The mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero Calle, received, through the Ambassador of Denmark, Erik Höeg, a mural by the Colombian artist Diana Ordóñez, inspired by bicycle use and sustainability, a common theme for both territories.
During the event “Medellín and it’s International Allies”, the city received a mural donated by the Embassy of Denmark in Colombia.The delivery of this work of art confirms great instances of the relations between Medellín and this European country
This donation is given as part of the “Medellín and its International Allies” event, and it is a prelude for the “Fiesta del Libro y la Cultura” (Book and Culture Festival), that will be held between September 24th and October 3rd, 2021, and in which Denmark will have an exclusive space dedicated to giving visibility to its culture.
“Medellín is a city open to the world, that believes in the importance of international cooperation bonds. This happens within the framework of the “Medellín and its International Allies” event, with more than 250 international guests, where Denmark is very clearly a special actor, who we wish to thank” said Mayor Daniel Quintero.
Additionally, it is expected that towards the end of the year, the city will receive a bicycle counter located in one of the city’s bicycle routes, donated by Denmark, which will allow a better perspective to be held by the Medellín regarding its bicycle use.
On his end, the Ambassador of Denmark in Colombia, Erik Höeg, highlighted the current moment of the relations between Medellín and his country, and the contribution given by his delegation to the capital of Antioquia.
“We decided to contribute something of our own, something from Denmark, a piece of our culture, of our history. This mural represents Denmark’s history and culture. I see in this city, a development and a vision towards this same direction and I wish that in the future, we will be able to say that Medellín uses bicycles every week”, said the ambassador who highlighted that in Copenhagen, the danish capital, 60% of the population uses this mode of transportation.
“I’ve seen the infrastructure works, and the direction performed there, and I wish to congratulate the city for this” added the diplomat.
The art piece was made by the artist Diana Ordóñez, also known as Ledania, who is a benchmark of Latin American graffiti.
The mural is located on 46th street with Carrera 50, in downtown Medellin, next to the San Antonio metro station, the place where the A and B metro lines cross each other as well as where the city’s tramway starts. According to the number of users in the Metro System, in recent months, an average of 20,000 people a day enter this station. And according to recent data from the Mayor’s Office of Medellín, it is an area through which about 500,000 people pass daily.
“It is a bet towards sustainability and towards reducing Medellín’s transportation carbon footprint” stated Höeg.
The executive director of the ACI Medellín, Eleonora Betancur, assured that “Since last year, we’ve been working constantly with Denmark to identify potential areas where we can articulate cooperation and investment projects between the Mayor’s Office of Medellín and the Embassy of said country in Colombia”.
“With the donation of this mural, we see inevitable elements for a good and friendly relationship between both territories: culture and sustainability, which are also essential aspects for the construction of the Medellín Futuro we dream of, and in which international allies such as Denmark are turned into key actors to continue through the path of transforming into an Ecocity”, she added.
Regarding danish investment, we can highlight the well-known health company called EMI that was installed in Medellín in 2017 with a total of 10 million dollars. Since 2016, Medellín has built a strong relationship with this European country with environmental, innovation, renewable energy, Smart Cities and social inclusivity projects.