (“Out of This Furnace”)
and Annie Dillard (“An American Childhood”). The other offers
the text of John Edgar Wideman’s “Homewood Trilogy.”
The leaders, their spouses and other high-level officials were
welcomed to Pittsburgh at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical
Gardens, the “green heart” of Pittsburgh and the world’s first
LEED-certified building in a public garden.
Set on the fringes of Oakland’s Schenley Park, a new Welcome
Center was added four years ago to the Victorian greenhouse
built in 1893. Built partially underground, the Welcome Center
features an energy-conserving earthen roof nourished by what
would otherwise be storm-water runoff. A fritted-glass dome
above the reception area reduces the need for artificial light,
with overall design saving as much as 40 percent in energy costs
– twice the level required for LEED Silver certification.
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
Lady Michelle Obama and the other spouses traveled to Fox
Chapel to dine at Rosemont Farm. The family home of philan-
thropist Teresa Heinz, Rosemont is a working farm that raises
livestock and produces fruits, vegetables and eggs – some of
which were used for the meal prepared for the spouses, who were
serenaded by the Pittsburgh Philharmonic Orchestra’s Jazz Trio.
Said Teresa Heinz: “The natural beauty (of Rosemont) is certainly
a highlight, but what we love most about our home is that it pro-
vides a place for our friends and family to come together.”
Photo Credit: White House – Lawrence Jackson
Michelle Obama at CAPA:
Sharing in the arts “is a form of diplomacy
in which we can all take part.”
Mrs. Obama and summit spouses toured the Pittsburgh Cre-
ative and Performing Arts (CAPA) magnet school. Begun in
1979 as a part-time program with 35 students, CAPA has grown
to a program of 800 full-time students in grades six through 12
majoring in music, literary arts, visual arts, theater and dance.
In 2003, CAPA moved from Homewood to a new state-of-the-
art building Downtown at the corner of Ninth Street and Fort
Duquesne Boulevard on land donated by philanthropist Fran-
cois Bitz, a former Carnegie Mellon University researcher turned
technology entrepreneur. The school recently received the U.S.
Department of Education’s 2009 Blue Ribbon School award for
academic achievement.
On the morning of September 25, world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo
Ma and CAPA junior Jason Yoder together performed “The
“The appeal of his work is that it talks about things that
are universal,” said The Andy Warhol Museum director
Tom Sokolowski. “His work is one of the largest exports
of this city, and one of the biggest ambassadors for this
city and for the United States.”
Swan” by Saint-Saens for Mrs. Obama and the other spouses.
CAPA dance students James Arthur Gilmer and Rebekah
Kuczma performed, as did singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles and
country singer Trisha Yearwood.
The First Lady said CAPA embodies the belief of the Obama ad-
ministration that the arts are not an “extra,” but rather “at the
heart of our national life. It is through our music, our literature,
our art, drama and dance that we tell the story of our past and
we express our hopes for the future.”
“When we go to other countries, there’s a common theme –
that we share our music, we share our dance, we share our cul-
ture,” Mrs. Obama said. “It’s through this constant exchange –
this process of taking and giving, this process of borrowing and
creating – that we learn from each other and we inspire each
other. It is a form of diplomacy in which we can all take part.”
Some of the most recognizable works of contemporary art
around the world are those of pop artist Andy Warhol, so it was
fitting that Mrs. Obama invited the spouses to the North Shore
to view the work of the Oakland-born artist. The women en-
joyed a catered lunch and toured The Andy Warhol Museum,
the largest single-artist museum in the United States.
The museum is housed in the handsome 1911 terracotta-tiled
warehouse that was once home to Frick & Lindsay mining sup-
plies and later the sheet music and instrument company Volk-
wein’s. The space now features Warhol’s iconic, high-contrast
multicolored portraits of such luminaries as Marilyn Monroe
and Elizabeth Taylor, his Campbell's Soup Cans and Brillo
Boxes, and numerous self-portraits from throughout his career.
The Warhol also offers a forum for creative community dialogue
via exhibitions and thought-provoking programs and musical
performances that defy traditional art norms. Through its popular
traveling exhibitions, Warhol’s work has been seen by more than
8 million people throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
Written by Bonnie Pfister

