medellín

Transcription

medellín

ISSN 2422-2453
YEAR 2 / No. 2 / DECEMBER 2014
Informational medium of the Agency for Cooperation and
Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area -ACI-
—
“MEDELLÍN IS AN
URBAN LABORATORY”
JOAN CLOS
—
AFD, A GOOD FRIEND
AND ALLY OF Medellín
AND ANTIOQUIA
—
We create bonds with the world for the development
“We create bonds with the world for the development”
out partners
68
T
en
nt
Co
CITIES WITH
AL-LAS
68
86
04 EDITORIAL: Eyes on Medellín.
CEO Anamaría Botero Mora.
27 “MEDELLÍN IS AN URBAN
06 “FAIRNESS IS THE PATH, LIFE IS THE GOAL”:
LABORATORY” Joan Clos,
Executive Director of UN-HABITAT
and the World Urban Forum.
enterview with Aníbal Gaviria.
30 EDUCATIONAL PARKS: chronicle, user´s
09 GOVERNOR OF ANTIOQUIA, Sergio Fajardo,
advocates a well educated department.
testimonials: children, youth and seniors.
12 RIDING BIKE FROM HERE TO THERE:
36 AFD - a good friend and ally of Medellín
and Antioquia.
COFFEE THAT
TASTES LIKE
ANTIOQUIA
Renting bikes for free, a novelty.
16 WITH CEMEX, Maceo combines
42 MEDELLÍN REVIVES THE TRAM.
cocoa with cement.
48 UVA’s, a space to share life.
19 A CATALAN-PAISA FRIENDSHIP:
Xavier Trias, Mayor of Barcelona.
54 URBAN INCLUSION with Maravillas Rojo,
Secretary General of CIDEU.
22 PREPARE FOR PEACE: Interview with
80 Medellín TEAMS UP WITH
Ivan Marulanda, coordinator of this program.
TEAM: This firm from the U.S.
58 RIVER PARKS OF MEDELLÍN, a reality.
believes in the city and in its people.
64 PUERTO ANTIOQUIA will embark
83 HOUSE OF MEMORY OF MEDELLÍN.
Urabá’s dreams.
LINK Magazine, Informational medium of the Agency
A museum for memory.
for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the
68 CITIES WITH AL-LAS.
Metropolitan Area - ACI
86 COFFEE THAT TASTES LIKE ANTIOQUIA.
Year 2, No. 2, December 2014
74 MEDELLINNOVATION
General management: Anamaría Botero Mora
92 ACI APPLIES AND MULTIPLIES
DISTRICT: to believe
the best practices of Medellín.
and create.
95 “MEDELLÍN HAS COMMITTED TO
BRILLIANCE AND IT SURPRISED ME”:
Joseph Stiglitz.
97 FROM OUR REGION TO THE WORLD.
86
Medellín 41 St. # 55-80 Plaza Mayor
Phone number +(574) 320 34 30 / www.acimedellin.org
Editorial Board: Anamaría Botero Mora, Director, Astrid
Madelaine Álvarez, Deputy Director of Administrative
Relations. María Luisa Zapata Trujillo, Deputy Director
Knowledge Management. Pablo Maturana, Deputy
Director of Investment. Camila Escobar, Deputy Director
of Projection. Daniel Vásquez, Deputy Director of
Positioning.
General coordination: Daniel Vásquez, Positioning Deputy
Director. Paula Bustamante, Press Officer.
Research: Nathalie Taverniers y Esperanza Palacio
Molina
Writing and general editing: Esperanza Palacio Molina
Photography: ACI, Alcaldía de Medellín, Gobernación de
Antioquia, EPM, Área Metropolitana, Metro de Medellín,
Ruta N, Fotoeditores, Cemex, AFD, Sebastián Franco,
Ajuntament de Barcelona.
Translations: Gloria Mejía R., Alejandro Acevedo A.
Graphic editing: Taller de Edición / www.tallerdeedicion.co
ACI is a partnership of public entities.
ISSN 2422-2453
editorial
4
*Anamaría Botero Mora, Director of the Agency
for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and
the Metropolitan Area -ACI-
EYES ON
Medellín
Beyond the image
by AnaMaría Botero mora, General management.
We are concerned on a personal level about “how does
the other see us?” but also as a society, because the external look determines a part of our welfare. Medellín,
through its people, may attests about what it means to
move from the stigma to the positive recognition. But beyond receiving a compliment, there is the background:
the transformation of a society in debt to itself.
It surprises us as citizens that our city is today a world
leader in resilience, social innovation and urbanism. But
we who have the privilege of working in the public sector, we know that the good news about Medellín are the
result of city planning, in which the priority continues
to be the constant improvement of the quality of life of
its inhabitants. This objective has transcended the last
three governments, since it comes from different political parties, which was recognized as a best practice in
Flourishing Cities, an event hosted in December by the
School of Government in the Oxford University at Oxford, England.
Internationalization is one of the tools chosen by Medellín to raise its social development. Comprehensive
internationalization of a city aimed at strengthening
cooperation alliances and foreign direct investment,
generating an impact in the medium and long term in
our territory. That is why the Agency for Cooperation
and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area
-ACI- works to be an inevitable actor in the development of the city-region.
This agency is atypical in its conformation for being
the only decentralized agency in the country and brings
together the issues of cooperation, investment, international relations and positioning of Medellín. In the
past two years, it has managed $362 million in foreign
direct investment, $20 million in resources for international cooperation and installed 24 foreign companies,
actions that have benefited the local human talent and
have added to the achievement of the main goals of the
development plan: Medellín, a home for life.
Moreover, since 2004 ACI coordinates “Sos Paisa,”
Network for the people from Antioquia living abroad,
with more than 10,500 members, proud and committed
to their territory in the distance. This is shows us that
internationalization flows not just from the work of the
government but also from the city itself and its people.
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Parks, which are priority in the development plan: Antioquia, the most educated.
In 2014, about Foreign Direct Investment, ACI obtained
465 million dollars for Antioquia with the installation of
a plant of the company CEMEX in the municipality of
Maceo and an agroforestry project of the Chilean company Orion Capital in the region of Urabá.
Good hosts
The figures and indicators are subjects outside the daily routine of any other citizen, for us instead, they are a
priority. Our main goal is to meet them and raise them,
in order to transform them from being just numbers to
projects and works that benefit Antioquia.
Expansion into our own borders
Medellín is the capital of the department of Antioquia
where nearly 6,300,000 people inhabit, distributed all
over 125 municipalities. More than half of the population of Antioquia live in the metropolitan area of the
Aburrá Valley. Antioquia’s economy generates 13% of
Colombia’s GDP, ranking second after Bogotá.
Since 2012, ACI works for the internationalization of
the department of Antioquia through efforts in cooperation and foreign investment, this work has generated,
among others, agreements with the French Development Agency - AFD-; The US Agency for Development
- USAID; ORIO, the Netherlands program that provides resources for infrastructure development and the
European Commission, which awarded through a call,
resources for 4.2 million euros for youth employability programs in the region of Urabá. These relationships have contributed to the promotion of programs:
Preparing for Peace, Specialty Coffee and Educational
Medellín is now a city that hosts international events in
which discussions on global issues are given. In April
2014 we hosted the UN Habitat’s World Urban Forum.
The Forum with the highest number of attendees (21,000)
of the seven that have been made. Among the most prominent participants were Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel prize-winner for economics; Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of
New York; Xavier Trias, Mayor of Barcelona; governors
and representatives of several African countries, along
with a dozen mayors of Latin American cities.
This commitment to position Medellín as an excellent
hostess at events of economic and political nature, is an
effort shared with several entities related to the Mayor’s
Office of Medellín. The Medellín Convention & Visitors
Bureau Foundation and the Undersecretary of Tourism; hand in hand with the National Government, they
got the city to host the General Assembly of the World
Tourism Organization, which will be this year, and the
management of the Ministry of Economic Development,
Ruta N and the Bureau allowed the capital of Antioquia
to host the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in 2016.
ACI attended 229 international media representatives
last year. Journalists interested in covering issues related to social and urban transformation, social innovation
and international business fairs like Colombiamoda and
Colombiatex, among others. Journalists who are no longer surprised by the positive change in our city and are
increasingly less interested in talking about the violent
past of our city.
At ACI, we emphasize the importance of internationalization for the development, which we make by creating links with the world for our growth, subject that
is nor ACI’s responsibility alone or the Government’s.
Each of the inhabitants of Medellín and Antioquia embody the positive side of the city and the region, and it
is about the commitment and conviction we assume this
role which will result in more links, more partnerships,
and more progress.
The external look is a boost because we are doing it
well. The invitation from ACI is that we as citizens continue to believe in the path laid out for Medellín by its
last three governments. Improving the quality of life and
reducing social inequality is not just a work of our leaders, but a commitment to contribute to the progress of
Medellín and Antioquia.
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Fairness
is the path,
life is
the goal”
AnÍbal Gaviria, Mayor of Medellín
The mayor of Medellín is convinced
that the city moves along the path of
transformation
ACI works to build ties between Medellín and the world. A task consistent with
the city’s Development Plan known as “Medellín – A Home for Life”
inn
Aníbal Gaviria Correa, Mayor of Medellín, is convinced that the city moves ahead in
the path of transformation thanks to the existing harmony between the municipal government, the private enterprise, the educational sector, and the citizens, which seek,
with fairness, a path towards respect for life.
