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(c) Barcelona 2004/ J. Roca de Viñals
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04 / 08 / 2004
Monterrey will be the venue for the 2007 Universal Forum of Cultures following the unanimous approval of its candidacy
José Natividad González, governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo León, affirms that the event will have an impact on the cultural and economic relationship between Latin America and Europe
The Forum Foundation has unanimously approved the proposal put forward by the city of Monterrey to organize the second Universal Forum of Cultures in 2007, announced the mayor of Barcelona and president of the Forum Barcelona 2004, Joan Clos. The official endorsement of this decision will take place in "a solemn, public and unique" act to be held at the end of September, coinciding with the conclusion of the event presently taking place in the site located next to the mouth of the Besòs river
The decision for Monterrey to host the Universal Forum of Cultures in 2007 has been taken during a meeting held between the Forum Foundation and a delegation from the Mexican State of Nuevo León and the Mexico Consulate in Barcelona. Participating in the meeting, in addition to Joan Clos and José Natividad González, delegate to the autonomous government in Catalonia, Joan Rangel, Delegate of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Carme Sanmiguel, Forum CEO, Joan Pagés, the Consul General of Mexico in Barcelona, Jaime García Amaral, the Secretary of Economic Development in Nuevo León, Eloy Cantú Segovia, and the Parliamentary General Undersecretary in Nuevo León, Rogelio Cerda Pérez, among others.
Clos explained that Monterrey will organize the 2007 event because it has fulfilled "precisely and thoroughly" the requirements set out by the Forum Foundation, among which are, the need to have the institutional and explicit support of the Mexican Federal Government, of the State of Nuevo León and Monterrey and the 8 cities that make up its metropolitan area, which represents a "guarantee" that the event will be held. "We are grateful to Monterrey for its prolonged efforts over many months, enabling it to hold the next edition of the Forum of Cultures", indicated the mayor of Barcelona.
Jose Natividad González, who will be president of the Monterrey 2007 organization, said "we are going to maintain the Forum's philosophy" but he also pointed out that the second edition of the event would have its "basic themes oriented towards knowledge, a central subject in the agenda of all Humanity". Thus, the event will be called the "Universal Forum of Cultures and Knowledge", with themes such as economic sub-development, the training of intellectual resources and linking of Universities to the economic world, the relationship between ethics and science, the new areas of knowledge or religions, explained González. "We are going to work very hard and will be in constant touch with UNESCO, the network of cities and the Forum Foundation to respond to the confidence that we have been shown", he added.
Changes
The Monterrey 2007 project approved today includes several substantial differences in relation to the Barcelona Forum. The second edition of the event will be held in autumn, it will last only three months and will organize less events in the city after "taking into account the costs entailed in Forum 2004, being the first edition of the event, and the recommendations of the organization", commented González. "We have a more modest goal in terms of numbers of visitors and we will not charge to visit the site, only to attend the performances", explained the president of Nuevo León.
González explained that Forum 2007 would be developed around the facilities of the Parque Fundidora, very near the downtown district, where an important "urban regeneration" project has already been carried out. The Monterrey project has envisaged a global investment of 200 million dollars and it has been forecast that the federal Government of the country will contribute around 90 million dollars. The rest of the budget will be covered through local contributions from the State of Nuevo León, local governments and contributions from national and international partnerships. "The financial investment will be smaller because a good part of the equipment, such as the Exhibition Center, the Auditorium or the Pavilion, are already up and working", said González. As such, he did not discard that the South African city of Durban, also interested in holding the event in 2007, would be involved in holding various events in the run-up to the Monterrey Forum.
González emphasized that in Barcelona, "the main objectives of the Forum have been fulfilled amply" and went on to mention, among these, the symbiosis between the holding of the event and the rehabilitation of an urban area, the positive impact of discussing relevant subjects and of having positioned Barcelona once again at the center of the world stage. "People are talking about the Barcelona Forum in America", affirmed González for which the 2007 edition in Monterrey will be used to "influence the cultural and economic relationship between Latin America and Europe". The Prince and Princess of Asturias have already expressed their willingness to go to the Monterrey 2007 inauguration ceremony, commented the governor of Nuevo León.
Visit to the Peace Camp
After the briefing meeting, the committee from the State of Nuevo León visited the Peace Camp at the Forum Site. Taking place there at the moment is the sixth camp where 120 children of between 12 and 14 years of age from various cities around the world are lodged, including children from the Federal District of Mexico. The coordinator of the Peace Camp, Quim Sicilia, explained to the visitors the characteristics and objectives of this initiative which is to have children from various origins and cultures living together and sharing experiences during their nine-day stay. The Peace Camp will be home to around 1,300 children from 28 different cities until 26 September, the closing day of the Forum Barcelona 2004.
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