6 THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP 7


An economic turning point
The replacement of the G-8 with the more representative
G-20, a commitment to continued economic stimulus and
a hard line against Iran’s nuclear ambitions were among the
outcomes of the Pittsburgh Summit.
In economic matters, the G-20 will supplant the more ex-
clusive G-8 as the leading international arbiter, giving a per-
manent seat at the table to leaders from such emerging
economies as China, Brazil and India. (The G-8 will con-
tinue to meet to discuss other policy and security matters.)
“The relative importance of Europe has diminished in the
face of Brazil and East Asian economies,” said Marvin Good-
friend, economics professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s
Tepper School of Business. “This is really a watershed mo-
ment. It’s possible The Pittsburgh Summit will be remem-
bered as the time the G-20 became the prominent forum
for leading economies to meet and sort out their problems.”
Pittsburgh is also the place where leaders, in U.K. Prime
Minister Gordon Brown’s words, “drew a line in the sand” to
oppose Iran’s construction of an underground uranium-en-
richment facility. They called for an International Atomic
Energy Agency investigation and possible enhanced sanc-
tions against Iran.
8 THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP
Photo Credit: White House – Pete Souza Photo Credit: White House – Pete Souza
President Barack Obama
talks with French President
Nicolas Sarkozy and
British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown during
the G-20 Summit.
Outcomes:
Photo Credit: White House – Pete Souza
In addition, leaders pledged not to withdraw domestic eco-
nomic stimulus measures until recovery appears sturdier.
They will coordinate their removal of those measures, al-
though timing will vary from country to country. The lead-
ers also pledged to temporarily eliminate subsidies on fossil
fuels, and to make efforts to tie bankers’ pay more closely to
long-term value creation — although that language was far
weaker than that sought by France and Germany.
Additional details about The Pittsburgh Sum- President Barack Obama meets with
mit’s outcome are available in the media center Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
at www.pittsburghsummit.gov. following the G-20 Summit afternoon session.
9
 The city and the Port Authority each launched Web pages
that were updated during summit week with information
about changing transportation perimeters. Each also kept
residents up-to-date via automatic e-mail and Twitter alerts.

Leaders from the Thomas Merton Center in Garfield and

other peace and environmental activists pressed vigorously
and vocally to keep streets and parks open to dissenting
voices. Together, with labor leaders such as United Steel-
workers President Leo Gerard, they were pivotal in making
sure that most gatherings remained peaceful.

Photo Credit: Martha Rial

Port Authority buses offered service into the Golden Triangle

via avenues far from the Convention Center, and businesses
got early morning commercial-truck deliveries. Still, many
Downtown businesses and restaurants chose to close their
doors during the event. Those that stayed open appealed to
customers with signs identifying themselves as family-owned
business that could not afford to close.
Written by Bonnie Pfister
Photo Credit: Martha Rial

An important global conversation:

Inside and outside the Convention Center
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
Hosting more than 20 of the world’s top leaders brought the For Pittsburgh Director of Public Safety Mike Huss and Al-
Pittsburgh region unprecedented attention and prestige. It legheny County Emergency Services Chief Bob Full, that “While we were not in total agreement with the philosophy
also brought a cascade of concerns. meant planning for traffic disruptions and protestor marches of the G-20 and many of the policies that it has imple-
in the absence of concrete information about which streets mented, we’re part of this community,” Gerard said. “We
While the White House on May 23 announced the summit’s would be open during summit week. City officials issued represent working people, working families. We wanted to
location, it was local leaders who spent the next four months permits to a dozen protest marches and rallies, with the engage in constructive dialogue, and to promote as much
grappling with the security and First Amendment questions. caveat that some routes might be altered once Secret Service dialogue and freedom of expression as possible.”
How many protestors might show up, and would they be perimeters were disclosed.
violent? How much of Down- Dozens of creative, colorful gatherings came off without a Photo Credit: Martha Rial
town would fall behind Secret Into this vacuum some in the hitch. They included prayer vigils, educational panels and
Service checkpoints? Would media tried to fill in the gaps, teach-ins about globalization and its costs. Code Pink’s en-
commuters be able to get to often with anxiety-laden ru- campment drew attention to the plight of women and chil- Denise Gaynor, owner of Tonic Bar & Grill,
work? How much would pro- mors and conjecture. Down- dren in war zones, and a Wednesday night rally and concert announced in early September that she
viding local security cost, and town would be a danger zone, in Point State Park called for clean-energy jobs. would keep her restaurant on the corner
who would pay for it? many predicted, overrun by
tens of thousands of protesters On September 25, 5,000 people joined a peaceful march of Liberty and Tenth Street open, brushing
As a National Special Security who would smash windows with a city permit from Oakland to Downtown. aside the “what-ifs.”
Event, the Secret Service and do other damage.
would determine where to lo- The summit also drew demonstrators without city permits. “I don’t live my life that way, worrying about
cate security perimeters Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh On September 24, a rally that began in Lawrenceville and
every little thing that could go wrong,”
around the summit venues. Downtown Partnership hired spread to Shadyside and Oakland resulted in broken store-
But that information would
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
four national experts in staging front windows and the arrests of about 60 people. After the Gaynor said. “While business was slow on
not be released until just two weeks before the summit. As high-security public events in urban settings to survey the summit ended the following evening, police arrested about the Friday and Saturday after the summit,
the summer wore on the federal and state governments city. They found Pittsburgh was in good shape to play host 200 people, including students and journalists, at an im- the Chinese government bought out the
committed millions of dollars to offset the region’s public They also shared tips for improvements with downtown promptu gathering in Oakland. As of this writing, many of
businesses and residents. their cases were working their way through the courts. whole restaurant Thursday night. We broke
saftey expenses.
even. The summit was great for me.
Downtown remained peaceful throughout summit week as
I was really excited to be a part of it.”
thousands of uniformed officers fanned out across the city.

