United States ―  Fort Lauderdale has proclaimed November 21 as Medellín Day. The city honors Medellín on the 56th anniversary of their agreement of friendship and cultural, economic, social and political exchange.

Among the exchange activities, both cities have signed a memorandum of understanding between the Florida Atlantic University and the National University of Colombia, Medellín headquarters; also, there has been several cooperation activities between the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department and the Administrative Department of Disaster Risk Management ― DGRED ― to improve the attention and rescue on disaster situations.

Recently, the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department assisted DGRED in the development of activities to improve its emergency response practices; and in October of this year, a delegation from the Medellín Fire Department made a technical visit to its counterpart in Florida.

In addition, an educational agreement focused on design and social sciences activities was signed between the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees (FAU) and the National University of Colombia (UN) Medellín, to expand their relations of academic cooperation.

The good relations between Medellín and Fort Lauderdale have allowed the improvement of their air connectivity due to the arrival of US airlines Spirit and Jet Blue to the capital of Antioquia, which have direct flights between both cities.

The twinning agreement

In 1961, Fort Lauderdale issued the resolution 8244 in which Medellin is declared its Sister City. For this reason, the former mayor of Medellín J. Jaime Nicholls (1981-1982), presented the keys of the city to the then mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Virginia Young, extolling the exchange of experiences and the good relationship between both cities.

“This recognition is special for Medellín because it shows the consolidation of relationship that has been growing over the years. The dynamics of this twinning have allowed us to exchange best practices and to develop very positive activities with Fort Lauderdale. I am very about the celebration of Medellín’s day in Fort Lauderdale! I hope there are many more exchange and learning opportunities to come” said the Director of ACI Medellín, Sergio Escobar.

Testimony of the mayor of Medellín

Medellín participated in the recent version of the Market for Creative Industries of Argentina, MICA, held in the Cultural Center of Science (C3) in Buenos Aires. From October 6 to 8, this event brought together governments and entrepreneurs from different countries to hold discussions about industries such as the performing arts, audiovisual, design, publishing, music and video games.

MICA (in Spanish) allows entrepreneurs of creative industries to access new business opportunities and expand their sales.

For three days, the city was represented by the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area, ACI Medellín. This space allowed them to learn about the best practices of the cultural sector and its creative economy.

During the event, 4,000 sectorial business conferences, presentations and workshops were attended by 1,500 entrepreneurs.

This was MICA’s fourth version, the ideal space to learn from creative business and to discuss about the cultural undertakings of the participating countries and other governmental bodies from Argentina.

“In this event we have a two-way exercise in which we get close and cooperate with Argentina. We will show them our experience on urban equipment for culture and our knowledge about their creative industries,” said Diego Vélez, Senior Professional of ACI Medellín.

Medellín participated at the Cities Conference on Wednesday, October 4, at the ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile. The objective was to create a discussion around the relevance of the implementation mechanisms for sustainable urban development, public – private cooperation and urban mobility.

The meeting seeks to implement the New Urban Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean for inclusive, secure, resilient and sustainable cities.

In Panel 5, Sergio Escobar – Executive Director of ACI Medellín – made a presentation entitled: How to finance the implementation of the Regional Action Plan? and another in Session 1: The Challenge of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities. In both spaces, he talked about the experience of Medellín, its transformation process; public-private alliances; the strategy of internationalization and its plan to achieving the goals of sustainable development by the year 2030.

“The participation in these spaces in which cities are the core for the management of development projects is essential for Medellín. All the works to improve the quality of life of citizens and the attention to the challenges of each territory, begin in the cities. In my opinion, the city is the ideal dialogue space to start working towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030,” said Sergio Escobar, Executive Director of ACI Medellín.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is the United Nations body responsible for promoting the economic and social development of the region.

Medellín joined UNESCO’s Global Network of Learning Cities, thanks to an articulated strategy which places education as an axis to achieve great social transformations. This membership, awarded for the first time to a Colombian city, will allow us to share our knowledge with other capitals of the world and to promote public strategies for development.

During the Third International Conference of the Cities of Learning, held in Cork, Ireland, Mayor Federico Gutierrez Zuluaga highlighted Medellín’s plan by 2030 which has been kept regardless the changes in government. “This plan was developed with universities and the private sector to reduce inequality.”

Being part of this network, reinforces the city’s commitment to fulfill the Sustainable Development Objectives adopted by the UN through actions that, in 70%, depend directly on the Development Plan. One of the most important is to guarantee children and adolescents’ access to education.

“By providing our children and young people with education, we are also giving them the ability to dream, to think that they can get as high as they want,” he said, explaining that education helps reduce hunger, poverty, gender gaps and generates economic progress.

