Buenos Aires starts to prepare for the 2015 Metropolis Annual Meeting
Although attentions are now focused on Hyderabad, where the 11th Metropolis World Congress takes place next October, Metropolis has already begun working on the preparation of next year’s great event: the 2015 Metropolis Annual Meeting, hosted by Buenos Aires. Last week, the capital of Argentina received the first visit of a delegation from the Metropolis Secretariat General, to start shaping the format and contents of the event.
During the visit, the theme of the event was confirmed: "Live the City", suggesting more involvement and interaction of the audience with the urban territory. Besides traditional indoor sessions such as lectures, debates and workshops, the program will bring each day experiential sessions in different neighborhoods of the city of Buenos Aires, in which the practical aspects of the topics discussed will be examined.
The delegation of the Metropolis Secretariat General got to know many field projects that will serve to define the contents of the program, on topics as varied as social housing, participatory design of public spaces, sustainable transportation, environmental training, partnerships with the productive sector and the modernization of public administration. These issues, among others, will be arranged under the three thematic axes of the event: innovation, inclusion and green agenda.
The visit also allowed Alain Le Saux, Secretary-General of Metropolis, to intervene in the seminar "Internationalization of Local Governments and International Cooperation", held at the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Design Center on Thursday May 29. In his presentation, Mr. Le Saux highlighted the essential role of local leaders in the evolution of global governance.
The 2015 Metropolis Annual Meeting will be held in the first weeks of July of that year (dates to be confirmed). The event will close the celebrations of the Metropolis 30th anniversary which start in Hyderabad, and will also represent an opportunity to shape a common statement from the mayors of the largest cities in the world, foreseeing the Habitat-III summit in 2016.
For information on the preparation of the event and relations with the government of the City of Buenos Aires, please contact Xavier Borrell at the Metropolis Secretariat General.
Photo: Brand new soccer field in the slum 21-24 in the district of Barracas, one of the projects visited in Buenos Aires by the Metropolis delegation.