1O THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP 11


President Barack Obama brought the world to Pittsburgh.
And, by and large, the world paid attention, not just to the
deliberations of the G-20 but to Pittsburgh’s story itself. Nu-
merous partners helped to deliver the message, making the
most of the weeks and months leading up to the summit.
Public relations and communications professionals in busi-
nesses, organizations and firms across the region connected
with their established media contacts in the U.S. and around
the world to tell Pittsburgh’s story and encourage the media
members to come see Pittsburgh for themselves. The leader-
ship of Pittsburgh’s corporations also did its part by making
the extra effort to reach out to media representatives during
business trips in the U.S. and abroad.
“By the time more than 3,000 credentialed journalists arrived
for the actual summit in September, many had already gotten
to know Pittsburgh,” said Beverly Morrow-Jones, Partnership
communications director. For some, that contact began with
questions fielded by VisitPittsburgh about accommodations
and visitor information. Others sought background infor-
mation and made arrangements for pre-summit visits to do
advance stories. Dozens attended media briefings held by
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and County Executive Dan Onorato
at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. or by Penn-
sylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Bayer Corporation President
Greg Babe at the Foreign Press Club in New York City.
More attended the pre-summit Pittsburgh Press Tours offered
by The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership as well as other entities,
such as the “Eds and Meds Powerhouses” tour by Carnegie
Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC
and the Green Building tour presented by PNC Bank.
Before they arrived, many reporters made their first acquain-
tance with Pittsburgh through the regional online media cen-
12
Photo Credit: VisitPittsburgh
Telling our story:
The coverage
ter – www.pittsburghpressroom.com – featuring a wealth of
information supplied by partners to support the communi-
cations program.
All told, the site received more than 103,000 visits from 157
countries following its August 15, 2009 launch. (A tempo-
rary site was created immediately after the Summit was an-
nounced.) On Thursday, September 24 – the day the
Summit began – the site received more than 20,000 visits.
Photo Credit: VisitPittsburgh
By working together to deliver our “transformation story” to
the media, the collective Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership was
more successful than any individual entity could have been.
Our focused strategic initiative delivered print, television,
radio and online impressions featuring our region in 6,975
stories in the United States alone. In dozens of cases, entire
feature stories were written specifically on the “Why Pitts-
burgh” transformation story.
Coverage related to the Pittsburgh Summit may have done
more to replace outdated notions of Pittsburgh than any
other event. It also has laid the foundation to affect the future
of economic development in our region for years to come.
“Pittsburgh, City of Renewal”
“Summit Spotlights ‘Steel City’s’ Extreme Makeover”
– The Atlantic (September 24, 2009)
“Reinvented ‘Steel City’ Chosen for G-20 Summit”
“Pittsburgh showcases green
economy at G20 summit”
“Pittsburgh Shows How the
Rust Belt Can Be Polished Up”
“Pittsburgh’s story is inspiring and impressive. It was a rusting
steel-making behemoth that, through struggle, pain and creativ-
ity, retooled itself as a surprisingly vibrant, 21st-century leader in
education, computer science, medical research, sports entertain-
ment and boutique manufacturing … Pittsburgh’s rebirth is about
the grit, sacrifice and hustle of locals – not the sweeping plans
and power of federal bureaucrats.”
– “What Pittsburgh (Don’t Laugh) Can Teach Obama”
– Newsweek (June 6, 2009)
“Pittsburgh people take the long view. They do economic devel-
opment the way the Steelers play football. Not flashy. You win as
a team. You get the job done.”
– Paul O. Umbach of Tripp Umbach as quoted
in “UPMC: the New Steel in Pittsburgh”
– BusinessWeek (September 17, 2009)
“A city that has fought back from the depths of hard times hopes
to show the rest of the world what recovery is as world leaders
converge on Pittsburgh to discuss the world financial crisis at the
Group of 20 summit starting tomorrow.”
– “Pittsburgh pulls up socks as it prepares for G20 summit”
– China Daily (September 23, 2009)
“When leaders from the Group of 20 nations met in Pittsburgh on
Thursday, they found a city that has resurrected itself.”
– “Pittsburgh, the former ‘Steel City,’ has chance to shine”
– The Christian Science Monitor (September 26, 2009)
“La Citta della Futura” - “Icona del passaggio post-industriale:
dalla siderurgia a centro di conoscenza.”
– Io Donna (September 12, 2009)
THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP
– National Public Radio (September 24, 2009)
– Pravda (September 23, 2009)
– Reuters (September 20, 2009)
– The Washington Post (September 24, 2009)
“The city of bridges has built a bridge from its steel past to a di-
verse 21st-century economy. The summiteers arriving on Sep-
tember 24th can take note.”
– “The Revival of Pittsburgh: Lessons for the G20”
– The Economist (September 17, 2009)
“Slowly, Pittsburgh’s transformation has captured the attention of
other communities now confronted with economic crises of their
own … These other cities will have to find solutions that draw on
their strengths, while showing courage to move beyond what de-
fined them as a community. In that sense Pittsburgh can serve as
an inspiration.”
– “Renaissance: Thriving on diversity instead of its mills”
– The Financial Times (September 23, 2009)
“When President Barack Obama announced that Pittsburgh had
been chosen to host the G20 summit, there were derisory snig-
gers in some quarters, where the city still evokes images of soot,
smog and smelters. But those who have watched the Pennsylva-
nia city undergo a stunning transformation from polluted steel
town to become a cosmopolitan hub at the forefront of green
technology were delighted.”
– “Born-again Pittsburgh poised to welcome G20”
– Agence France-Presse (September 21, 2009)
“This former heavy industry mecca retooled after hard times with
‘green’ pursuits that offer the world a path out of the current eco-
nomic downturn.”
– “Pittsburgh’s heart of steel still beats amid transformed city”
– USA Today (September 21, 2009)
13