Mr. Mayor, if you had to choose an international event held in Medellín in 2014
which stood out in importance and decisiveness, which would it be?
“This city is passionate and thrills, with contrasts and contradictions, aware of its
progress and even more of its challenges. It tells the world today that it wants to contribute to build an increasingly fair planet, and it’s showing that it can through social
and urban innovations – to build cities for life, fairer, with a heart, free and happier.
A taste of the significant progress made in Medellín’s metamorphosis was the 7th
World Urban Forum, which we hosted in 2014. It was a hit with a collective purpose.
I feel proud of saying that Medellín met the world’s expectations.
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district is a way to increasingly enforce with more techniques and plans, creativity with projects and goals, and
hence, to continue that feature of being an innovative
city. The goal we have set out is to become the Latin
American capital of science, technology and innovation
by 2021.
In what order of interest would you prioritize the
Lastly, when we talk about sofollowing projects of the Mayor’s Office and why? River
cial sense with mobility, we reParks, UVA’s, Medellínnofer to the chance people have of
moving in a safe, reliable sysvation District, Circumvent
Garden, Tramway.
tem, with quality service. This
UP TO
One of our administration’s
is why my fourth city project is
goal is to establish the Metrothe Ayacucho Tramway.
INCREASED THE NUMBER OF
Green Corridors is the name
politan Green Belt and the Cirgiven to different medium-cacumvent Garden of Medellín.
VISITORS IN THE FIRST HALF
Both projects seek to take life,
pacity transportation systems
OF 2014
fairness, economic developusing clean and environmenment, environmental sustaintally friendly energy. One of
ability and public institutions to the hillsides of our city. the transportation corridors identified for Medellín is
Hence, conditions and opportunities for the integrated the Ayacucho Tramway and its two cables. This projhuman development will be provided in the areas bor- ect will benefit 360,000 people in the Central-Eastern
dering the rural and urban areas. The target is to for- area. The tramway will be 4.3 kilometers long, from the
malize the occupation and expansion of the city, recover San Antonio metro station to the Alejandro Echavarría
the natural landscape and improve the habitat, mobility neighborhood.”
and accessibility, generating sustainable economic development. Their construction will give priority to the What perception do you think people have about
Educational Civic Urbanism, with the active participa- today’s Medellín?
“Medellín is a beacon of innovation”, says the Wall Street
tion of the communities.
The Medellín River Parks aim for urban renovation Journal, the Urban Land Institute and Citigroup, which ratalongside this river which crosses the Aburra Valley. ed the city as the most innovative of the world.
The intent is to efficiently connect the city with mobility, In addition, Medellín was recognized as one of the Republic space, complementary furnishings and the envi- silient Cities worldwide, a program promoted by the
ronmental component, all to improve the citizen’s infra- Rockefeller Foundation that seeks to increase the numstructure and living conditions; so life can be breathed ber of cities capable of overcoming adversities.
in every corner of Medellín.
These international recognitions have allowed us to
Second, the UVA’s or Articulated Life Units are scenarios show the city’s progress with regard to our integrated
that contribute to that dream of the city we want. These transportation system, EPM’s contribution to developare innovative areas which have friendly meeting sites ment, and the new urban furnishing implemented for
for life, fairness and inclusion. UVA’s were conceived education and culture; alongside the improvement our
with architectures that priviledge the environment and of security indicators and the city’s present and future
involve public spaces and green areas to be enjoyed, projects, consolidating itself as a global reference of ingiving Medellín back its life with trees and gardens. In- novation, entrepreneurship and development.
deed, UVA’s are places where people gather and kind Medellín displays the lowest homicide rate in the past
settings for community programs related to culture, 35 years. That is a great achievement of a government
sports, recreation, participation and education. They which set out to respect life as its main task. Medellín
are the result of the communities’ active participation today is an example and a source of inspiration for many
cities and societies in America and in the whole world.
process.
Third, I’d like to remind that Innovation goes hand-in- We have driven and lived a true transformation, from
hand with on-going change and constant reinvention. paid and fear to hope, and now we seek to move toConsequently, we have created Medellínnovation. This wards a definite and full to underline life and freedom.”
The WUF enabled us to show thousands of academics,
mayors and ministers the metamorphosis of Medellín,
since the city is a laboratory for people to learn about its
urban developments and transformations.”
16%
novador
8
What are the five most special characteristics
that Medellín can offer and interest Colombian
and foreign visitors?
What has made Medellín known as the most innovative city lies primarily on the character of its
people – creative, innovative and entrepreneurial – which is what should be boosted and maintained. Medellín still consolidates as a tourist
city for locals and people from abroad, up 16%
in number of visitors during the first half of 2014.
I wish to shed light on ACI, the Agency of Cooperation and Investment, whose work has led
the city to increase, in the last two years, its direct
foreign investment to US$362 million, a figure
that shows the importance of the efforts made in
terms of international promotion.
This task has enabled 24 foreign companies
settle in the city from the sectors of technology,
services, hotel infrastructure and manufacturing.
In addition, in terms of Cooperation, ACI’s work
has attracted for Medellín more than US$20 million for technical and financial resources.
On the other hand, Medellín has consolidated as
a city that hosts large events, mainly at the Plaza
Mayor Exhibitions Center. All in all, this success
stems from a collective purpose in which the public sector has participated, and is a transformation
in which social organizations have contributed.”
Why is Medellín recognized for its best
practices?
“Good governance and citizen participation
are two pillars of my administration since they
are pivotal to build cities for life. Medellín has
stood out for being innovative thanks
to its hard-working people and we have
known how to build a competitive city
despite our difficulties.
We have managed to consolidate a
very strong engagement between the
public and private sector, which in
turn creates a very interesting mix, enabling us to take private initiatives and
use them in the public sector. We have
made progress in terms of open innovation whereby people can provide their ideas in
their neighborhood through the Meetings of Life
which gather citizens to discuss their everyday
activities and to seek alternatives to solve them.
The different interventions and good practices
Medellín has been implementing are suitable to
be replicated in other cities and countries. Certainly there could be adjustments given the idiosyncrasies and special conditions of each place,
International
cooperation
has represented to
the city resources for
over 20 million dollars.
“
but the core can help our societies just as they
have helped Medellín’s transformation. Besides,
we can gain new knowledge and good practices
from other cities.
I want to underline that Medellín was the city
that displayed the best all-around performance
during 2013 in Colombia, according to National
Planning. This report for the Mayor’s Office of
Medellín represents an objective and independent appraisal of our work based on the results
obtained from our good managerial practices, the
sustainable improvement of its administrative
capacity, and its excellent fiscal performance. All
of the aforementioned give way to an excellent
24
This has allowed
In the last
two years,foreign the installation of
foreign companies
direct investment in
in the city.”
Medellín rose to
362 million.
score which warrants that Medellín is advancing towards the path of building a city that has a
heart, a city for life.
I would also like to highlight that our administration’s struggle to overcome deep inequalities
was granted the Colombia Leader Prize, which
gives me great satisfaction as the Mayor. This recognition reaffirms our government’s philosophy:
Fairness is the path, life is the goal.
9
“
THE CENTER OF SOCIAL
TRANSFORMATION IS IN THE PEOPLE
AND THEIR TALENTS”: Sergio Fajardo
* The governor of Antioquia is committed to a well-educated region
Since his tenure as mayor of Medellín, more than eight
years ago, Sergio Fajardo, current governor of Antioquia, has based his political programs on the people and
in all the ways that can be walked hand in hand with
a consistent high quality education with privileges to
those who need it the most. That is his obsession, his
goal, his guidance, his main objective.
As a mantra that leaves neither day nor night, Sergio
Fajardo repeats in every speech, talk or presentation,
that the goal is Antioquia, the most educated. Just as he
did with Medellín, the most educated. It is, according
to him, the best way to heal the wounds of war, to train
young people for work, to give opportunities to those
who need them, to give knowledge to children, youth
and adults; to achieve peace.
Do Educational Parks meet with the expectations
raised, according to the response of the benefiting
communities?
“The expectations we had when we designed the
program have been surpassed. In 2014 we opened
the first 8 Educational Parks, starting with Vigía del
Fuerte in Urabá, and during 2015 we will inaugurate
the other 72.
It is fundamental to understand the process of this
project and each one of the parks. The project began
with a call in which the community of municipalities of
Antioquia had to work around the idea of having an educational park in their municipality. The mayors should
be actively involved and the municipality should suggest a plot for the park to be built with the best pos-
10
sible location. Naturally, the educational community
(teachers, students, parents) had a starring role in many
municipalities and was largely responsible for the allocation of the parks.
After selecting the 80 Educational Parks, the community, working with the Municipal Board of the Education
Park, has been essential to design the long-term sustainability plan, to work with architects, among others. In
short, the construction of each Educational Park has had
different stages to ensure the wider community to be an
essential part of the project.
Now we have new challenges. As we open new Educational Parks, the Educational Parks Network is
built, which will be developing simultaneous events in
parks, coordinating lessons learned and sharing experiences. The municipalities of Antioquia are going to
integrate, with Educational Parks, around knowledge
and skills. “
¿What is the strongest point, which thrills you and
makes you dream, of the whole project of Antioquia
the most educated?
“I am part of a movement that 15 years ago decided to
participate in politics outside the traditional route. At
each step we have taken in politics and government,
our decision has been to put individuals and their talents at the center of social transformation. We are opening the door of opportunity for communities to travel
on a path that allows them to develop their skills, a
path of hope.
