Interviews
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José Natividad González Parás
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The interview
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21/09/2004
José Natividad González Parás
Governor of the State of Nuevo León, Mexico.
After the meeting held in the headquarters of UNESCO, between the Monterrey delegation and the UNESCO secretary, can we take it that Monterrey's endorsement has already been granted and that the countdown for Monterrey 2007 has started?
That's right, we had a meeting with the UNESCO director general, accompanied by the delegation from Nuevo León, in Mexico, as well as the Spanish delegation and the Chief Executive Officer of the Barcelona Forum. In this meeting we talked about the next edition of the Universal Forum of Cultures that will be held in 2007 in Monterrey and we spoke of the importance of consolidating a universal coming together of ideas; a concept which is much needed by humanity in its global agenda and which has now been started in Barcelona. We talked about the orientation of the themes of this Forum, which would be on culture and knowledge and the importance of discussing how this knowledge is developed as well as its fair distribution, access to it by different groups, countries and nations as a prerequisite for development: as well as the many types of knowledge, science and technology that are greatly influencing the behavior of human beings, counties and nations alike. We received encouragement from the UNESCO director general, his advance support for the project, his commitment to take it before the Committee meeting that will be held in April and his predisposition to begin work on the preliminary tasks involved in developing the themes of the agenda and the joint participation that we will be undertaking with members of the Barcelona Foundation and representatives of this international organization.
Will the themes of the present edition, which are "peace, cultural diversity and sustainable development, continue to be reflected?
In some ways yes. In fact, the Monterrey Forum 2007 is going to follow the model of Universal Forum of Cultures, but its themes are going to be linked to the subjects of cultures and knowledge. But the philosophical principles that have given rise to this global coming together of ideas are going to be continued: cultural diversity, the quest for the development of humanity and the formulas to bring about peace and the progress of nations.
Lately we have seen that the selection of Monterrey has been mentioned a lot in all of the Mexican press. We would like to know about the reaction of the federal government of President Fox and if it is also economically involved in the project, as in Barcelona, which had the support of all three tiers in the Spanish administration.
Yes. We have the full support of the government of President Vicente Fox, not only administrative and governmental but also in financial terms. And the presence of the delegate representing the Mexican government before UNESCO and his public affirmation of the president's support confirms this. I believe that the effort that was made in Spain with the Barcelona Forum is something that we are going, in some degree, to replicate in Mexico with support and co-organization from the national government, local and municipal governments in addition to the certainty that we will now have the support of UNESCO, which will be formalized at the forthcoming meeting of the Council in April.
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Monterrey is already a prestigious name in terms of further and higher education centers of high quality, as well as in terms of modern industry, and we want to specialize in the realm of knowledge; in advanced technology and research centers, in technological transference in the industrial sector. And the Forum represents a stellar moment in this project that we are taking on with state-wide vision; a vision of society and government for future generations.
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During your stay in Barcelona, during a press conference, you commented on an agreement with Texas. Could you give us a little more information on what type of collaboration they expect to set up?
Well, no, not exactly. The Universal Forum of Cultures in its 2007 edition will be organized by Mexico, the government of the State of Nuevo León and the city of Monterrey. Nevertheless, within the context of an agreement to boost regional development, the governmental organizations of the states in the Northeast of Mexico and the states of the Southern United States (USA) are going to be somehow represented and participating in this Forum.
From now on, will there be a kind of protocol in the relationship between Monterrey and Barcelona? How are both cities going to walk hand in hand towards the next edition?
Well. There is talk of extending and expanding the Foundation of the Universal Forum of Cultures, in which the founding fathers of the idea - who came up with this initiative and who presently make up the Foundation of Barcelona - will continue to play a major part. Now we, the representatives of Mexico, are going to join them, and in particular, yours truly, the Governor of the State of Nuevo León. And together, with the participation of the international network of cities and UNESCO we are going to establish the norms and constituent criteria that will govern this world-wide encounter that is starting to get a great deal of interest from different countries and cities around the world.
As a final question, the objectives of the Forum in terms of its global benefit, we would like to know what objective Monterrey as a city and Nuevo León as a state considers for the Forum 2007 as far as international positioning, economic development, technological development etc. are concerned.
For us, holding the Forum does not solely mean the satisfaction and the pride of holding a top-class international event like this. It is also linked to a strategic vision for amenities and facilities, urban development and renovation for an important area within the metropolitan area of Monterrey. A complete project will be developed in these coming 3 years and the Forum is going to be a reason, a detonator, an obligatory benchmark to be able to complete this project: new cultural facilities, new science and technology exhibition centers are all going to be permanent assets for the city. On the other hand, the Forum is also related to the long-term and visionary projects that have been put forward by the State of Nuevo León; to convert Monterrey into an international city of knowledge. MAnd thirdly, we think that Monterrey, as a mid-sized city of around 4 million inhabitants, with beautiful mountains, cultural amenities and ultra-modern industry, has reached its coming of age for this international launch as a medium-sized world-class city. And the Universal Forum of Cultures in its 2007 edition is going to be an important turning point in projecting the name and the image of the city and the country all around the world.
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Forum Monterrey 2007