Pittsburgh’s ambassadors to the world
From the day that the White House announced the G-20
summit would be hosted in Pittsburgh, the phones began
ringing off the hook.
The offices of the Mayor, the County Executive, VisitPitts-
burgh and the Allegheny Conference were deluged imme-
diately with calls from individuals and businesses that
wanted to help in some way. With the formation of The
Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership and launch of its Website on
June 16, organizers were able to pull together lists of po-
tential volunteers and assign them according to their skills
and experience.
Ultimately 3,526 individuals signed up. Many attended one
of six “Welcome The World” orientations held at colleges
around Allegheny County, gaining insight into the G-20 or-
ganization as well as advice for interacting with interna-
tional visitors.
More than 1,000 volunteers participated in the September 12
cleanup and beautification efforts in key corridors across
the county. Many of those locals also gave a hand to more
specialized volunteer efforts.
Almost 100 volunteers staffed the Pittsburgh Welcome &
Media Center in the lobby of the Regional Enterprise Tower
weekdays beginning September 1, offering tourism assis-
tance to advance staffers for delegations and journalists.
14
Volunteers:
Another 1,000 – many of them fresh from cleanup efforts –
served as hospitality ambassadors at hotels where the major
delegations stayed. Half of those were multilingual attachés
who assisted delegates. Others became tourism experts,
while public relations professionals helped international re-
porters connect with sources. Tinsy Lipchak of VisitPitts-
burgh, Gail Shrott of Global Pittsburgh (formerly the
Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors) and Andy
Pugh of the Welcome Center for Immigrants and Interna-
tionals coordinated those efforts, offering intensive hospi-
tality training the week before the summit.
Beginning at 6 a.m. Wednesday, September 23, volunteers
moved into position as welcome desk captains and attaché
coordinators at 13 hotels, working in three-hour shifts that
continued until noon Saturday, September 26. Contingents
ranged from the tiny – from such countries as Sweden and
Ethiopia – to the 300-member Chinese delegation. Due to
the high security and brief nature of the summit meeting,
the volunteers were the only Pittsburghers that many dele-
gates encountered.
Speaking the native languages of the visitors, volunteers
translated for VIPs, directed guests to places to shop, eat,
work or relax and answered a variety of last-minute calls for
help. They provided the Saudi delegation with a list of local
prayer times, helped the head of Brazilian security find a
place to buy shoes at 9 p.m. and assisted a German delegate
in search of shaving cream.
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
When delegates from Turkey and Russia inquired about
shopping, volunteers escorted them to the Robinson Town
Centre and Homestead’s Waterfront. Argentinean journalists
asking about Fallingwater, Fayette County, were delivered to
the doorstep of Frank Lloyd Wright’s storied historic land-
mark and given a tour by its executive director. Japanese
drivers and security staffers were introduced to restaurants in
the Strip District and Lawrenceville.
Volunteers helped a Russian delegate secure a hotel room
despite his lack of a reservation – or a credit card. They
spent hours running bilingual interference between local
telecommunications providers and French journalists who
otherwise would not have been able to transmit their work
(and consoled them later with a bowling excursion in
Carnegie). Said Gail Shrott of Global Pittsburgh: “These vol-
unteers didn’t just step up to the plate; they leapt across it …
I asked some members of the Chinese delegation if the vol-
unteers were of use to them. Their faces just lit up. They said
it was so wonderful to have some-
one local on hand speaking
their language and offering
to help.
“The volunteers added a
warmth that the delega-
tions did not expect –
but greatly appreciated,”
Shrott added. “It seems
that set Pittsburgh apart
from other destinations.”
THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP
In Volunteers’ Own Words:
The members of Italian TV station RAI personally
thanked us for the help provided during the
whole week and said that nowhere before had
they ever experienced such a high degree of hos-
pitality and professionalism as in Pittsburgh. They
were amazed by the language support and the
professionalism, and said they could not believe
these were volunteer assignments and not our
day-to-day jobs.
– Viviana Altieri of Mt. Lebanon.
Originally from Rome; in Pittsburgh area for 16 years.
We had extraordinary opportunities to meet the
Indonesian dignitaries: shaking hands, taking
pictures, having interesting conversations and
giving our best to assist them during the event.
I do feel honored to be working with [my fellow
volunteers], sharing this exceptional experience
that we will treasure for the rest of our lives.
Most of all, this event has brought the Indone-
sian community close together.
– Janni Morales of Verona.
Originally from Bandung, Indonesia;
in Pittsburgh area for 12 years.
There are several reports in the Chinese newspa-
pers and online about the volunteers … Basically,
they are very impressed by the G-20 Partner-
ship’s hospitality and said they felt at home when
they saw us attachés in the lobby.
– Shang Gao of South Oakland.
Originally from Tieling City, China;
in Pittsburgh one year.
I hope future G-20 [host cities] take the role of
volunteers into consideration. It would have been
a shame not to have offered that part of our com-
munity to these visitors.
– Andrea Durnell of Economy;
French-language attaché originally from Montana;
in the Pittsburgh area for nine years.
15