In the current chapter of this 15-year history, Antioquia
the most educated, I get excited with the idea of having an entire department, large and diverse, comprising
about culture, education, legality, the fight against corruption. That search for decency and dignity will lead
Antioquia to believe in itself again.”
Sergio
Fajardo
has a mantra:
Antioquia the
most Educated.
What can the community expect of Urabá with the development of Puerto Antioquia, what are the benefits
the project will leave to the ordinary citizen?
“In Antioquia the most educated we have made a systematic, rigorous and persistent work to recover the
ways of the department. The challenge was enormous:
we received the roads in poor condition. For us, the
roads are not an end by themselves, they are ways for
opportunities and development projects that improve
the lives of our communities to transit. We analyze each
way and its relation to the territory it affects. In addition
to the most visible work on the ground infrastructure,
we are working in other areas, as in the case of the development of the port system in Urabá.
It is important to highlight that Puerto Antioquia is an
Integrated Project of Urabá, one of the key axes of Antioquia the most educated. We seek that, together with
the commitment to education and legality in Urabá, this
region connects better with the rest of Colombia through
the highways and to the rest of the world through the
port. The port, the first of an extensive port system will
bring new jobs, new investment activities of higher value-added, the new knowledge.
This comprehensive approach to development that
sums education, legality and the best land and sea routes,
is the basis for the urabenses* to find in the XXI century the
road to sustainable economic and social development. In
February we opened the new headquarters of the University of Antioquia in Urabá, another step in this path.”
Do you think “Antioquia, Specialty Coffee Origin”
will motivate the younger generation to continue the
tradition of the coffee region? Could this specialty
coffee culture to transcend beyond the country until a
real and tangible internationalization?
“I have no doubt. With this program we have taken an
extraordinary leap, moving the coffee industry, which
was stationary, to a route of innovation, more research,
connected with best practices worldwide. This is a progress but we need to continue to ensure success in the
long term. The “Antioquia, Specialty Coffee Origin” program is a powerful innovative public policy. The message for Colombia is that productive projects can be built
at regional level in the rural sector. I’m getting ahead
here but I think you can draw valuable lessons for new
developments such as cocoa.”
What organizations and countries are allies of Antioquia in its most important social programs? How had
Antioquia achieved such international aid?
“Since we were in the Municipality of Medellín we said
that our region should be related to the world as equals,
with respect and the conviction that we can live up to
any other country. We have always been willing to work
with any government or international organization,
always on the road we define. The response has been
amazing, there are now working ties between Medellín
and Antioquia with many other parts of the world. I
mention only a few of many examples.
The European Union has been a generous ally. Recently, they donated 4 million Euros for youth employment
projects in the region of Urabá and in which Educational
Parks plays an important role. The French government,
an ally from the time we were in the government of Medellín, has given us some credit with the best conditions
through the French Development Agency (AFD).The US
government, USAID, is working on consolidation programs in the region of Bajo Cauca.
This is just to illustrate the type of work we do with
the rest of the world. On the basis of these relationships
is the trust and confidence that our form of government
has generated in these allies and, very importantly, the
high quality work done by the ACI, which has become
a benchmark of Medellín and Antioquia to organize and
“
11
With the
Educational Parks, the
municipalities are
integrated into knowledge.”
structure each of these relationships and
projects. “
How does Antioquia progress in preparing for
peace?
“Since the National Government announced the start of
a peace process, we in Antioquia, have been organizing
ourselves around the Preparing for Peace program. The
eventual signing of a peace agreement is only one step
and much of the work must be done in parallel with the
process and, if signed, on the territory over the next few
years. That is the main challenge.
In our program we develop an accurate diagnosis
with all the communities of Antioquia in their territories: we identify the type of conflict that exist in different areas, how each community perceives that conflict,
the victims there, how is the issue of land. That information base has allowed us to work efficiently with
these communities and a network of organizations in
the territory.
Naturally, the signing would multiply this work, we
are preparing the solid foundations of things to come.
This program is essential to close the door to violence.
Little by little we are removing violence and opening the
other door, the door of opportunity. That is the way.”
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RIDING BIKE
Riding
bicycle
from the
Metro to
the University,
from the university
to downtown...
FROM HERE TO THERE
Renting bikes for free, a novelty
It turns out that you can ride your
bike from the Metro station to the
university, from the university to
downtown, from downtown to the
South, from South to North, from
East to West. Just arrive, present
your card, ask for a bike, and cycle
away. It’s like you’re taking the bus,
but for free. Public service bicycles –
it’s that simple – public transportation by bike, here, in Medellín, and
for free.
It’s not Europe or the U.S., it’s not
something made up or a lie – its true:
the program is called “EnCicla” and
it loans bicycles to those registered,
who have the card and obviously,
who are responsible.
One can ride to one of the 22 stations of EnCicla, show the document
and take the bike and arrive to the
place needed. All for free, just take
the small vehicle, go where you
need to go, and return it later at any
other station.
“I saw something similar in Barcelona, Spain, and I couldn’t believe
my eyes. The service there is paid for,
not free like here. You go, pass the
card, take the bike and leave. And
now we have the same thing in Medellín, just like the large cities of the
world. This is pretty spectacular.”
And it’s really spectacular, as
Ana Maria Escobar says, a nursing
student who takes the Metro every
day to and from her home, and then
rides a bike of EnCicla to arrive to
the university.
The Story
This new adventure, implemented
to improve the citizens’ mobility, is
a program of Metropolitan Area of
Valle de Aburrá, an entity that gathers Medellín and its neighboring
municipalities. The service is provided in Medellín (now in Sabaneta
too) and benefits users older than 16,
visitors and tourists.
EnCicla began shyly firstly because the community is mostly
skeptical to innovative projects and
secondly, because few users believed
Both founders of EnCicla are currently working
for Metropolitan Area. Lina López is the program’s
coordinator and Felipe Gutiérrez is in charge of
everything related to the bikes.
13
in so much generosity, that is, to take a bike, for free,
was far-fetched in a country where lack of trust is
more than normal.
Well, they loan the bike and the helmet, and you
can ride away using a public service for free, taking
care of the environment and with the advantage of
living and enjoying the city.
The Founders
Juan Esteban Martinez, Deputy Director of Mobility
of Metropolitan Area summarizes how EnCicla was
born. “The idea stems from a group of students of
product design of Eafit University. These students
made the designs and several tests with bicycles and
knocked on our doors to give life to the idea. Area
agreed, since the project is aligned with the entity’s
policies from the mobility and environment point of
view. That’s why the idea was embraced, resources
were assigned and we began to structure the project
with a long-term vision.”
The project began late 2011 and was given
enough push in 2012 to reach what it has today.
“We have advanced so much that we are currently
purchasing 1,500 bicycles, when we only began
with 100. And we are expanding the system to
shift from manual stations to automatic stations. This provides an idea of the growth
involved.”
Bikes have gained a fundamental
position in public transportation.
Today it is a tool used to improve the mobility of Medellín, to provide users a
different transportation
alternative, integrated to
the mass system.
“The system is free here
in Medellín. And we are
expanding to the rest of
the Aburra Valley. We
already inaugurated the
first trail for bikes in Sabaneta, 800-meters long,
and it’s been in operation for a month. Sabaneta is
the first municipality, other than Medellín, which
is using this public bikes system. Our policy is to
establish mobility strategies that go hand-in-hand
with the public transportation system to improve
levels of contamination, circulation, lower accident rates, to enhance people to leave the car at
home and seek another option,” states the officer of
Metropolitan Area.
EnCicla is so strong already that the new POT
(Land Arrangement Plan) includes in its map 400 kilometers of cycling routes to be used by the public
bikes. This also triggers the use of private bikes.
Juan Esteban Martinez states that the construction
of the mobility master plan for bikes is underway.
The vision is that by the year 2030, 10% of daily trips
Medellín
is the only city of
Colombia that has a public
bicycles service system
14
made in Aburra Valley are made by bike. The desire
is that 16 years from now, more than 500,000 trips are
made by bike. Today, 55,000 are made.
How is it used?
The bicycles can be used by students, workers, women
and men. People must undergo a registration process.
On the webpage www.encicla.com.co you can find several requirements. A copy of your I.D. card is handed at
the center of operations along with a copy of your public
utilities bill and a contract is signed. Forty-eight hours
later, you are given the card which is used to take the
bike from automatic and manual stations. The bikes are
assigned for an hour.
Today there are 150 hosts (people that serve the stations). Initially there were only 50, then 100 and how
150. Another novelty is that initially, the bicycles had to
be stored at night, which implied complicated and expensive logistics. Today, the bikes remind at the 22 stations. People take care of them and respect them. Users
take care of the system since they know that it’s a public
service for their benefit.
Another paramount scople of the EnCicla program
relates to the environment. The program is targeted to
lower contamination levels, a plan tied to Area, the environmental authority of the city.
The future of EnCicla foresees that the program will
reach other municipalities, as Juan Esteban Martinez explains, “The other municipalities have been asking for it
but we have to be prudent with the resources available. In
Sabaneta we managed them to do the financing and we
make contributions in comodate of bicycles and stations,
but they hire the personnel and are responsible of the
entire maintenance process. The 800.
meter long bicyling route of Sabaneta
was built by us at their request since
really the resources of Metropolitan
Area are resources of the municipalities, and we are a tool of fairness
that seeks to distribute equitably the
resources among the municipalities.”