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UNESCO’s Global Network of Learning Cities highlighted the importance of programs such as Buen Comienzo, which currently serves 74,042 children between 0 and 5 years old. Likewise, they praised the initiative “We Count on You at School,” which has identified 1,600 children who have deserted the education system and helped them to return.

“I have toured around neighborhoods and streets so that our children and young people do not stop studying. We did a door-to-door job and we will continue to do it,” said the Mayor.

In terms of higher education, the mayor of Medellín highlighted the delivery, through Sapiencia, of 2,842 scholarships and credits for training of young people in relevant programs, to facilitate access to the labor world.

Source: Mayor of Medellín (September 18)

Former presidents of Bolivia, Uruguay and Guatemala visited ACI Medellín to expand their knowledge on investment and cooperation in Medellín.

The three former leaders described ACI Medellín as an innovative institution and a model to be replicated in other countries around the continent.

ACI Medellín told the former presidents of Guatemala, Álvaro Colom Ceballos; Bolivia, Carlos D. Mesa Gisbert and Uruguay, Luis Alberto Lacalle its mission and functions. They had the opportunity to ask and learn about the strategic projects of the current municipal administration like the Strategic Plan of the City Center and the construction of the tram of the 80th avenue.

Subsequently, they continued their tour around the city: Starting on the Metro, Ayacucho’s Tramway and the Metrocable Line H to Villa Sierra station. This, brought them closer to the physical interventions of the city. They spoke with the people and understood the impact of these works in the life and development of Medellín.

“I know Medellín since 1994 and today, I found a city totally transformed, evolved and modern. I was impressed by the intervention in the upper parts of the city, the Metro and the cable cars. It is a living city that is going through a transformation process; Also, it is an example to other cities in political and community leadership,” said Álvaro Colom Ceballos, former President of Guatemala.

“Medellín is like the ‘city of the future’ ” because it works for being civilized, productive, modern and safe. I am very happy for having visited the city and I would love that my country and Montevideo were enthusiastic to learn from Medellín,” said Luis Alberto Lacalle, former President of Uruguay.

“Perhaps the most appropriate word for Medellín is ‘kind.’ It is a city will receive you with such spirit and such warmth. Medellín is a city that shows itself as an international example, a friendly city that grows by understanding the fundamental needs of its people,” said former President of Bolivia, Carlos D. Mesa Gisbert.

“It is an honor for ACI Medellín to receive the three former presidents, and to share with them its concept of the city under the light of the Latin American reality and what is happening in their respective countries. A very enriching experience that gives us a different vision from each of their points of view and leadership.” said Sergio Escobar, CEO of ACI Medellín.

The former presidents arrived in the city at the invitation of the Council of Medellín to participate in the “National Meeting of Councilors” held on Monday, August 14 and where each one presented a paper from his experience as Presidents.

On August 22, 2017, Probono Foundation will talk to representatives of NGOs in Antioquia during ACI Medellín Lectures.

This is the third ACI Medellín Lecture in 2017. The first one was on peace and post-conflict issues and the second addressed to alternative communication channels.

As part of its strategy to strengthen and establish cooperation relationships with local allies, ACI Medellín will hold the third ACI Medellín Lecture “Exchange system for donations and resources from abroad,” next Tuesday, August 22 at 8:00 am in the auditorium Plaza de la Libertad (Carrera 54 # 42 -188).

This time, ProBono Foundation will join ACI Medellín’s and will talk about exchange rate regime network. “The representatives of NGOs attending the talk will know the process of legalizing resources arriving from international cooperation to Colombia,” said Juan Esteban Sosa, Regional Coordinator of the Foundation.

The event is open to the public and requires prior registration online [ Click here ]

About ProBono Foundation

ProBono Colombia Foundation is a private, non-profit organization that links those who do not have the resources to access quality legal advice and a team of lawyers from different entities willing to offer their services free of charge. The Foundation has 50 members in Colombia and 7 of them are in Antioquia (Grupo Argos, Bancolombia, Correa Merino & Co. Abogados, Rodríguez Azuero Contexto Legal, Agudelo Peláez Abogados, Ariza & Marín Abogados y Uribe Henao Abogados). Since 2009 and to date, ProBono has received more than 3000 requests for legal assistance.

About ACI Medellín Lectures

The ACI Medellín Lectures are a strategy to strengthen relationships with local allies. These academic events are focused on critical issues for the internationalization process of Medellín and the region. They are based on matters that contribute to the implementation of investment and cooperation projects .Also, they are aimed at public officials, undergraduate and postgraduate students, teachers, NGO representatives and entrepreneurs.