Welcome in several languages:
An anti-money laundering specialist from Egypt by way of
Switzerland. A theater designer from Australia. An IT re-
search scientist from Indonesia. A world-music DJ from
Brazil. Doctors from Japan and France; engineers from
South Korea and China. And students from Argentina,
Uzbekistan and everywhere in between.
When the Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership set out to create a
series of welcome videos in the 12 languages of the G-20
nations, the problem wasn’t finding natives of those coun-
tries among the 73,000 foreign-born residents in southwest-
ern Pennsylvania. It was finding a way to squeeze their
buoyant descriptions of what they like best about the region
into just a few sound bites.
In the weeks leading up to the summit, the videos played on
monitors in Downtown’s Regional Welcome & Media Cen-
ter, the outdoor screen at Theater Square in the Cultural
District and at the Pittsburgh International Airport.
16
“What I like best about Pittsburgh is the beauty of this place. In every season,
the city looks different and new. At the same time, it’s very easy to make the
city your own.”
– Sabah Kadri, originally of Mumbai, India; now of Squirrel Hill.
Third-year Ph.D. computational biology student at Carnegie Mellon University.
“It’s not a big city, but not a small city. It offers anything to anyone who wants
to take advantage of it. And I like the geography … It’s a surprise to a lot of peo-
ple. For a long time I tried to get my sister to visit. She kept saying, ‘Pittsburgh?
Why would I want to go there?’ She completely changed her mind after visiting,
and now keeps asking me when she can come back. People just fall in love with
this place.”
– Guillermo Velazquez, originally of Mexico City, Mexico;
14-year resident of Pittsburgh now living in Mount Washington.
President of international business development firm IntellaCore
Greeting our guests
The videos live on at www.PittsburghG20.org. By clicking on
the Welcome To Pittsburgh Videos link, viewers are con-
nected to the Partnership’s YouTube page featuring a 40-sec-
ond clip in multiple languages, as well as 24 other videos with
more extended greetings from these Pittsburghers-by-choice.
Jesse Colaizzi, a television production and editing instruc-
tor at Point Park University, shot the videos with the help
of two students over three days in early August: at dawn on
the southern tip of Washington’s Landing on the Allegheny
River, and at dusk atop Mount Washington at the
Duquesne Incline.
“My grandfather, God rest his soul, spoke the most beautiful
mixture of Pittsburghese and Italian,” Colaizzi said. “Making
these videos introduced me to more than 50 people who
are transplants, just like my grandparents were. It’s great to
see how Pittsburgh is constantly being refreshed with
new people wanting to make their homes here.”
Written by Bonnie Pfister
THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP 17
 FOR HEADS OF GOVERNMENT
Sewickley-based glass artist Jeffrey Phelps had just two
weeks to create 35 glass bowls that colorfully convey Pitts-
burgh to the heads of government and their spouses. During
that time Phelps traveled twice to the Toledo Museum of
Art’s Glass Pavilion to use its large kilns to simultaneously
fire multiple bowls.