More Details
Bikes are loaned for an hour. Many
believe this is short, but it has been
analyzed and the average time between stations relatively close to
each other is of 15 minutes. Besides,
the hour can be renewed. This is
a global parameter so that people
won’t make tourism using the bike.
The public bike is for transportation
purposes, not recreational.
This is called the last-mile trip or the
first-mile trip; when I leave my home
and take a public bike, I arrive to the
transportation system or to the final
destination, leave it there and then
walk several meters or vice versa.
You
only
need your
I.D. to use
bicycles.
EnCicla’s service hours is from 5:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
This time provides alternatives for the people that work
and study early so that they can use the bike to get closer
to the mass transportation systems.
Sensitization
The program constantly sensitizes the user, but Juan Esteban Martinez says that “it’s still important to keep in
EnCicla has been assisted by ACI, the
Agency of Cooperation and Investment
of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area.
Thanks to ACI the ITDP (Institute
of Policies for Transportation
and Development of Mexico)
assisted in the establishment the master plan of
bicycles.
15
mind that there are many other players on the road we
have not reached yet, but we must since many can hurt
a bike and the user.”
The new POT (Land Arrangement Plan) provides all
of these guidelines with the new inverted pyramid: on
the top is the pedestrian and the bicycle, followed by
public transportation, after collective transportation,
then mass transportation, followed by cargo, and lastly,
automobiles and motorcycles.
Today, there are close to 600 cities worldwide that
provide the service of public bicycles, a trend led by environmental issues to decrease accident rates, to build
trust, to offer friendlier cities giving space to pedestrians
and to the bike.
—
EnCicla’s hours are:
Monday to Friday, from 5:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The Operations Center is at Calle 30 No. 79
A 04 in Medellín, in BelÉn La Palma sector
—
16
[Foreign investment arrived to this municipality]
CEMEX
PLACES MACEO BETWEEN COCOA AND CEMENT
Its economic vocation is stockbreeding and agriculture, there, they grow Cacao with high
quality standards. And its population also has mining vocation
17
—
“This subregion is in
economic openness
and is an engine
for sustainable
development for its
potential in natural
resources.”
The
work
of the
cement company proceeds
smoothly.
Maceo is a municipality of Antioquia set in
the area of Magdaleno Medio, 136 kilometers
away from Medellín by land. It is 431 kilometers long and according to DANE, its population totals 7,500. Its economy is based on livestock and agriculture, and top quality cocoa is
planted there. Gold and limestone mining is
another major activity in Maceo.
Maceo is a small municipality with
just three towns and five villages.
Everyday life is uneventful, the
weather is warm and time passes by calmly.
However, Maceo is suddenly on the international
map of foreign investment since the globally
known Mexican cement company, Cemex, began to build there a plant which will begin to
produce the first half of 2016.
Already the dwellers of the towns close to
the village of La Susana, place where the work
is set, see huge trucks come and go, indicating
that the cement project is taking shape and is
opening its way in the area, almost an hour
away from the urban zone of the municipality.
The presence of Cemex in Maceo is another
successful case of foreign investment in Colombia and the result of the work made by
ACI, the Agency of Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the Metropolitan Area.
This entity has specialized in being a facilitator
of deals and a means of knowledge transfer so
that Medellín and the region can transcend internationally.
Cemex has two concrete plants in Antioquia. This will be the first cement production
plant in the area, which in turn indicates the
importance of the investment that this Mexican firma will make.
Now,
maceo is on the
international map of
foreign investment
carlos jacks
—
Why Maceo?
Carlos Jacks, CEO and official spokesperson of
Cemex Latam Holdings S.A., talked about the
project underway in Maceo.
What´s especially attractive for Cemex to
build a plant in a municipality of Antioquia?
“Our investment will be made in Antioquia, in
the municipality of Maceo, set in the region of
Magdalena Medio because this subregion is undergoing an economic opening and is a driver
of sustainable development due to its natural
resources. It has abundant rivers and minerals,
such as limestone, marble, gold and hydrocarbons. In addition, the Autopistas de la Prosperidad highway projects will be part of the region’s development as well as the multi-modal
ports implements with the navigability of Magdalena River project (one in Puerto Berrio, a
municipality that borders with Maceo).
All of the above turns Maceo into a region
with high economic and social potential and
consequently, Cemex chose this place to settle
its new plant. Besides, the plant will strengthen our position in Colombia, allowing us to
make good use of the growth of the constructions of infrastructure projects.”
How long do you estimate the construction
and production of the plant?
“The construction is estimated to take 24
months. Phase I of this project includes the
18
Carlos Jacks, CEO and
official spokesperson
for Cemex Latam
Holdings SA.
The
production
will begin
in the second
quarter of 2015.
construction of a mill which will begin the production of cement in the second quarter of 2015. The rest
of the plant is expected to be completed during the
second half of 2016.”
access roads to the plant. This will facilitate the
connection of villages far apart, such as La Susana,
which will take less time to arrive to the municipality’s urban area.”
How much will Cemex influence the development of the region and why?
“The construction could reach 1,200 direct jobs,
and the commissioning of the plant up to 500 direct
How much should Cemex invest in this project?
“Cemex will make its largest investment worldwide
in 2014, amounting to US$400 million. This involves
the construction of its third cement production plant
with a capacity of one million tons of cement per
year. An most importantly, the social investment
that Cemex will made in the region is of US$40 million in ten years.
This investment includes the construction of
roads, improvements of community infrastructure; sports schools, community training. Another
program called Planting Future (Sembrando futuro) is used to train on environmental issues. This
work will also include enhancing productive projects, and we will hand out aid for education and
scholarships.”
WhICH activities have you
made to this date?
We have created more than 100 jobs,
supported 28 local suppliers, and backed
as well several cultural activities of the
municipality.”
jobs. Besides, Cemex will build a citadel within the
town which will create never-before-seen dynamics in the municipality. We will also collaborate to
improve the community’s quality of life with the
direct intervention and support of social development projects, community products and decreased
conflicts. We will support the work done by the local government, reinforce the tasks carried out by
the public sector to work in an organized fashion
in favor of the community and in favor of the municipality’s development. We will work in favor of
the region’s connectivity improving and building
What activities have you made to this date?
“We have created more than 100 jobs, supported 28
local suppliers, and backed as well several cultural
activities of the municipality.”
When will the plant begin to produce?
“Phase one of the project includes the construction
of a mil which is expected to begin to produce cement in the second quarter of 2015.”
What’s the production period of this project?
“We estimate production from 80 to 100 years. That’s
why we are very happy to invest in Antioquia.”
19
A CatalanO-
paisa
FRIENDSHIP
* Xavier Trias, Mayor of Barcelona,
wrote the following text about the
existing friendship between Medellín
and Barcelona
20
“
“Barcelona and Medellín have
comparable dimensions
which have stood out
internationally for
Barcelona and
boosting inclusive
Medellín
have
urbanism.”
experienced mutual
urban and social transformations in the past 15
years. To speak of Medellín
and of Barcelona leads to
speak of a friendship which has
grown in time based on the collaboration and horizontal cooperation of
two cities which share their knowledge
and experiences to improve the well-being
and the quality of people’s lives.
This is the commitment that Barcelona gained
by turning Medellín it into a priority city in its
International Cooperation Plan; a commitment that
reflects on all of the projects in which our cities have
collaborated since the year 2000 through diverse initiatives, such as library management, Tejelos market,
the recovery of spaces degraded by public use, such
as Cerro Moravia, or outreach programs for boys, girls
and teenagers victims of sexual exploitation, abandoned or abused.
We have also shared knowledge in urban planning
and public space management alongside the application of new technologies and innovation. And we want
to carry out improvements of Carabobo and Bolivar, in
downtown Medellín, an experience we began this year
in Junin.
As the Mayor, I’ve always liked to shed light on the
fact that the horizontal cooperation among cities and
public-private collaboration are paramount to provide
efficient answers to the challenges which lie ahead in
the 21st century. Hence, we feel proud that in each and
every initiative, municipal governments engage civil society, universities, entrepreneur network, professional
schools, Unions, entities and associations.
This past April I had the chance of traveling to Medellín to celebrate the CIDEU World Congress. There, I
confirmed that Medellín is indeed growing, displaying
great social and economic progress, and was awarded
as the Most Innovative City of the World by the Urban
Land Institute and the Wall Street Journal, surpassing
Tel Aviv and New York.
In turn, Barcelona is the Mobile Capital of the World
while the European Commission awarded it in 2014 as
the European Capital of Innovation. From City Hall,
Barcelona does everything it can to drive a new urban
model for the future which is based on technology, inno-
21
vation and advanced services. In this
setting, Barcelona and Medellín always
want to cooperate to turn into Smart Cities
and become international references.
Medellín was a guest of honor in the past
Smart City Expo & World Congress which was
held in Barcelona in November. This event has given us the opportunity to continue pushing joint tasks to
keep progressing as smart cities.
Barcelona provides Medellín information and aid on
concrete initiatives for its management model, while
Medellín provides Barcelona information so that Catalan enterprises can settle in the innovation district of
Medellín. The innovative model of ACI (Agency of Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and its Metropolitan Area) also represents an inspiration to strategically
address the international relations of Barcelona and its
outlook as an inclusive city.
