In 1934, as the United States was struggling to fight through the Great Depression, the Detroit Economic Club (DEC) was established to provide leadership and forward-thinking in an effort to return to industrial prosperity. Seventy-five years later, the country again faces an economic crisis and the DEC is convening its inaugural National Summit.   

The summit will be held at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center on June 15-17. DEC says it will be a unique gathering of business, government and academic leaders who will address the United States’ economic future and how it can remain competitive across the globe. It is being co-chaired by William Clay Ford Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., and Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of the Dow Chemical Co. “The United States can no longer take economic leadership for granted,” Ford said.   

DEC has identified four issues of vital importance for the National Summit: technology, energy, environment and manufacturing. Through debate and dialogue, it plans to address these issues in hopes of creating a new plan for national industry policy. “Never before has there been such a clear need for America’s leadership … to come together to help forge a new way forward,” DEC president and CEO Beth Chappell said.    

The event’s speakers will include ex­ecutives from Delta Airlines, American Axle & Manufacturing, UPS, BorgWarner, Office Depot, Exelon, Waste Management and Ernst & Young.  

DEC created an e-community on the National Summit’s Web site, which is a private online portal with background information on each of the four key issues, and areas where members can express their opinions and view others’. The conference also is encouraging attendees to make social connections on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. “Our online presence will make the National Summit an unprecedented national conversation,” Chappell said. The National Summit believes embracing the popular networking sites will give the American public a voice about the future of the economy. It wants the public to get involved and is continuously updating the sites with news.    

During the summit’s scheduled town hall sessions, participants – both in-person and online – may respond to questions using an audience response system. Through this, they will help shape the sessions’ outcomes and facilitate dialogues for other sessions and the e-community.   

DEC says the surveying of participating top-level leaders on their views of technology, energy, environment and manufacturing has already begun. These surveys will be used to help frame the debate and discussions at the town hall sessions. At the conclusion of the summit, the e-community will remain open. It will post speaker, panelist and sponsor opinions, as well as rebroadcast the town hall and general sessions. The agendas for future meetings of the National Summit and the DEC also will be posted.    

The U.S. is battling a collapse of economy that has not been seen for generations. It would be impossible to expect the National Summit to provide all the answers for a return to prosperity. However, by bringing together various leaders and implementing online social media sites and other technologies, the DEC says it is working to push the nation’s economy forward. “We must come together across industry and political lines, with new leadership and new thinking to keep the U.S. competitive,” Liveris said.