FOR SPOUSES OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT

Mount Lebanon-based metals artist Aileen Lampman cre-
ated a necklace from sterling cable wire in which a sterling
leaf dangles from a gold-filled tendril.

FOR SPOUSES OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT,

FINANCE MINISTERS AND SHERPAS
Friendship-based artist and instructor Jessica Rutherford
produced glass cufflinks reflecting Pittsburgh’s industrial
heritage with contemporary flair.

FOR FINANCE MINISTERS AND SHERPAS

Shadyside-based artist Kathryn Scimone Stanko created a
bracelet featuring intricately wound strands of sterling silver
and a hand-made glass bead in a lacy pattern both delicate
and durable.
A hockey puck autographed by a 2009 Pittsburgh Penguin.

HEADS OF STATE ALSO RECEIVED

Personalized Pittsburgh Penguins jerseys

ALL RECIPIENTS RECEIVED

• A Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
• An autographed Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap

Gifts for our guests • Custom-made “Pittsburgh G-20” T-shirts produced by

South Side-based American Eagle Outfitters

represent our region • CD holders crafted from Pennsylvania license plates and
metal Steelers-themed bags produced by Little Earth,
an eco-retailer based in Pittsburgh’s Soho neighborhood
Among the surprises involved with hosting the G-20 summit was the expectation that The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership
• Nancy Wilson’s RSVP, a Grammy-winning CD
would present gifts to more than thirty heads of state and spouses, finance ministers and “sherpas,” those top government
produced at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild
officials who hash out the policy agendas for such meetings.
• Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 Titan, a CD of a
Coping with an already-limited budget, the Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership Executive Director Catherine DeLoughry con- performance by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
sulted with the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts to identify local artists who could produce beautiful and distinctive works as conducted by Manfred Honeck
quickly and at cost. • Pittsburgh: A New Portrait, University of Pittsburgh
art history professor Franklin Toker’s new book about
“We are grateful to the individuals and organizations who contributed their time and talent to create these one-of-a-kind the region’s rich architectural history
works,” DeLoughry said. “Thanks to their efforts, leaders from around the world have taken home objects that reflect
Pittsburgh’s heritage in glass and metals and our belief in the importance of arts and culture.” • Gourmet Chocolates from South Side-based
Edward Marc Chocolatier
The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts also managed the assembly of gift packages, using sustainable packing materials and • Biscotti from the Strip District’s Enrico Biscotti Co.
soy-based inks.
Photo Credit: Martha Rial