This collaboration in the past, present and future will
be exhibited in “Piso piloto, Barcelona & Medellín”, which
will be inaugurated next June; another common project
that expresses the collaboration made all these years between institutions, entities, and professional and artistic
collectives of both cities.
The exhibition also aims to launch new activities on a
matter which is a top priority for Barcelona and for Medellín: the right to housing and its relation to the right
to the city.
Barcelona and Medellín have comparable dimensions
which have stood out internationally for boosting inclusive urbanism, and creating many public spaces to serve
the people. Culture, knowledge, creativity, innovation
and well-being are features we also share with Barcelona, a city with which Medellín builds strategic relationships day-to-day.
The future of cities is to work in networks - a network
of cities that share resources and experiences to provide better services and well-being to the people. This
is the challenge we have set forth in Barcelona – a bet to
turn into a city which is an international beacon for its
well-being and quality of life.
As the Mayor, my vision of cities in the 21st century
is to turn a social dream into reality, where life can be
easier, more comfortable, happier and more accessible
for all. A dream that Barcelona shares with Medellín and
makes us face the future with optimism and trust.
Xavier Trias
Mayor of Barcelona
22
Preparing
for peace
Antioquia has worked these past two
years learning how to live in peace
“Peace” is a word that cries out and
resonates in our head. Indeed, everybody in Colombia dreams of that
historical moment when Peace is
much more than merely signing and
stamping long documents. Peace
resonates in the minds and hearts of
all, claiming its importance although
it has always lost to War.
Nonethless, there is a shed of light
of hope in Colombia on this issue
and the Governor’s Office of Antioquia established its program Preparing for Peace. The program is coordinated by Antioquia Without Borders
which in turn is part of pillar 7 of the
Antioquia, The Most Educated Development Plan.
Preparing for Peace is an initiative
of Governor Sergio Fajardo which is
led by advisor Iván Marulanda Gómez. The program was born over
two years ago immediately after
knowing that a negotiation process
with the FARC was going to begin
aimed to end the armed conflict of
Colombia.
Sergio Fajardo and his team have
developed a task to prepare the regions and the populations of Antioquia to face peace, to learn to live
without the distress of War. “The
process to build peace in Antioquia
and in Colombia will demand the
effort of several generations,” states
advisor Iván Marulanda.
This is way Antioquia has been
conducting a research in the past
year years to help visualize methods, paths, projects, resources
and programs which will allow
people and regions to take the
path of Peace after more than
60 years in war. The path is
far from easy and this is why
Antioquia, The Most Educated
began to prepare when peace
arrives. The Governor’s Office invited the UNDP (United National Development
Program), University UPB
and ACI to assist the research.
23
“The process of peacebuilding in
Antioquia, and in Colombia, will require the
efforts of several generations.”
Iván Marulanda
24
Concepts
Iván Marulanda Gómez was born in Pereira and is an
Economist from Universidad de Antioquia. He is also
a former candidate for the Vice Presidency of Colombia, a consultant for UNDP and OAS, Embassador
before the United Nations General Assembly, among
others. Today, he is an advisor to the Governor’s Office of Antioquia and leads the program Preparing
for Peace.
With poise and deep knowledge, Marulanda focuses, describes and concludes on the meaning of
Conflict, Peace and Post-Conflict for Colombia, and
how Antioquia is working on these issues when
peace arrives.
“The peace talks in Habana to reach cease-fire and
end of the armed conflict display a historical meaning, if these agreements are reached, as democrats
hope for. This means that the political violence is
over and thereafter, nobody holding a weapon can
say it’s because they defend political ideals.
The above would be an extraordinary shift for
Colombia. Firstly, this would mean that the attacks
made against public assets, oil pipes, electrical energy towers as well as police and military posts
are over. Everybody that remains armed in Colombia, illegally, would belong to commonplace
criminals, organized criminals with no political
features, just common criminals against whom
justice is applied as well as the repressive capability of the State.
This is an extraordinary opportunity for Colombia since it means that we will organize as a
democratic society. Moreover, since it is a great
opportunity given that right after Governor Fajardo and the team of Antioquia, The Most Educat-
“
The peace process for us is an ethical demand of history, it must be done, this insanity
cannot carry on, we must support the process. We are convinced that the agreement
will be signed since history has seen at times that there are processes that must be
stopped, that are over, and the time of war must be over in Colombia. Carrying on with
this makes no sense, this is madness for the State, for society and for the guerrilla…
we’ve had enough.”
IVÁN MARULANDA
ed learned about the peace talks in Habana, they began
to study what Antioquia needs to do to make good use
of this new setting, of this new landscape.
We are well aware that Antioquia is perhaps the department most afflicted by the political violence of Colombia, and by all types of violence, so we set out to
develop a program which will be implemented once the
agreements become a reality.
We have experienced an economic, social and political life always related to armed confrontations, which
in turn has affected this department throughout its his-
tory. For instance, just to provide an idea, about 25% of
the population of Medellín is displaced. This displays
the impact of the war of the society of Antioquia. Indeed, the department has recorded in the victims unit
about 1.5 million victims of violence, a figure way too
high for a total population of 6.3 million. In addition,
there are areas which are behind and destroyed by the
war, such as Uraba, Magdalena Medio, Bajo Cauca and
Atrato Medio.
Therefore we set out to create the Preparing for Peace
program which has a paramount vision targeted to the
25
entire region and to the entire population, to build peace.
We are aware that Habana is where the people are agreeing on how to end the armed confrontation, the war, but
the peace-building process must be made in the regions
and in the communities – in the heart of the people. This
is a long process, which takes generations, and a task
we all must face together. Warriors are fixing the war in
Cuba, but the construction of peace must be made by
each and every one of us.
This process is not to see what we can do with the
guerrilla, no, that’s the least of the concerns. Building
peace makes us think on what we can do with this society which has been destroyed by 60 years of war, with
this social network with such deep wounds, with so
many victims. A society destroyed from the economic
viewpoint given that we have so many regions abandoned and chaotic by war, giving way to a terrible economic mess. The bottom line here is how to organize a
region and a population for a new life, without war, and
it’s surely a complex issue to face”.
The Plan when Peace Arrives
1
3
“Antioquia has a strategic plan and vision that involves seven intervention lines. This means that every project made for peace-building
throughout Antioquia must include these seven ingredients. The first
line is to help people make a collective memory of what happened, which is pivotal to heal people mentally, to stabilize them, to
recover their self-esteem.”
2
“The second line is to repair the social network. We live together but we are not a
community since people have a deep mistrust towards others in the village, close to towns,
in the neighborhood, in the building. Our society is permeated by lack of trust, by fear,
by rage, by hatred, here we have paramilitaries, soldiers and guerrillas in a same family.
Our society is fully broken, dysfunctional. Hence, we must organize as a community to
establish a collective project of life. Without joint efforts there are no collective projects and
hence, no social clarity to engage the people.”
“The third line is to provide political education. We do not know what Democracy means. Politics
here are made with violence, buying votes, electoral fraud, massacres, genocides, assassinations.
Here, mayors and councilpersons are killed, the national leader is killed, Galan is killed along with
Lara, Alvaro Gómez, Pizarro and Jaramillo. That is not Democracy, it’s a war from a political standpoint. People are dragged with a weapon to the polls. However, we need to live in democracy,
how to use democracy to build co-existence, institutions, powers. Indeed, words, controversies,
discussions should be made with people and not against people using a stick.”
4
“The fourth line is to seek economic sustainability. People deserve opportunities for a
dignified job. Otherwise people will do whatever it takes to make money. The first thing
that pops into their mind is to grab a gun or a knife, or to organize a gang, a mob, a
guerrilla group. We must think what people will live off, we need to help them think about
a common fate with economic opportunities. The jobs and opportunities with incomes we
cannot create will be created by the illegal groups.”
26
5
7
“The fifth line is to work to take care of our rich eco-systems and struggle for their conservation since they are settings of war: Atrato Medio, Darien, Nudo de Paramillo, Serrania de
San Lucas, Bajo Cauca, Magdalena Medio, Paramo de Sonson, are the richest eco-systems
of the planet in biodiversity. These are places where loggers, miners and cattle-raisers
have not arrived because they are war zones, but once the guerrilla demobilizes, they will
arrive there so we need to structure projects to protect the eco-systems and the populations
that live there, that is, indigenous, black, farmers and hard-workers. These spaces must
be protected so that the people can continue living there with dignity and take care of the
eco-systems.
Accordingly, the eco-systems destroyed by the war, by cocaine, by bombs, by killings, by
displacements and by illegal mining must be recovered. Work must be done in favor of the
environment.”
6
“The sixth line is to de-mine the department. Antioquia has the highest number of landmines of Colombia. The regions with the most landmines worldwide are Colombia and
Afghanistan. Here we have landmines in 99 of the 125 municipalities, which hurt children,
women, workers, soldiers and policemen, everybody. Since 1999 to this date, we have had
close to 2,700 incidents due to landmines. A landmine costs illegals about three or four
thound pesos, but its detection and deactivation costs three to four million pesos. This is a
very difficult task we have ahead. For instance, de-mining the municipality of San Carlos
took ten years…”
“The seventh and last line of the program Preparing for Peace seeks how to place the guerrilla
back into society. This is the only line particularly targeted to them. This involves how we are
going to have them return to live in society since they are used to living in the jungle and many
do not know how to read and write. There are young adults that do not know how to use money,
people that only know the jungle since they are nine years old and today are 30 or 40. We shall
work on this with psychologists, healthcare specialists, train these persons on adaptation issues.
However, communities should be prepared as well to receive these persons, to avoid killing
them, and to provide them jobs.”
”Everything I have just explained is Preparing for Peace.
This is our outlook and our developments in Antioquia
involve all of these seven components. We are preparing budgets and structuring programs so that when the
peace-building process begins, we can tell the National
Government that the task of Antioquia is this, done this
way, in a determined timeframe, using particular methods and worth so much. This is an expensive process
but it is cheaper than war. Just as the Nation has had to
pay for the war, it will have to keep on paying for peace
and for the recovery of our society.”
27
Medellín
is an urban
laboratory”:
Joan Clos
*The Executive Director of UN-HABITAT and the
World Urban Forum 2014 Medellín praised the
ability of the city to put on social urban policies
In 2014, Medellín was the official headquarters of
the Seventh Session of the World Urban Forum,
World Cities Conference which takes place every
two years.
This technical forum convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme’ (UN-Habitat) gathers to review and examine the challenges
facing the world. The WUF regards subjects as urbanization and its impact on cities, climate change
and policies concerning it, economy, communities,
among many other.
The WUF7 promotes best practices and good policies of lessons learned to improve the quality of life
of communities in their respective cities.
In Medellín the WUF7 could confirm how the city,
which was one of the most violent in the world in
the 90s, could get up and ensure, through public
policies focused on social reconciliation, stability
that nowadays allows it to show significant progress in urban development and quality of life offered to its citizens.
Undoubtedly, the World Urban Forum held in
Medellín was the biggest international event ever
held in the city, not only by the quantity and quality of countries, government and private institutions
and personalities who came and left their footprint
noting that Medellín is a city that thinks in its community, but because the city itself could show that
is innovative and resilient, that has learned from its
most difficult times and now looks up to show itself
modern, supportive and capable.
28
Those who know
Joan Clos, Under Secretary General of
the United Nations, Executive Director of
UN-Habitat and Secretary-General of the
Conference on housing and sustainable urban
development, Habitat III, who chaired the
WUF7 in Medellín and his conclusions were
summarized as follows:
“The Seventh World Urban Forum, held between April 5th and 11th, 2014 in Medellín,
was a successful meeting for the international
debate on urban transformation.
On the one hand, the conference was of great
notoriety for the broad participation of national, regional and local governments, NGOs,
professionals, private sector, institutions and
foundations, universities, UN organizations
and the media, with more than 22,000 partic-
ipants representing 142 countries.
On the other hand, even more relevant was
that the Forum had an essential role in the
substantive contributions to the preparation
process of the known Post-2015 Development
Agenda and revision of the urban agenda
road to the United Nations Conference on
Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, Habitat III, to be held in October 2016
in the city of Quito.
The Declaration of Medellín (http://unhabitat.
org/7th-world-urban-forum-Medellín-declaration ), result of dialogues and debates in the
World Urban Forum, was the collective result
towards a New Urban Agenda.
The Declaration establishes equity as the
foundation of sustainable urban development
29
and the city as an opportunity for global development. The participants reaffirmed their
commitment to ensure the cities to be transformed into inclusive, safe, prosperous and
harmonious for places for the people”
Joan Clos also referred to Medellín in particular, he highlighted the ability to learn and
follow: “The city of Medellín is an example
of transformation through social planning.
During the days of the Global Forum we saw
how the city became an urban laboratory, with
urban examples of attention to the most vulnerable
communities and solutions for access to mobility,
added to the recovery of public spaces and green
areas in the city. Medellín is a space with potential
to promote equitable urban development and to
achieve a prosperous city for all its citizens.”
The World Urban Forum promotes the cities
from the social, economic development and
the environmental sustainability. It seeks inclusion, a better quality of life and respect for
human rights. Therefore, the WUF7 was the
opportunity for Medellín to become visible to
the world and show its integral transformation. A city-laboratory that shows to the planet
that thanks to the public-private partnership,
the political will of its last leaders, change is
possible if the community is seen as central
axis for the transformation.
The Declaration of Medellín, document
which contains the conclusions of WUF7
and is summarized as follows:
“We, the participants of the Seventh World
Forum -governments, private sector, international organizations, academia, professionals
and civil society- reaffirm our commitment
to integrate urban equity in the development agenda, using all available means and
resources to ensure cities to be transformed
into inclusive, safe, prosperous and harmonious locations for everybody. It is urgent
to take action, together and individually, to
provide benefits to sustainable urban development for all.
We, the participants of the World Urban
Forum, commit ourselves to promote this
vision and to promote equitable urban
development in our communities,
towns, cities and countries “.
IN WUF7 2014 MEDELLÍN,
THE MOST IMPORTANT
FIGURES WERE:
• Attended by representatives of 164 countries.
• There were more than 22,000 accredited
participants. It was the best attended forum
in its history.
• More than 37,000 people visited Plaza Mayor
(enclosure where the forum was held).
• About 500 international experts were in
the city.
• During the Forum over 400 events with
academic agenda were held.
• More than 500 national and international
journalists were accredited.
love for
the park
30
tITIRIBÍ, antioquia
31
In Vigía
del Fuerte, the
Educational Park
showcases the talents
and knowledge.
Educational Parks, centers of knowledge.
They are an open space for the
community encounter
At the Juan Bautista Montoya y Florez
Educational Park, in Titiribí, the people’s
love for the place is noticed; the joy which
spreads and sweetens the place. Indeed,
the people of the municipality already have
as their reference for daily activities a place
which was given to them to learn, teach,
have conversations and share. You can tell
they are happy, a sense of pride that floats
and blends with the smell of coffee.
With coffee trees in the landscape, green
mountains and clouds, Titiribí is surrounded by steep roads which seem direct stairs
to heaven. Strolling down these streets is
more a matter of climbing than of walking.
However, this challenge is the stamp of the
push of the people from Titiribí.
On one side of the main square lies the
Educational Park, embedded like a terrace
on a cliff which looks down to the empty
space. And those that visit it have the pleasure of observing beyond the mountains,
way beyond.
The facility has halls equipped with the
latest technology, dancing halls and theater, ramps for inclusion and fairness. And
in its wide and safe halls, you can see senior citizens, children, young adults, parents, teachers and students.
The building is 1,700 square meters and
it provides the chance to learn to those
who want to make good use of it.
Liliana Agudelo, a modern young adult,
friendly and determined, is the Coordinator of the park of Titiribí. She studied
a technology in finance and next year she
will become a professional. Meanwhile,
she enjoys the park as an instructor.
“Our park has four spaces just like the
parks from other municipalities. What
sets them apart are the services provided at each, according to the community’s
needs. For instance, this park, which is
in a coffee region, we provide courses on
coffee-cupping and on best practices for
coffee-growing.”
The main purpose of the Educational
Parks is to improve the quality of education and hence, one of the fundamental
spaces is that of the teachers. “Here in Titiribí, teachers can go to train, to prepare
classes. We are currently implementing
something called “Clases calidosas” (Top
Classes) in which teachers teach differently, in a different setting and with other
methods, using new tools so that the students can notice the difference and enjoy
the learning process. And the be st is that
those classes can be attended by community members, parents, friends, etc. All
this drives the teacher to prepare a diffe
rent class.”
32
Coffee is
an integral
part of the
Educational Parks
of Antioquia.
Its Origin
Similar to traditional parks in Antioquia, which are framed with churches
and businesses, and are references of
the city’s life, Educational Parks are
conceived as a core of life, in which
the citizens’ everyday life circles
around discussions, knowledge and
friendship.
To study, learn, teach and share. Everything is possible at the Educational Park, a sort of community center
with pretty colors, top infrastructure
and the latest technology. With classrooms and computers, spaces to have
fun and to co-exist. Those are places
in which education reaches everyone
easier, where teachers and students
learn. A new place that is useful, novel, attractive and loved in the municipalities of Antioquia.
Its name: Educational Park. Park is because it is a facility with open doors, where
everybody can enter without restrictions. And
Educational since it is a center for education and
learning. It’s not a school and it’s not just a park, instead, it’s a place with two true pillars: provide a shared
setting for education and for recreation all in one.
The facility of Titiribí is one of the 80 Educational Parks that
the Government of Antioquia has projected in the same number
33
They have activities for everyone,
regardless age or social status
of municipalities of the department,
all under the Antioquia, The Most
Educated (Antioquia la más Educada)
program.
An Educational Park, “is an open
classroom for citizens’ encounters in
the XXI century. It is a new symbol
which gathers the capabilities and
opportunities of the municipalities.
An expression of our dreams, Antioquia, The Most Educated”, are the
words of Governor Sergio Fajardo
which describe this project.
The Juan Bautista Montoya y Florez Educational Park of Titiribí was
inaugurated on August 22nd, 2014,
with free Wifi thanks to Antioquia
Digital, a multi-purpose space that
is used as well as an auditorium; toilets for people with reduced mobility, auditorium, terraces and classrooms to share knowledge.
Liliana Agudelo explains that the
Educational Park offers activities
for everyone, no matter their age
or social condition. “Right now we
have groups of digital literacy for
the community, and most of the attendees are senior citizens or young
adults.”
Moreover, courses are given as
well by SENA on barber, hair salon,
English, cooking, food handling,
sewing; all according to the community’s needs. And the best is that everything in the Park is free.
