MAYOR RICHARD M. DALEY WELCOMES INTERNATIONAL CITY LEADERS TO FIRST-EVER GLOBAL CITIES FORUM
Chicago, Bogota Sign Sister Cities Partnership
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chicago Sister Cities International welcomed mayors and municipal leaders from around the world for the first-ever Chicago Global Cities Forum on April 27-29.
The 2009 Forum opened on Monday, April 27, with the Richard J. Daley Urban Forum, a public event, followed by two days of private discussion focused on pathways to economic recovery, urban planning and human capital initiatives. During this three-day summit, visiting municipal leaders presented their city’s own innovative strategies and exchanged ideas and “best practices” on a number of topics.
Nearly 30 mayors and municipal leaders attended the Forum including those from Moscow, Paris, Dubai, Bangkok, Beijing, Bogotá, Reykjavik, Athens and Prague.
“As mayors and leaders of municipal government, we share the same challenges. To secure our individual city’s economic futures, we must remain committed to fully participating in the global economy and continue to overcome those challenges which have become greater in recent months,” Mayor Daley said.
“The world has shifted from a collection of regional or national economies to a truly global economy. The future well-being of cities depends on how we plan for and deal with global inter-connection. We must make cultural connections and expand our working relationships with global partners,” he said.
On Tuesday, April 28, Mayor Daley and Mayor Samuel Moreno Rojas of Bogota, Colombia, signed the first Sister Cities partnership between Chicago and a South America city.
“Bogota becomes our 28th Sister city, and the first of what I hope will be many others in South America,” said Mayor Daley, noting that more than 40,000 Colombian-Americans live in the Chicago area.
A committee of Chicago volunteers is expected to generate business, education and cultural affairs exchanges between the two cities. Mayor Moreno Rojas reflected on the many shared experiences between Chicago and Bogota, noting that Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games had many similarities to Bogota’s bid for the 2015 Pan American Games.
Municipal Leaders Address Urban Issues, Share Innovations
Throughout the Forum, the municipal leaders presented ideas used in their cities for improving urban infrastructure, economic development and transportation as well as human capital issues, including health care and education.
For example, traffic congestion proved a critical problem for many of the municipal leaders. Several noted that as their country’s economy and citizens’ personal incomes improve, more residents want to own cars, which compounds the congestion issue. Among the solutions presented:
Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Schapira noted that his city has led the way in providing bikes to rent, partnering with a private company to offer 20,000 bikes in the city. Paris now plans to team with another private company to rent small electric cars. The city also restricts bus lanes to buses, taxis and bicycles, which is helping promote municipal bus ridership because buses now move in and out of the city more rapidly than cars.
Hamburg, Germany, is investing funds in transportation methods that reduce the distance residents must travel to use public transportation. These include a new tram system; clean, safe and on-time buses; rental bikes and, perhaps, electric car rentals, too.
In Reykjavik, Iceland, the city is using some hydrogen-powered buses and is moving toward methane and electric-powered buses as well. Already, two fleets of garbage trucks are fueled by methane gas from the city’s municipal waste sites. In addition, eco-friendly cars can park free in city parking garages.
The session also featured urban-planning presentations by Dubai’s Director General Hussain Nasser Ahmed Lootah; Reykjavik Mayor Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir; and Mohamed Sajid, Mayor of Casablanca, Morocco.
Education Focus of “Human Capital” Session
The importance of providing a quality education to children proved the focus of the afternoon session. Mayor Daley gave a speech about the focus of his 14 years as Chicago’s municipal leader on education.
“We have made Chicago’s students a greater part of world through our dramatic expansion of the teaching of critical languages — Arabic, Chinese and Russian,” said Mayor Daley.
The Arabic language program has grown from 297 students last year to 1,000. The Chinese World Language program, which is the largest of its kind in the United States, engages more than 12,000 students each day. He also pointed out that 300 students study Russian in Chicago.
“Such additions to the curriculum recognize our need to be better able to communicate with our neighbors around the globe and participate in the global economy,” said Mayor Daley.
Bogotá’s mayor and Bangkok Deputy Governor Prakob Chirakiti focused on educational programs as well, including those they have initiated for elementary, secondary and university-level students.
The Chicago Global Cities Forum concluded on Wednesday, April 29, with a session focused on next steps and a luncheon hosted by World Business Chicago.
Other Forum highlights included visits by the mayors to Chicago institutions, including The Field Museum, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange trading floor and the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Natalie Campbell, Chicago Sister Cities International, 312-744-2172 office, 312-718-1186, mobile, natalie.campbell@cityofchicago.org
Lisa Xia, Chicago Sister Cities International, 312-744-9181, office, 614-439-8480, mobile, lisa.xia@cityofchicago.org
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