The Sos Paisa network was born in 2004 to connect the countries abroad with their cities, it is an initiative of the Medellin Mayor’s Office, led by the ACI Medellín, which seeks to be a scenario of dissemination of the transformation of the city to connect with the countries abroad, and thus invite them to be part of the network, and contribute to local development through the transfer of knowledge or donations that contribute to the quality of life of the inhabitants of Medellín.

Between 2016 and 2019, the network reached an unprecedented international projection. Actions such as updating the website to effectively connect the Paisas with their home city, the increase in the number of followers on social networks, the strategic exhibition of Medellín as an innovative city, and holding meetings with people from Antioquia living abroad, made the network to be recognized as a connection space with the city and a bridge to make contributions to Medellín.

In these four years, the network reached an outstanding projection and dynamism with 57 contributions from Paisas living abroad and 24 meetings in 22 cities around the world.

Sos Paisa proposes a series of activities that guarantee, not only the permanence and participation of the old members, but the arrival of new paisas to the network; These activities include meetings with foreign countries, and international promotion campaigns.

In 2016, the network achieved six contributions from Paisas and held three meetings in Melbourne, Sydney (Australia) and Barcelona (Spain).

In 2017, the network held eight meetings with Paisas in Caracas (Venezuela), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Montevideo (Uruguay), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Pompano Beach (USA), Madrid (Spain), Guadalajara (Mexico) and Mexico City, which was attended by a total of 115 paisas. Likewise, 14 countries contributed to the network.

For the year 2018, there were meetings with paisas in the following cities: Bangkok (Thailand), Lima (Peru), Santiago de Chile, New York and San Francisco (United States), Monterrey (Mexico), Quito (Ecuador), and London (England), which reached 209 paisas. That same year, a record figure was reached with 20 contributions from foreign resident countries.

Finally, in 2019, 91 Paisas attended five meetings in Austin and Washington (United States), Madrid and Barcelona (Spain), and La Paz (Bolivia).

Mayor Federico Gutiérrez met with the Paisa network in New York (2018), San Francisco (2018) and Washington (2019).

In these 4 years, Sos Paisa got stronger and took a little piece of Medellín to the people from Antioquia living abroad. The network will continue to grow to connect the city with the countries around the world. www.sospaisa.com

The Sos Paisa network (@sospaisa) is on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.

Civil society organizations are institutions that contribute to the achievement of a common good, such as providing education to vulnerable populations, protecting children and adolescents, providing health services, addressing climate emergencies, improving quality of life of the elderly, promoting solutions to eradicate poverty, promoting culture and sports, protecting the environment, among hundreds of other causes.

On November 21, a large group of civil society organizations attended the event Medellín and its Allies.

ACI Medellín is conscious of the vital work of these organizations. In that sense, the agency held the event ‘Medellín and its Allies.’ The event opened with a conference focused on impact management and its indicators on behalf of Teresa Marcaida. Then, it continued to deliver five awards to organizations for their work on the SDGs.

The 2030 Agenda is based on five fundamental dimensions which include the most critical development goals for the planet. ACI Medellín chose to award the following organizations:

• People Category: Marina Orth Foundation with the “4WARD STEM” project for its contribution to SDG 4: quality education. ACI Medellín highlights the relevance and trajectory in the social development programs of this project.
• Planet Category: Salva Terra Foundation project “Maintaining mineralized agroecological gardens.” which impacts the performance of the ODS 12: production and responsible consumption.
• Prosperity Category: Comité Privado de Asistencia a la Niñez – PAN [Private Child Assistance Committee], with its “Building the future” project, for its contribution to compliance with SDG 10: reducing inequalities by promoting scenarios for inclusion, equity, and prosperity.
• Peace Category: Convivamos Corporation with the project “Urban women influencing on Peacebuilding,” for their contribution to SDG 16: peace, justice, and strong institutions.
• Alliances Category: the Américas Foundation for its project “Operation Walk International – hip and knee prostheses,” contributing to the SDG 17: Partnerships to achieve the objectives.

“The SDGs are the roadmap to achieve a more peaceful, safer, and sustainable world. Besides acknowledging social sector organizations, we wanted to share knowledge about the importance of measuring the results of the programs and projects for the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda,” said Catalina Restrepo Carvajal, Executive Director of ACI Medellín.

“Evaluation is the only way to guarantee that organizations fulfill their mission and objectives to improve the society in which we live,” said Teresa Marcaida, an international consultant expert in impact measurement.

As part of its strategy to strengthen relations with local allies in international cooperation, ACI Medellín opens this space to contribute to the capacities of the city’s civil society organizations and to recognize their role in the materialization of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Organizations in the social sector will take the spotlight of this event

The event called Medellín and its allies, organized by ACI Medellín, will take place on November 21 from 7:30 a.m. at Novotel El Tesoro hotel. Organizations in the social sector will meet to learn about impact measurement methodologies, share successful projects, and recognize each other’s progress in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The event will hold a conference/workshop by the Spanish consultant Teresa Marcaida, an expert in impact measurement methodologies. This will be an opportunity for attendees to learn about practical cases of measurement to implement in their daily work.

Also, the event will close with the recognition of five social organizations for their effort and contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals in the categories: people, prosperity, planet, alliances, and peace.

The organizations that will receive the mention submitted their programs to ACI Medellín and were evaluated and analyzed by a jury who reviewed their work and made the decision based on the results and their trajectory.

“Medellín and its allies” is a space to ratify the commitment of ACI Medellín to social sector organizations, indispensable actors in the development of the city and communities.

About Teresa Marcaida:

She is an International Consultant on Impact Measurement under the LBG methodology of the London Benchmarking Group and ONLBG. She has a BSc in Economics from the Royal Holloway University of London. Also, Marcaida holds a master’s in International Affairs from the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas (Madrid) and Georgetown University (Washington DC); a master’s in international Cooperation and Public Policy Management, and a Master in Development of Programs and Projects of the Ortega y Gasset University Research Institute (Madrid).

She currently combines her professional work as a consultant on impact measurement at MAS Business, with the management of the projects department of the NGO Living Meki.

The WISE – QATAR Foundation conducts studies and programs to promote innovation in education. WISE was created in 2009 by the Qatar Foundation under the ruling of His Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser.

So far, they have held events in Tunisia, China, Spain, Ghana, the United States, France and are exploring an upcoming version in Colombia.

A delegation from the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE-Qatar) led by Elyas Felfoul, Director of Policy Development & Partnerships; and Aurelio de Amaral, Partnerships and Policy Development Officer, visited Medellín to learn about the city’s education and innovation ecosystem.

WISE develops biannual conferences and summits in Qatar and other countries of the world.

During their visit led by ACI Medellín, they learned about the city’s transformation process and made a tour around Ruta N’s facilities, its Innovation Laboratory and the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Afterward, they met with allies from the educational ecosystem of Medellín such as Vivero del Software (Software Nursery), the Teacher Innovation Center – MOVA, the Academia, Private and Public Sectors Committee (CUEE), Comfama and Proantioquia to exchange knowledge and best practices.

These meetings show the joint work and efforts which generate trust in Medellín and allows it to be a laboratory of living experiences in the field of innovation for education.

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.

On February 20, Medellin welcomed the new Consulate of Peru, located at 7 South Street # 42-70 (Forum Building, office 415).

The event was chaired by the Ambassador of Peru in Colombia, Ignacio Higuera Hare who affirms that the new consular space seeks to consolidate the binational relations between Colombia and Peru.

Mrs. Patricia Nava Pérez, Minister Counselor of the Diplomatic Service of Peru, was appointed as Consul General. She will be in charge of facilitating joint work in terms of investment and international cooperation and strengthen bilateral relations.

The new Consulate will provide services for Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda, and Chocó, promoting tourism and Peruvian culture. ACI Medellín celebrates the opening of this consular office and welcomes Mrs. Nava, and wishes her the best results.

The Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area, ACI Medellín carried out the lectures: “Let’s talk about the public policy of international cooperation in Medellín.”

More than 14 civil society organizations attended the conference on “Public Policy for International Cooperation of Medellín” which took place from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in the Software Incubator.

The meeting addressed issues such as International cooperation, the National Development Plan, the main issues for managing cooperation, recommendations for the mobilization of resources in social organizations, and access and use of the ACI Cooperation Platform.

The organizations had a space to share their needs and experiences in international cooperation to establish alliances and achieve networking among the attendees.

“Beyond the public policy we are talking about how to access international cooperation and some tips for organizations to learn how to approach it. Breaking paradigms is very important because cooperation is not only financial but also technical. Also, it is important to articulate actors so that the organizations understand there is a public policy they can rely on to have an effective and efficient cooperation not only in Medellín but throughout the region,” said Catalina Escobar, co-founder of Makaia and supporter of the event.

