Hundreds of young professionals are expected to gather from March 24 to 26 at Cornell University for the first We Live New York Summit , a three-day workshop and dialogue event co-sponsored by Syracuse-based 40 Below.

Beginning with keynote address by Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy and reception Thursday evening March 24, programming runs throughout the day Friday and into early Saturday afternoon, on and off Cornell University campus and into the surrounding city of Ithaca.

Duffy, who is a former mayor of the city of Rochester, will speak about the issues facing young professionals and how to develop a successful strategy to attract and retain talent in Upstate New York.

Friday is packed with programming, featuring more than 50 speakers and more than 30 workshops structured into five themed “tracks,” including business and entrepreneurship, politics and civic engagement, cuisine and culture, health and wellness, and neighborhood revitalization.

Ben Sio, summit co-organizer and 40 Below staffer, said the topics are completely new programming tracks developed to appeal to a broad range of interests. Registration allows admission to programming in any of the five tracks throughout the summit.

On Saturday, the focus will be on creating a dialogue, Sio said.

“Saturday is the day we’ll sit down with people and talk about what they pulled out of it,” he said. “We’re doing one day where people sit and listen to a lot of speakers and learn, and the next day where people are allowed to sit around have an honest discussion about what’s going on.”

The We Live NY Summit is co-sponsored by 40 Below, the Southern Tier group Pipeline 4 Progress, and the statewide young leaders group We Live NY. Programs are slated for on and off campus at Cornell University and throughout the city of Ithaca.

Last September, 40 Below member Dominic Robinson said the 40 Below Summits, which were held annually in Syracuse from 2004 to 2009, was postponed in 2010 in anticipation of the statewide 2011 event.

Partnering with other like-minded groups from across the state has allowed for a bigger event than any 40 Below Summit in the past, though the We Live New York event maintains the emphasis on innovative and creative problem solving and a sense of responsibility within the community.

For those who have attended 40 Below summits in the past, Sio said, the We Live NY event is completely different.

“If you’re coming, you’re not going to see anything we talked about previously,” Sio said.

Early registration online costs $25; registration at the door will cost $40. The complete program of workshops is available online, as well as discount hotel information, at welivenysummit.com .