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BY LU ANN FRANKLIN
Times Correspondent | Wednesday, August 27, 2008 | (4 comment(s))
PORTAGE | Northwest Indiana is poised to become a major player in the world's economy. But the challenges of developing regional relationships and a plan for global networking must be met before that success can be realized.
That's the message regionalism guru Michael Gallis brought to business and political leaders attending Tuesday evening's Global Perspectives/Regional Partnerships conference at AmeriPlex at the Port.
Gallis is considered an expert in large-scale metropolitan regional development strategies. He specializes in building frameworks through which leaders can create globally competitive regions. This was his second visit to Northwest Indiana to talk about economic development opportunities.
Hosted by the Northwest Indiana Forum, the conference was sponsored by The Times, NIPSCO, Precision Development and Holliday Properties.
"Northwest Indiana has three big things going for it: environment, infrastructure and economy," Gallis said in a talk before his presentation.
The "amazing environment from arctic ecology to Midwest forest" along with the beaches and dunes along the southern tip of Lake Michigan add to the quality of life here, he said. The area's geographic location to the east of Chicago gives Northwest Indiana access to major markets, including the NAFTA corridor, which runs from Canada to Mexico, Gallis said.
"Northwest Indiana connects to the worldwide economy through its interstates, railroads, waterways and access to airports," he said. "The biggest economic concentration in the world is out East. We're on the right side of the biggest economic activity in North America."
The area's economy is moving toward a new era based on intellectual skills rather than "brawn and bravery," Gallis said.
"People who work in the steel mills now need computer skills."
Providing that training will help transform the area's labor force for the future, he said.
The United States is in the middle of a global revolution, Gallis told those in attendance. Technology is leading the world's economy, and that means global networking must be part of any economic development plan, he said.
Creating a plan for regional cooperation and global networking is crucial to progress in Northwest Indiana.
"If we don't have a plan, opportunities will be taken from us," he said.
It all adds up to working together and planning, Gallis said.
"Northwest Indiana has a big future, big opportunities, but we have to figure out how to play the game right."
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Jane wrote on Aug 27, 2008 8:58 PM:
Mr. Taylor wrote on Aug 27, 2008 1:38 PM:
Go Mitch. "
Andy Taylor wrote on Aug 27, 2008 6:16 AM:
"The area's economy is moving toward a new era based on intellectual skills rather than "brawn and bravery,"
Did this guy even bother to research the graduation rate/performance of NWI schools, what a joke. I would say his presentation will be used by polititions as a reason to spend 100's of millions of taxes on connected contractors to build more schools. "
Global Gus wrote on Aug 27, 2008 5:10 AM: