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Interviews Kjeld Jakobsen Municipal Secretary of International Relations and General Urbis Coordinator Why did the São Paulo City Government decide to create Urbis? The meaning in Latin, “cities”, clearly defines the objective of creating an event to approach urban issues. Urbis was held for the first time in 2002, after the realization there was no such space in Brazil to exchange experiences among cities and for debates regarding municipal management. The event’s success was beyond our expectations and encouraged us to repeat it in 2003. The second edition was even more successful than the first one. Therefore, we believe Urbis will more and more turn into an open and democratic forum for the Exchange of experiences and the promotion of innovating public policies in cities. Even more so because the challenges to establish sustainable development with social justice are greater every day and the responsibility of local power increases and becomes more and more important. What was the attendance like in the previous edition? Urbis 2003 had a very encouraging attendance rate: 2,521 people participated in the three days of the congress with 14 debate roundtables; 300 mayors – including Brazilian mayors and mayors from abroad, with representatives from all 27 Brazilian states; three ministers were present; about 18 thousand people visited Urbis Fair; 26 foreign cities exhibited their projects, along with 250 other Brazilian exhibitions. The event was sponsored by Embratur, CEF, Sebrae and Petrobras in 2003. What are the objectives of this third edition? Urbis 2004 takes place at a very special time, which is the celebration of the 450th anniversary of São Paulo, and it will be held at the same time as Unctad’s XI World Conference (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), here in the city. In this edition we want to focus on urban development, whether in the cities or metropolitan regions with special emphasis on the regulatory marks of different metropolitan regions. We will also focus on metropolitan policies, such as transportation, the environment, safety, solid was management, work and income, housing, access to water and electricity. In addition, we will provide the required conditions for specific satellite events to be carried out, such as events on youth and gender issues. Therefore, we will give visibility to the role of cities in development strategies (and will be in direct contact with Unctad), as well as to the new proposals for city management and for companies that provide equipment and services for the municipalities. This way, we expect to contribute with the struggle against poverty, social exclusion and inequality which have a dramatic effect on larger cities. How will the fair be organized? We are proposing the allocation of exhibitors according to their preferential theme, thus we would have the education, health, environment, tourism avenue, etc, so that we can also organize thematic workshops in the fair: municipal finance, solid waste management and other aspects that are part of the routine of municipal management. Space will also be provided for the exhibitors of themes that for one reason or another do not fit in the previous group. Participants of the fair are cities, companies, universities, NGOs, unions, among others, which acquire their stands for this purpose. Visitation to the fair is free, you only have to register. Who is participating in this third Urbis edition? The event is divided into congress and fair. Municipal and metropolitan managers from Brazil and abroad, university students, NGO representatives, specialists and the public in general participate in the congress. Anybody can visit the fair, where cities exhibit their public policies and companies exhibit products and services for the municipalities. Representatives of international multilateral institutions will also be present. Is there a registration fee to attend the congress? Yes, the registration fee allows participation in the congress conferences and free access to the fair. |
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