The computer hall in Titiribí is
equipped with 25 PC’s, 15 tablets, a
70-inch screen. The Park’s Director
is the current Secretary of Education
of the municipality, Rosalba Estrada
Bolivar. The Educational Coordinator, Liliana Agudelo, has two excellence interns.
Andrés García studies Journalism at University of Antioquia and
Audiovisual Communication at
Politécnico. He is one of the interns
of Titiribí and gives workshops focused on audiovisual themes while
he handles other reporter groups
with those that work in the institutional newspaper. The other intern
is Camilo Orrego, a senior of Political Sciences at National University. Camilo offers a program called
“Building the Life Plan” with kids
in schools, and leads the film forum.
The best is that the entire population found in there a place for their
dreams, like the dancing group of
senior citizens that has a place to rehearse, which is used as well for the
bingo’s they organize.
Or like Mariana Zapata, a housekeeper and young mother, who
attends the courses of coffee-cupping and already took the course
on barista. She’s attracted to everything related to coffee since her father is a coffee-grower. “The idea is
to help him, not just to pick the coffee seeds; and these courses give me
the chance to learn more about this
topic. I learn what should be done
after the coffee is dried, and how
to handle it after it is planted. This
is why I like the Educational Park
so much – it gives us the chance to
learn new things. I’m currently really into coffee, but there are other
projects for other people, such as
music, theater, dancing.”
Liliana Agudelo loves Park and
assures that, “so far, the people
have taken over the space – there
has been no damage or robbery;
people take care of the place as if it
were their own home because they
know it is theirs.”
Hence, from the terrace, over
the cliff and with a view reaching
almost heaven, the people of Titiribí enjoy their Educational Park.
Knowing and sharing is an equity
of all.
34
“EDUCATIONAL PARKS are routes for transformation”
This is how Cesar Hernandez, the Director, describes the Educational Parks.
How do you perceive the communities’ reactions when they use the Parks?
“The people from Antioquia are happy with
the construction of the Educational Parks. The
community has taken over the spaces very well
and the Parks are becoming meeting areas. We
are certain that the facilities are routes for transformation through education. Those that enjoy the
Park’s services the most are the young adults.
Likewise, teachers see the Park as their center of
operations to prepare classes and activities with
students.”
Is the timetable for the construction of the
Parks on schedule? On what date will the 80
parks be completed?
“We have a schedule to meet. This year we will
complete 9 Educational Parks in Vigía del Fuerte,
Titiribí, Tarso, Támesis, Santuario, _Hispania,
Peque, Uramita and Betania, and 39 others will be
open by April next year. All 80 Parks will be ready
by December 2015.”
Of all of the educational courses provided by
the Parks, which is the most popular within the
community?
“Sena’s offer has had wide acceptance. Each
Park provides one or two technical courses for 30
students in average each. There is also a wide
participation in concerts and in science fairs and
book festivals. Likewise, one of the most visited
halls is the digital classroom, where reading and
writing is taught.”
Are teachers receptive to the offers of the
Parks?
“Their response has been very satisfactory. They
are one of our mayor audiences. Each Park has a
space exclusively for teachers – they are key for
the efficient operation of the Educational Parks.”
Do you have a global estimate of the population favored by using the Parks throughout the
department?
“Our main audience is the educational community
of the 80 municipalities, but it’s hard to calculate
since there’s people from other municipalities
which eventually could move to the Educational
Park to take a course. In the 80 municipalities
there are more than 135,000 students and close to
12,000 teachers, but this is just an estimate since
many people do not belong to the educational
community but will be favored with the arrival of
the Park.”
35
35
The investment made by the Governor’s Office
for the 80 parks is $62,500 million pesos,
contributed through IDEA
80
PARkS
A total of 9 parks were opened by
December 2014. Another 45 will be opened
in April 2015 and the remaining 35 will be
opened in the second half of 2015
The largest of the 80 parks is in Anorí. It is
located at Antioquia´s Northeast and is 1,142 m2
The most popular courses are robotics, digital
reading and writing, and reading clubs
The cost of
each Educational
Park amounts to
$2,500
MILLion PESOS
The entities that collaborate with the Governor’s
Office in the Educational Parks program are:
Fundación Fraternidad, Fundación Berta
Martinez, Grupo Argos, Argos y Celsia:
USAid, SENA, Fundación MUV, Fundación
Orbis, Fundación EPM, National University,
Ministry of Education, Ministry of ICT’s
36
AFD,
a good friend and ally of
Medellín and of Antioquia
The French Agency for Development operates in Colombia because it
believes in public policies related to “green and solidary” growth
Anne Paugman, General Director of AFD, during her visit to Medellín
on the WUF7, accompanied by, from left to right, Carl Bernardac,
deputy director of AFD Colombia; Jeremie Bonhomme, head of
projects for Antioquia and Medellín ; Álvaro Verdugo, Vice Mayor
of territorial management; an assistant to the forum, and Thomas
Elejalde, director of planning of Metro
37
There is a saying that goes “It’s better to have
friends than money”. Indeed, friends provide
peace of mind, build trust, produce satisfaction and help meet. Friends are there in the
bad to back us up and in the good to enjoy.
Given the above, if there is something that
the city of Medellín and the department of Antioquia stand out for it’s the friends they have,
who have backed their initiatives and projects
to face crisis, to overcome
pain and to reach moments of illusion and
hope. The transformation experienced by Medellín today
is
mostly
related to the
trust placed by international entities on the
city’s and department’s public policies for development with equitable conditions, fairness
and inclusion.
One of those special and reliable friends is
the AFD (French Development Agency), an
ally of the Mayor’s Office and of the Governor’s Office, granting both loans to implement and execute social projects which benefit the people of Medellín and of Antioquia.
One of the cooperation agreements was
signed by Medellín with the Urbanism Agency of Paris for the Plan Vivo 2030 project, and
for the metropolitan POT (Land Arrangement
Plan) which covers Medellín and its entire
Greater Area (known as Metropolitan Area).
Another component is the support given by
AFD to the exhibition of Medellín held in 2011
at the Pavillion de L’Arsenal (Paris Center for
Architecture and Urbanism) which was presented by the city’s Mayor back then, Alonso
Salazar. Today, an agreement will be enhance
the exercise underway in the city with the
Medellín Pavilion, an on-going setting for
discussions on urbanisms with exhibitions of
the city, with the citizen’s participation.
It is better
to have friends
than money
AFD GARANTED A
250
millION DOLLARS
loan to Medellín for the construction of the tram
38
Moreover, the best example of cooperation based on the friendship and trust
of AFD and Medellín was formalized
on May 10, 2010. That day, an agreement was signed in which AFD granted the city a US$250 MM loan to build
the Ayacucho Tramway, a work underway today which will be in operation
in 2015.
On that date, the Embassy of France
reported that “when AFD and the city
of Medellín signed the loan agreement,
this stemmed from a joint effort made
for over a year for a project with significant social and environmental impacts, to support the social urbanism
policy with is a beacon in Medellín, and
complies with the mandate of the local
agency and AFD to finance the green
and solidary growth of the Colombian
economy”.
Today, AFD also supports the Planning Department of Medellín on priority issues, such as exchaning sound
mobility management practices with
French cities and with cities backed
by AFD which have tramways. Topics
address rate integration, ties between
public institutions and dwellers, and
effects on the populations living close
to the tramway.
A negotiation process was made begun between the Department of Antioquia and AFD in 2013 to grant the department a loan (signed in 2014). The
loan is not tied to a particular project
but instead, it is used for every development project of Antioquia. Along
with the loan, there are US$330,000
of technical cooperation for biodiversity and urbanism in Uraba; this also
involves France and Uraba exchanging experiences on natural parks. In
addition, the French agency supported, with US$11,000, the Uraba-Darien
meeting in which AFD shared its experience with cocoa in Mexico.
70 millION
credit is the support of AFD
to the development plan
-Antioquia the most
educated
One way to commit
to the objectives of
economic and social
development
39
The Director’s Vision
AFD has offices in Colombia which
shows that the French agency is comfortable and satisfied in this cooperation relation with Colombian government entities which apply public
policies to improve the quality of life of
the citizens.
The AFD Director in Colombia is
Maurice Bernard, an Engineer from the
Central School of Paris, with studies in
Urbanism, and an Economist from the
Center for Economic Programs.
Maurice assures that the trust built
is strong and that France supports and
will continue supporting the social development projects of Colombia, Antioquia and Medellín.
The community of
the area of influence
of the tram will enjoy a
new public space.
40
Maurice Bernard, Director
of AFD in Colombia.
Mr. Director, since AFD opened its doors in Colombia, which
has been the best experience pertaining to social development?
“Since AFD arrived to Colombia five years ago, it has always
backed public policies and projects that meet our mandate to favor “green and solidary” growth, that is, with extensive social
and environmental benefits both local and global (climate and
biodiversity).
Hence, we highlight our support to the Municipality of Medellín
to make the Center-Eastern PUI as a sucess case to enhance an
ambitious public policy to reduce unequalities. By building the
Ayacucho Tramway and its two metrocables, AFD understands
and supports the ambition of social inclusion and urban integration led by the municipality, to improve accessibility to the city’s
downtown area and its public spaces for all.
