Special Report on Cooperation 2016, 2017, 2018
Medellín continues to generate interest amongst the international community in the development of new cooperation opportunities, mainly with those countries seeking allies to implement and develop programs and projects on peacebuilding, city transformation, urbanism, economic and social development, education, culture, and investment. Hence, during the last three years, 30 million U.S. dollars have arrived in the city to develop different projects and initiatives which even had been implemented in other cities of the country.
In 2018, we achieved the highest cooperation amount in ACI Medellín’s history for 12.5 million U.S. dollars for sustainable mobility granted by South Korea.
Between 2016 – 2018, Medellín has received 503 delegations from 57 countries
The United States, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and France have sent the largest number of government and business missions to Medellín during the last three years.
The topics they are interested the most are the following: urban planning, environment and mobility; transformation; investment; peacebuilding, government and security; and economic development.
Between 2016 and 2018, 134 delegations from different Colombian cities visited ACI Medellín to know, learn, and replicate its model.
Between 2016 and 2018, the Sos Paisa program has supported 40 contributions from Paisas living abroad. Also, Sos Paisa has coordinated 19 meetings with Paisas in different cities around the world.
The city also has used international cooperation in the implementation of best practices. In this sense, Medellín currently explores knowledge exchange opportunities to learn from their good results in other countries. In the last three years, eight best practices were coordinated with Mexico, South Korea, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain on health, mobility, planning, energy, urban planning, social inclusion, and economic development.
The evolution of international cooperation has helped southern countries and cities to interact and seize the strengths they can learn from other projects implemented in developed countries. In this case, Medellín has positioned itself in the international system as a reliable city for the development of South-South cooperation projects, achieving the transfer of knowledge of 17 projects with countries such as: Granada, Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Burma, Costa Rica, Brazil, Honduras, Saint Lucia, Guyana , Argentina and Mexico.
In 2004, another international cooperation strategy was born to connect Paisas living abroad with their city, the Sos Paisa program. It invites them to become ambassadors of Medellín to the world and making contributions to promote social development. The program has grown progressively. In the last three years, it has coordinated 40 contributions and 19 meetings in 12 countries.
Achievements:
2016
Remarked cooperation actions:
Embassy of Canada: The promotion of inclusive economic growth and providing support to the consolidation of peace through market-oriented training and the generation of employment opportunities for young people, women, and people affected by the armed conflict. In situations of poverty and vulnerability to support the projects of the Secretariat of Youth and the Secretariat of Social Inclusion and Family (Victims Unit).
South Korea: This cooperation activity sought to start up the technical elaboration process of the Comprehensive Master Plan for Mobility of Medellín.
World Bank: Provided consultancy in the implementation of TIF ( Tax Increment Financing) as a non-traditional source of financing for urban renewal and development in the city.
- International scenarios where the city was invited to share experiences: XXII Congress of the Ibero-American Center for Strategic Urban Development – CIDEU (Spain), World Cities Summit (Singapore), VI Biennial Summit of Mayors of C40 (Mexico).
- Four international awards for the city, including the 2016 Lee Kuan Yew Award, worldwide known as the Nobel of cities. Medellín was recognized as a model city for its urban transformation which improved the quality of life of its inhabitants.
- Visits and work agendas with more than 900 delegates and 250 journalists to share Medellín’s best practices. In addition, the visit of renowned politicians to strengthen ties between cities: Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo; Senior Advisor to the US Secretary of State, David Thorne; Mayor of Quito, Mauricio Rodas; and Vice Mayor of Barcelona, Gerardo Pisarello.
2017
Remarked cooperation actions:
Bloomberg Philanthropy: This technical and financial cooperation action aimed to develop the Bancuadra project of the Bank of Opportunities attached to the Secretariat of Economic Development. This project is the solution to address the problem of illegal credits (Daily Payments) which support organized crime in the city.
Marina Orth Foundation: A financial cooperation action to guarantee high-quality education in three major areas: English, technology, and leadership. Also, it offers extracurricular activities in English and robotics for the development of leadership skills in the complimentary day.
U.S.: Alliance for Reconciliation Program (PAR in Spanish). It benefited two projects of the Medellín Mayor’s Office: Reconciliation: Economic autonomy for the construction of social capital in Medellín; and More than 90 minutes, addressed to 120 soccer fan club leaders of the city. Sweden: Technical and financial cooperation action for the Motor Route Program which aims to offer access to formal education opportunities to vulnerable young people.
South-South Cooperation with Mercociudades: Medellín and Santa Fe (Argentina) presented the project “Strengthening the local entrepreneurial culture and the socio productive fabric.” It will allow knowledge exchange between both cities.
- Medellín is the first city in Colombia to join UNESCO’s Learning Cities Network. As it was announced at the III International Conference on Learning Cities held in Cork, Ireland. This network seeks to support and accelerate the practice of lifelong learning.
- Six international awards for initiatives from the Mobility Secretariat, the Comptroller General of Medellín, the House of Memory Museum, and the Secretariat of Environment.
- The creation of the Medellín LAB as a strategy to account for the social and urban transformations of the city as a “living laboratory” of experiences.
- Work agendas with 1,500 delegates and 241 journalists interested in learning about the processes and advances of the city on different matters. They included the presence of high-level personalities such as the Minister of Transport of the United Kingdom, Christopher Stephen Grayling; the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Paula Lehtomamaki; and Senior Vice President of the World Bank, Mahmoud Mohieldin.
2018
Remarked cooperation actions:
Spain: Technical Exchange with the House of Memory Museum and Madrid City Council.
South Korea: The Ministry of Land, Transport, and Infrastructure of Korea (MOLIT) bet on the city’s smart mobility with a historical figure of USD 12.5 million in international cooperation (the highest granted to the city in its history). This project aims to the creation of an integrated center for traffic management, installation of monitoring equipment and increasing the action range of Medellín’s Secretariat of Mobility.
- Participation in international scenarios: IDB’s III Ibero-American Forum of Mayors (Argentina), Global Climate Action Summit (USA), World Cities Summit 2018 (Singapore) in which Medellín was appointed to host the event in 2019.
- Visits and city agendas with 1,400 delegates and 256 journalists interested in learning about the advances and the transformation of Medellín. They included personalities such as the Ambassador of France in Colombia, Gautier Mignot; Mayor of Chuncheon, South Korea; Read Jea Su; Deputy Minister of Trade Affairs of the European Union, Chancellery of Sweden, Oscar Stentsön.
- In 2018, the Semilleros Infantiles de Participación Ciudadana program received a mention in the UNESCO Educating Cities Award.
The Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, awarded EPM for its Medellín River Sanitation Program as one of the 5 best practices in Latin America and the Caribbean.
NovaGob.Lab awarded the 2018 Excellence Award to the 1,2,3 Woman’s Emergency Hotline from the Secretariat of Women.
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