18 THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP 19


Welcoming the World:
Partnership made it possible
Within days of the White House announcement that Pitts-
burgh would host the summit, the newly-organized Pitts-
burgh G-20 Partnership decided to ask the people of the
region to help come up with ways to best welcome the world.
The Community College of Allegheny County, the Univer-
sity of Pittsburgh, Point Park University and Robert Morris
University hosted brainstorming sessions throughout Al-
legheny County. Hundreds of people turned out to offer
more than 600 ideas, many of which focused on clean-up
opportunities. Others suggested decorating vacant store-
fronts in Downtown Pittsburgh, repairing the fountain in
Point State Park and engaging young people. Numerous
partners helped to make it possible.
“The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership could not have achieved
its goals without the support of more than 100 partners
across the region,” said Robert Petrilli, managing director.
Public and private, for profit and not-for-profit, these or-
ganizations stepped up to welcome the world in style.
2O
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
Pat Siger on behalf of Allegheny County and Boris Weinstein
on behalf of the City of Pittsburgh assembled an army of
1,000 volunteers to clean up locations our visitors would
likely experience.
Mullen Advertising and Coro proposed and organized a
community day of service on September 25 to provide a
way for workers displaced from their Downtown offices to
help clean up regional parks.
The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh attracted global
media attention with its “Beer Summit” even as it reached
out from Fox Chapel High School to students across the re-
gion and around the world with a student G-20 summit.
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and the Urban Rede-
velopment Authority of Pittsburgh decorated dozens of vacant
storefronts with vibrant decals celebrating Downtown as a vi-
brant place to live, work, play and invest. The Western Penn-
sylvania Conservancy with the support of the Colcom
Foundation planted trees and flowers throughout Downtown.
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
Bayer Corporation supported the beautification effort with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev came to the University
“Welcome the World” banners on Mount Washington and
the Parkway West.
of Pittsburgh during the summit to give some remarks of
his own on the 50th anniversary of President Nikita
Khrushchev's 1959 visit to the city.
Riverlife and the Alcoa Technical Center came to the rescue
of the ailing fountain in Point State Park with a temporary State Representative Jake Wheatley sponsored trade expos
fix that returned the main 150-foot plume of water to life for Pittsburgh neighborhood businesses in the North Side
just in time for the summit and the 2009 NFL season and the Hill District.
opener in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, in conjunction with
Duquesne Light, launched its 2009 Pittsburgh Festival of
Lights, bathing the Convention Center and other nearby
buildings in color to welcome our guests.
Back in Pittsburgh on September 23 to speak at a Carnegie
Mellon University/Atlantic Council panel on globalization,
native son and United States Ambassador to Ireland Dan
Rooney brushed off the suggestion that his endorsement of
Obama is the answer to the question, “Why Pittsburgh?”
Photo Credit: Martha Rial
And, just because something was important didn’t mean it
couldn’t be fun. Special events around the summit in-
cluded art exhibits at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, The
Warhol Museum and the Pittsburgh Technology Center, a
cultural performance at the Regional Enterprise Tower or-
ganized by the Brazilian community of Pittsburgh, the
“Chalk for Peace” collaboration at the Children’s Museum
and around the North Side, an international cricket match
Photo Credit: Martha Rial at South Park, and a special G-20 dragon-boat tour along
the Allegheny River by the Pittsburgh Paddlefish Dragon
“I don't think so,” Rooney said with a chuckle. He said he Boat Team.
believes the President made his decision because “it's a per-
fect town for this. Pittsburgh is moving up, it’s doing well.
The citizens and political people are all very tuned in and Find out more about the Pittsburgh G-20
want to help.”
partners at www.pittsburghg20.org
THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP 21
 …thanks to you !
SUPPORTERS: Carnegie Museums Phipps Conservatory and
Amcom Office Systems Catalyst Connection Botanical Gardens, Inc.
Community College of Allegheny County Chatham University Pittsburgh Bloggers
Dollar Bank Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Cares
Duane Morris LLP Consular Association of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
Echo International Consumers Produce Company Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Getting to the Point, Inc. FISA Foundation Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership
The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership thanks all of our underwriters, contributors, Hefren-Tillotson, Inc. Giant Eagle, Inc. Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic
Koppers Global Beats Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
supporters, foundations, media and public and private sector partners – more than 100
Massaro Corporation Global Point Pittsburgh Opera
organizations and thousands of volunteers – who stepped up to offer funding, time, Mullen Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council Pittsburgh Penguins
talent and in-kind resources to make the historic gathering of world leaders a clean, National Flag Foundation Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce Pittsburgh Regional Alliance
NCS Enterprises, LLC Green Building Alliance Pittsburgh Steelers
green and welcoming event. Pittsburgh Technology Council
Nestle Waters North America Home Depot
Neumeyer Environmental Services, Inc. Huntington Bank Port Authority of Allegheny County
FOUNDING PARTNERS: University of Pittsburgh Del Monte Foods Pittsburgh Pirates Innovation Works PUMP
Allegheny County UPMC GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Senator John Heinz History Center Klink & Co., Inc RAND
City of Pittsburgh Westinghouse Electric Company GlobalPittsburgh Summa Development Landmarks Community Capital Corporation Religious Leadership Forum of SW PA
Allegheny Conference on Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield TCM GLOBAL Leadership Pittsburgh, Inc. Robert Morris University
Community Development FOUNDATIONS:
H.J. Heinz Company Thar Technologies League of Women Voters Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
VisitPittsburgh Alcoa Foundation
Jones Day United Steelworkers (USW) MARC USA Sports and Exhibition Authority
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
UNDERWRITERS: LANXESS Corporation Walnut Capital Partners Massaro Corporation Sustainable Pittsburgh
Colcom Foundation
Alcoa Inc. Malin Bergquist & Company, LLP MediAmix Studios The Pittsburgh Building Trades Council
Laurel Foundation MEMBERS:
Bayer Corporation MASTECH Meyer Unkovic & Scott LLC The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse
Richard King Mellon Foundation AAA East Central
BNY Mellon Mt. Lebanon Office Supply New Pittsburgh Collaborative The Society for the Preservation of the
The Buhl Foundation African American Chamber of Commerce Duquesne Heights Incline
Calgon Carbon Corporation NOVA Chemicals Oxford Development
The Grable Foundation Airport Area Chamber of Commerce Thorp Reed & Armstrong LLP
Carnegie Mellon University Point Park University PennFuture
The Heinz Endowments Allegheny County Airport Authority Three Rivers Community Foundation
CT&T Reed Smith LLP Penn State
The Hillman Foundation, Inc. Allegheny County Labor Council/AFL-CIO Verizon Wireless
Duquesne University Welcome Center for Immigrants Pennsylvania Environmental Council
The Pittsburgh Foundation & Internationals Art Institute of Pittsburgh West Penn Allegheny
Eaton Corporation Pepper Hamilton LLP
CONTRIBUTORS: World Affairs Council Carlow University
K&L Gates
Mylan, Inc. Allegheny Technologies Incorporated MEDIA:
Newsdesk Media Inc. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. CBS Radio
The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership (www.pittsburghg20.org) is a public-private partnership of
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Aquatech International Corp. Comcast organizations throughout the Pittsburgh region that came together to welcome the world to
PPG Industries, Inc. Bombardier Transportation KDKA-AM Pittsburgh during the summit of G-20 leaders on September 24 - 25, 2009.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C. Lamar Advertising Co.
United States Steel Corporation Carmeuse Lime & Stone WMNY AM 1360 View the Photo Gallery and find out what others are saying
Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania
about Pittsburgh at www.pittsburghg20.org