Also, there was an opportunity to socialize the International Cooperation Platform operated by ACI Medellín, a useful tool for civil society organizations.

“ACI Medellín carries out strategic activities to develop international cooperation and effectively impact the programs and projects of the Municipal Administration, a very important task to improve the quality of life of citizens. In this sense, our work is complementary to the management carried out by many organizations in the city, and that is why ACI Medellín seeks to strengthen them and guide them towards a good performance,” said Catalina Restrepo Carvajal, Executive Director of ACI Medellín.

 

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Junto a #Makaia, hoy hablamos de la Política Pública de Cooperación Internacional de #Medellín y las claves para la gestión de la cooperación, la movilización de recursos para Organizaciones Sociales y cómo acceder y usar la plataforma de Cooperación de la ACI Medellín, un sistema de información basado en la nube que ofrece diferentes instrumentos para la gestión efectiva de cooperación en las organizaciones, entre otros. #CátedraACI ______________ ? desliza para más. (testimonios)

Una publicación compartida de ACI Medellín (@acimedellin) el 7 Nov, 2018 a las 9:36 PST

For the second time, Medellín is chosen to host the General Assembly of the Organization of American States – OAS. The decision was made by Resolution of that same entity, after Colombia stated its intention to host the meeting between June 26 and 28, 2019.

The General Assembly is the ultimate meeting of the Organization of American States. It is composed by the delegations of the member states and is held annually in a venue chosen under the principle of rotation.

“It will be a great honor to receive the 35 delegations of the member countries and other special guests in this summit on June of next year. With the warmth of our people, our city infrastructure and the support of the institutions, we will carry out one of the best meetings in the history of the Organization of American States,” said the mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez Zuluaga.

OAS is the oldest regional entity in the world and one of the most extensive. Today, it constitutes the main political, legal and social governmental forum of the hemisphere.

The celebration of the 49th edition of the OAS Assembly joins other events of great international relevance that will be held in Medellín next year, such as: the World Cities Summit , the Meeting of UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities , the World Avocado Congress , the Concordia Summit , among others that will make: “Medellín the epicenter of major meetings in Latin America and the world in 2019” added the local leader.

A delegation from the department of La Guajira, located in northern Colombia, visited the facilities of the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area – ACI Medellín. Their purpose was to approach ACI Medellín’s work methodology, exchanging knowledge, experiences and best practices, as well as analyzing the possibility of replicating the ACI Medellín’s model in the newly created Agency in La Guajira.

The formulation, design and start-up of this entity were an initiative of the government of La Guajira which started since 2018. It started operating nearly two months ago and will focus on the attraction of cooperation and national and foreign investment.

“We are currently in a training process to learn about what we should and should not do in terms of best practices. La Guajira has several challenges and many objectives to be met. Which is why we want to learn from those who have more experience,” said Iván José Riveira, responsible for the execution of investment proposals in the Cooperation and Investment Agency of La Guajira.

On the other hand, the representative of the Departmental Administration of La Guajira, Eliécer Barros, said that cooperation contributors have been disjointedly working and separated from the Administration. “This is an initiative which seeks to regulate the actions of cooperation contributors to make them much more efficient. The department action is very limited due to its resources, for that reason, the idea is to learn how to do more with less.”

The visit of the delegation to Medellín is part of a round of meetings they will have with other investment promotion agencies around the country to learn the best lessons from each.

“After seeing the actions of ACI Medellín, I began to seize the tasks we have to do. We know it is a long way we are beginning, and we want to start with the best guide. In that sense, you are a national reference; In fact, the change of the image of Medellín has been the model to be followed by the country. Although, as a coastal region we have different dynamics, we want to learn to communicate and change a bit the image of the Colombian Caribbean region,” Barros said.

Between October 4 to 5, the Ambassador of the European Union in Colombia, Patricia Llombart, visits Medellín for the first time to deepening relations with the city and the department of Antioquia. They will focus on analyzing business opportunities and investment in the framework of the EU-Colombia Trade Agreement after five years of implementation.

The mission will also address cooperation issues such as education, tourism, environment and press freedom within the framework of the Gabriel García Márquez Award and Festival of journalism.

