PRESS RELEASE
One of the most exciting presentations on Latitude59’s Bold Stage this year will feature renowned British urban strategist and creative city concept developer Charles Landry alongside investor Taavet Hinrikus. In addition to discussing how creativity and innovation benefit urban development, details about a unique future hub being created in Estonia will be revealed.
According to Latitude59 CEO Liisi Org, Charles Landry and Taavet Hinrikus sharing the stage might initially seem unexpected. “Landry’s vision of how cities can respond to the challenges of globalization, technological and social change through creative thinking, and how this improves the environment where we live and work, touches everyone and offers broader food for thought for all event guests. Together with Hinrikus’s exciting news, it resonates well with this year’s Latitude59 slogan: “Be bold. Build the world you want,” says Org.
Charles Landry is looking forward to addressing the Latitude59 audience and believes he has much in common with the event’s guests. “Latitude59 brings together innovation and creativity, the desire for change and development. Urban spaces that can keep pace with both global as well as social and technological changes need people who apply creativity, imagination and innovation.”
Landry’s presentation draws on his practical experiences of how focusing on the intersection of culture, economy, and urban space can make cities more vibrant, inclusive, and resilient to various changes. The world-renowned urbanist will share his ideas that have transformed approaches to urban development, emphasizing cultural values, human potential, and imaginative leadership.
According to Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of investment companies Skaala and Plural, he shares Landry’s vision of the urban environment. These principles of “a human-centered, sustainable urban neighborhood designed to foster communities that work for everyone” are being applied in the development of the Krulli quarter and the future hub being created there, which in his assessment will help companies achieve global impact.
While in Estonia, Landry will also share his views on urban development at an expert seminar taking place at KOTA club in the Krulli quarter and invites everyone to think along and discuss the future of cities.
About Charles Landry
Charles Landry is an internationally acclaimed urbanist, author, and speaker, widely recognized for pioneering the concept of the creative city. As the founder of Comedia, he has worked with cities, governments, and organizations around the world to help unlock their creative potential and shape more vibrant, inclusive, and resilient urban environments. Landry’s influential publications, including The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators, The Art of City Making, and The Civic City in a Nomadic World, have inspired a global movement toward harnessing imagination and cultural assets in city-making. His work continues to shape how cities approach innovation, placemaking, and civic engagement.
About Taavet Hinrikus and Skaala
Taavet is an entrepreneur turned investor. Taavet spends most of his time as a partner at Plural, where he invests in serious founders on a mission to change the world through technology. As a founding partner at the investment company Skaala, he is also behind the development of Krulli, a human-centered, sustainable urban neighborhood in Tallinn designed to foster communities that work for everyone, and has hosted the Latitude59 afterparty there for the third consecutive year.
He co-founded Wise in 2010, where he was CEO and later Chairman, which went public in the first-ever direct listing in Europe in 2021. Prior to that, Taavet was Skype’s Director of Strategy until 2008, having joined as its first employee. He’s been an active investor for more than a decade, looking for 10x better solutions to huge problems that have impact globally. He also co-founded Jōhvi Coding School to help increase the number of people with coding skills in Estonia. Taavet sees technology, education and entrepreneurship as the most potent agents of positive change and progress.
About Latitude59
Latitude59 2025 will take place on 21-23 May in Tallinn, Estonia. As the most international and impactful startup and technology event in the Baltic States and New Nordics, Latitude59 brings together startups, investors, and ecosystem builders from around the world.