22 THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP 23

Photo Credit: Martha Rial

The President and First Lady welcomed the G-20 leaders and
spouses to America – and to Pittsburgh – during the opening
reception at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden on
Thursday, September 24.

Conclusions and
Recommendations
Now that the Pittsburgh Summit is part of world history, what lessons may Pittsburgh itself learn from the experience? The
mission of The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership was to provide a clean, green and welcoming setting for an important global
conversation; to bring perceptions of our region more in line with today’s reality; to develop leads for business investment
and future convention and conference bookings; and to raise awareness of the many career opportunities here. Among the
lessons we learned:

• The way we organized – as a partnership of organiza-
tions with clear commitments to deliver – played a key
role in our success. The partnership organizational
model offers real benefits when time is short and a large
number of participants must work together. The ap-
proach avoided duplication and helped to leverage the
expertise of existing organizations. The Partnership was
primarily responsible for coordination and communica-
tion, assuring a program that was as much bottom up as
top down.
• The personal leadership of top elected officials was
critical to quick execution. Their level of engagement
sent a powerful signal through both governments that
the G-20 was a priority. The city and the county staff
were flexible and responsive. Very little could have
been accomplished as quickly without them.
• Pittsburgh is a surprisingly international place. There is
more “global” capacity in Pittsburgh than some might
have thought, including hundreds of foreign language
speakers who are willing to volunteer to help connect
our region to the world. Many of these individuals par-
ticipate in organizations that maintain strong ties to
their embassies and consuls in the United States. These
organizations may provide an ongoing resource to fos-
ter economic and cultural ties between our region and
others around the world.
• We built stronger, more effective connections to the
media, especially international media. The online
media center, www.pittsburghpressroom.com, created
for the G-20 effort and developed and managed by
VisitPittsburgh has become an important community
resource and should be preserved and enhanced. It has
the potential to serve as a “commons” for information,
video and images important to media around the
world. If local organizations use it as a “back end” of
their own online media centers, it provides a powerful
tool to maintain a consistent message about the region.
• We can be successful again by working together.
Pittsburgh succeeded in framing a global conversation
because so many individuals and organizations were
willing to work together. A collaborative approach to
delivering a consistent message around a target of op-
portunity like the Pittsburgh Summit can be a powerful
way to improve Pittsburgh’s global reputation. The G-20
initiative demonstrated that a successful communica-
tion strategy is not about a tagline, it is about delivering
a consistent message over and over again. It is impor-
tant that such efforts not end with the Summit but that
we seek to identify similar opportunities.

24 THE PITTSBURGH SUMMIT 2009: A REPORT BY THE PITTSBURGH G-20 PARTNERSHIP 25

 EVENT COMMITTEE PITTSBURGH, INC.
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PH: 412.281.1890 | FAX: 412.471.2554 | WWW.PITTSBURGHG20.ORG

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