ACI Medellín and the Embassy coordinated a work agenda which included meetings with: representatives of the binational chambers of commerce of the European, organizations such as Procolombia, Proantioquia, Metropolitan Area of ​​the Aburra Valley, Analdex and Agrofuturo, among other. Likewise, the Ambassador had the opportunity to talk with the Mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez Zuluaga about the cooperation and investment possibilities in the city.

“We want to promote business contacts and find ways to advance an agenda between the E.U. and Antioquia. These new opportunities are accompanied by a European commitment to sustainable rural development in Colombia; a strong support for the peace process; the generation of employment; the protection of human rights and support for the competitiveness and development of small and medium company,” explained Ambassador Llombart.

About Ambassador Patricia Llombart

“Jurist and Euro-enthusiast by conviction. She was born in Valencia, Spain and did her master’s degrees in international trade and European studies. Llombart has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of international relations and foreign policy in the European Union. She has worked in the directorates for Latin America and the Middle East and oversaw Mercosur countries, Iran and Iraq; Gulf and Yemen Cooperation. The Ambassador was also part of the Cabinet of the Vice-President of the Commission and of the European Commissioner in charge of external relations. In her most recent position, before being appointed Ambassador in Colombia, she was Director of Infrastructure, Budget and Security at the headquarters of the European External Action Service (EEAS). Source: Embassy of the European Union in Colombia.

Friendship is feeling comfortable, talking and sharing with others. In Medellin and Barcelona’s case, ​​this friendship was born with a particular interest: to offer and provide to each other. It grew over time, up to the point that even new friendships in pursuit of decentralized cooperation works have been born from it.

It has been more than 17 years in which Medellín has learned from Barcelona ​​through the exchange of models of government management and the strengthening of local governance: libraries, markets, urban habitat, education, social rights, entrepreneurship, are some of the several experiences that Global City has shared with the capital of Antioquia

There is more than one way in which Cooperation is materialized. Barcelona has seen in Medellín the abilities of an applied student, that who learned the lesson and is ready to share his experiences with the world. For this reason, Barcelona has called on Medellín to cooperate with the development of other cities, such was the case of the triangular cooperation developed with Havana (Cuba) in 2014, when they joined forces to teach their experience on urban planning and international cooperation.

Medellin and Barcelona still have a long way to go together, because friendships grown over the years, even if they are kilometers away. At the end, strong and lasting friendships are those that transcend borders despite the difficulties.

On Thursday, December 14 at 6:30 pm, the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area will launch the latest issue of Link Magazine and the international cooperation video of the city in the Duque Arango Gallery.

The magazine reports on the development of Medellín in terms of international cooperation and foreign investment over the 15 years of ACI Medellín’s existence.

The event is called Link Magazine “15 years – 15 stories” and is an opportunity to share a space in which ACI Medellín accounts for the results of its 15 years of management. This issue gathers the statements of 15 characters that have influenced the creation, development and growth of the Agency.

It starts with a statement of its founder, then, goes through the entities that make up the Board of Directors of the Agency, the Mayor of Medellin, the City Council, the beneficiaries of international cooperation, international networks, foreign investors, local businessmen and the processes of South-South cooperation in which Medellín is now the main character. This issue also shows a compendium of activities and processes which today make ACI Medellín a leading institution at the national level in terms of internationalization.

In the same event, the international cooperation video of Medellín will be presented. It shows the development proposals the city has implemented with the help of the governments and international institutions.

There will be a special space for the attention to journalists interested in expanding information.

On November 30, Medellín and more than 500 members of the International Association of Educating Cities around the world will celebrate the Educating Cities Day.

Medellin is part of the International Association of Educating Cities (IAEC) since 2017

The celebration seeks to raise awareness on the importance of education in the cities It is also an opportunity to highlight the commitment of local governments to education and encourage citizens to join this important initiative.

This year, Medellín will carry out a campaign in which citizens will be able to express their commitment through messages with their signature on a strategically located mural.

This worldwide celebration will take place on November 30th because on 1990, the Charter of Educating Cities was proclaimed in Barcelona (Spain) by the IAEC.

“Being the only city in Colombia in the AICE is a challenge that drives Medellín to continue working for the most important thing: its people. This celebration reminds us that education is a symbol of transformation and growth, and that the city must continue along this path. I expect a great citizen participation,” said Sergio Escobar, ACI Medellín CEO.

From November 29 to December 1, the XXII MERCOCIUDADES Summit, the most important network of local governments of Mercosur, takes place in Córdoba (Argentina). Carolina Bernal, ACI Medellín Deputy Director of Knowledge Management represented the city in the event and attended the thematic round tables on decentralized cooperation and sustainable development objectives.

Since 1995, Mercociudades aims to favor the participation of governments in the process of regional integration, promote the creation of an institutional environment for the cities of South America and develop horizontal exchange and cooperation.

Statement of Carolina Bernal:

IDB’s Project: Public Goods. Latin American and Caribbean Coalition against Racism, Discrimination, and Xenophobia

At the same time, a follow-up to the IDB’s Regional Public Goods Project took place: Latin American and Caribbean Coalition against Racism, Discrimination, and Xenophobia. Medellin, Montevideo, Quito and Mexico City are part of this coalition. María Alejandra Saleme, Assistant of ACI Medellín’s CEO, represents the city in the General Assembly of this Coalition, in which the progress of the project will be presented.

Statement of Alejandra Saleme

November 29― Today, it’s now one year after the tragedy of the Chapecoense soccer team, an event that shocked the world and strengthened the ties between Chapecó (Brazil) and Medellín (Colombia).

Both cities made this relationship official on May 10, 2017, through a twinning agreement. “The gratitude, solidarity, peace, harmony, respect for differences, overcoming difficulties and friendship, are feelings that will unite us forever, ” said the mayor of Chapecó, Luciano Buligom.

In this twinning, Medellín and Chapecó share a spirit of dialogue, peace and harmony and commit to constantly promote ethics, respect for differences and strengthening the bonds of friendship among its citizens through cultural, social, environmental and economic activities.

The Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area – ACI Medellín is in charge of establishing a permanent dialogue between the authorities of both cities, exploring cooperation opportunities, mainly in territorial planning, mobility, public transport, health and childhood.

Medellín Park in Chapecó

As a tribute to the victims of that tragic accident, a space to contemplate life is built in Chapecó. The Medellín Park will have a viewpoint, fenced boardwalks with benches, flowers, skate parks, public services, fountains, water mirror, flower beds, areas for sculptures and flags and a stage for different leisure and recreational activities.

Even the sky cried

Telemedellín broadcast on Sunday, November 26, the documentary “Hasta el cielo lloró” (Even the sky cried), a story told with the voices of the players, survivors, relatives and lifeguards involved in the tragedy of Chapecoense. It will be retransmitted on Tuesday, November 28 at 10:00 pm.

The mayor of Chapecó thanked the documentary and wrote:

“My brothers from Medellin. On November 29, we celebrated one year of the tragedy that shook all the people of Chapecó.

The tribute broadcasted on Telemedellín, the institutional channel of the Mayor’s Office of Medellín, besides moving us, was a beautiful gesture which only reaffirmed the bond between two sister cities.
 
That is why today, I thank and acknowledge all the love you gave us in that tragic and painful moment.

You embraced us, gave us love, affection and from that moment we began to rebuild ourselves. The world recognizes that Medellín offered its best feelings for the reconstruction not only of Chapecoense, but to all Brazilian people.

Brothers forever. For always fraternity will unite us and in the most difficult moments we will remember the love of all of you.

Thank you very much.

Luciano Buligom
Mayor of Chapecó

Between November 27 and December 1, the Ninth Citizen Security Week will be held in Colombia. The event will be in Bogota and Medellín

The event is organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Vice Presidency of the Republic of Colombia and supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (COSUDE)

The Citizen Security Week is the largest regional event on citizen security and justice in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its objective is to enable a dialogue and the creation of an exchange platform for program directors, experts, academics and civil society in general interested in issues of prevention and control of violence and crime.

This edition of the event will discuss the challenges faced by the states in the generation of legitimacy and confidence in the implementation of public policies on citizen security.

To this effect, it will be divided in two main components; the first is the Regional Policy Dialogue, which will be held in Bogotá from November 27 to 28. This is a closed-door meeting in which ministers and senior officials from across the region will discuss the challenges and progress made in citizen security and justice policies.

The second component is the Coexistence and Citizen Security Clinic, an activity that will take place in Medellín between November 30 and December 1. It is a space open to the public (previous registration), to exchange technical and specialized knowledge on the subject. The event will conclude with a series of field visits to innovative solutions. These visits require direct invitation from the organization of the event.

Download the event agenda in Medellín here »

Follow the Coexistence and Citizen Security Clinic at  livestream »

more info. here»

Photography: Área Metropolitana del Valle de Aburrá

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.