Since September, AFD has backed as well the Department of
Antioquia and its Development Plan “Antioquia – The Most Educated” (Antioquia la más Educada), by providing a US$70 MM
loan. Hence, we set out to achieve the ambitious economic and
social developments contained in this roadmap. By financing the
construction of Educational Park, healthcare centers and infrastructure to serve the basic needs of the population, we expect to
contribute to improve the living conditions of the people of Antioquia, particularly the most vulnerable.
There are and will be more examples of social development projects which AFD will certainly continue supporting in Antioquia
and in other regions of Colombia since this is a paramount for our
presence in this country.
On the other hand, the Agency works nationwide with the Government on issues of social healthcare, providing its support to the
national policy to enhance the Colombian healthcare system. This
support consists of a loan to the Colombian State of US$400 MM,
co-financed with the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank)
alongside a political dialog made between AFD and the Ministry
of Health and Social Protection.
41
How does AFD choose the entities it will provide collaboration to in Colombia?
AFD, the development agency and bank of the
Government of France, handles resources to provide States and territorial entities interest rates
which are relatively interesting. In the particular
case of Colombia, AFD provides loans directly
to territorial entities (ie, departments, public development banks, municipalities or public enterprises), without the Nation’s guarantee, in short,
AFD assumes the credit risk alone.
The aforementioned is done with the counterparty meet two pivotal requirements. The first is
full trust: institutional and financial soundness,
transparency and resource management capabilities. Second - and perhaps most importantly –
lies on AFD’s interest in the projects of its allies
and their will to work with us. Our mission is to
guide and assist the public servants of Colombia towards achieving equitable conditions and
environmental sustainability. Therefore, we are
open to the demands of our local representatives
provided they are compatible with our green and
solidary growth mandate. Both criteria are paramount when we choose our customers.
A third criterium is that due to operating costs,
the AFD cannot provide loans less than US$25
MM. This implies going through national and regional financial intermediaries to meet the needs
of investment of small entities with limited indebtedness capabilities.
Why does AFD believe and trust the development initiatives of Medellín and Antioquia?
Since AFD opened its doors in Colombia, Medellín and Antioquia has been a pretty important ally for us. Its economy, corporate dynamics
and the seriousness of the teams in charge of
implemente public policies made an impression
on us. But what really convinced us – and still
does – is the political will manifested by Medellín with regards to the challenges the city still
faces; it is important to not stop recognizing the
challenges pending. The trust we have in our
partners of Medellín and Antioquia for the past
four years keeps on renovating thanks to new
alliances made in the area with the Municipality
of Medellín, EPM and the Governor’s Office of
Antioquia.
Which other projects are underway to maintain
the cooperation between AFC and Medellín
and Antioquia?
Firstly, the technical cooperation we have with
our allies in Medellín is based on a long-term
commitment for further development. Along
with the Municipality of Medellín, after our successful collaboration in the World Urban Forum,
AFD is exploring new possibilities of support,
including the enhancement of the Medellín Pavillion, and underling its positioning as a beacon
of what urban development is in Medellín. Along
with the Governor’s Office of Antioquia, AFD is
involved in several projects to enhance the sustainable development of Uraba.
Another example: AFD has been developing
technical cooperation with EPM related to biodiversity, corporate governance and solid waste
management. This cooperation will be backed by
us by signing a new cooperation agreement for
the year 2015.
Lastly, we believe it
is important to seek
new alliances with financial intermediary
institutions, such as
IDEA because despite
the limitations we
mentioned above, it
is paramount to support “small” projects
or territorial entities
with a small financial
capability.
Overall, the image
of Colombia
changes and
the French are
increasingly
interested in this
country among
others, in Medellín.
a city with great
weather and a
“good liVING” which
is really recognized
on the other side of
the Atlantic
According to AFD,
what perception do
the French have about
Medellín and its social development?
As a cooperation body
and based on the existing experience in
France and in Eurpe on
public policies (urbanism, territorial development, fight against
climate change…), we
share said knowledge
and experience with
our allies.
The lessons we have
taken from Colombia
are also worth highlighting; these are taken to France.
Hence, AFD organized an exhibition open to
the public at Pavillion de L’Arsenal (Paris Center for Architecture and Urbanism) to illustrate
the history of urbanism of Medellín and the innovative public policies used to overcome the
challenges of a city that displays a strong urban
growth. This in turn contributed to truly change
the perception French have of a city like Medellín. Indeed, the city suddenly turned into a
model from which we can learn.
42
43
Medellín reviveS
THE traM
*It will benefit more than 350,000 inhabitants
It is hard to imagine a tram going across the streets of Medellín in
1887. Yes, 127 years ago Medellín had tram, beautiful brown cars
coming through the streets of the city carrying passengers from
the downtown to the neighborhoods.
Medellín came from the horse to the tram as public transportation in the 19th century, a remarkable feat of public undertaking
for a small city that barely peeked shyly into the world without
much hope of excelling, knowing that the world was unfolding far
from their geographical boundaries.
But this audacity of public performance happened in Medellín
127 years before the industrial, evolved, technological and innovative life that surrounds the city today was even imagined and
which ranks it as one of the most prosperous cities, with better
quality of life to offer to its citizens.
It must be because of the adventurous, bold, visionary spirit
of the people from Antioquia or simply their common sense and
community vision, the truth is that people of Medellín and Antioquia has always been able to surprise by daring to dream and
make urban projects with high social sense given the impact they
have for the community.
In 1887 Medellín stated the tram, which were horse-drawn carriages. A public policy initiative that left its mark, because today
the city is a model of implementation of these policies that offer, to
more than three million people, the best public service of Colombia and one of the most equitable and inclusive of Latin America.
That first tram was on the Veracruz small square, in the downtown, to Eden which is now called the Botanical Garden. Then its
lines were extended to the neighborhoods and brought progress
with it, because in 1921 the electric tram was inaugurated and it
reached the most distant neighborhoods. In 1922 the tram had 22
cars and mobilized more than 9000 people. By 1925 traveled 36
miles and mobilized about 120 thousand people.
Unfortunately, this tram was closed in 1951 by the excessive increase of public and private cars.
44
Then the metro
It took 44 years for the city to implement again
its progressive initiatives to find the best public transport for residents. On November 30th,
1995 the Metro de Medellín was inaugurated,
the first and only of Colombia. That day, at
11 am, the Metro made its first trip between
stations Niquía and El Poblado. Another milestone in the public history of Medellín.
To date, 19 years after its inauguration,
the city Metro operates two terrestrial lines,
three lines of metrocable and a line of buses
(Metroplús) interconnecting the entire system.
45
Medellín came from the
horse to the tram as public
transportation in the 19th century, a
remarkable feat of public undertaking
for a small city that barely peeked shyly
into the world
Here comes the tram
And now, Medellín returns with its most progressive
face, its innovative spirit focused to service, today the
city is working to open its line of electric tram in October 2015, as that one closed 63 years ago, but this with
all technical and technological conditions of the XXI
century.
On May 10th, 2011 the mayor of Medellín, Alonso
Salazar, the Ambassador of France in Colombia and
the general manager of Metro de Medellín, signed a
loan agreement for $ 250 million awarded by the AFD
(French Development Agency), whose destination is exclusively directed to finance the Ayacucho’s tram project
and two Metrocables for the city.
Today Mayor Aníbal Gaviria has lined up his management to give life to tram Ayacucho, whose technical
name is Line T1 and which includes two cable systems,
Line M and Line H.
It is a project that will benefit more than 350,000 people living in the East Central part of Medellín, which
comprises commune 8: Villa Hermosa; the commune
9: Buenos Aires and commune 10: La Candelaria. The
three new lines (tram and cables), operate integrated
into the Metro.
The tram will tour 4.3 miles and cover the route between San Antonio station (Metro’s Line A) to the district Alejandro Echavarría, at the far east of the city.
What is called Tram Corridor will have three transfer
stations, in other words, they will be useful for users to
make connections with other integrated transport lines
and that are located in San Antonio, Miraflores and East.
It will also have six stops in San José, CEFA, Bicentenario, Buenos Aires, Loyola and Alejandro Echavarría.
Finally, the tram will make the connection for the citizens can access the two new lines of aerial cable, Line
M that starts from the Sport Unit Miraflores and reaches
the Trece de Noviembre neighborhood, with an intermediate station in El Pinal.
And the other is the line H, also aerial cable, which begins in the tram terminal and goes to the neighborhoods
46
IT WILL WORK WITH
energY
It will have
three stops
and six stations
47
The Ayacucho’s Tram
ROUTE will be
4,3 kilOmetERS
It will operate with
12 CARS,
EACH CAPABLE
OF CARRYING
300 pEOPLE
Metrocable
lIne M, oR “Pan de Azúcar”
which will have a length of
1,046
It will move an average of
metERS
and three stations
IT WILL INTEGRATE
TWO OF cable
sYSTEMS
Metrocable
80,000
pASSENGERS A DAY
lIne H, oR Cable
“La Sierra”,
WITH A STATION.
Its tour will be
1,040 meters
Villa Turbay and La Sierra with an intermediate station in the San Antonio neighborhood,
Las Torres sector.
Services and benefits
Users just will have to make a payment to explore the city from La Sierra or El Pinal and
get to Itagüí in the south, to Bello in the north,
or San Javier in the West. They can also make
transfers to Metrocable and Metroplús lines
and Metro’s integrated services.
This new massive transport system of Medellín will be friendly to the environment because it will be powered by electricity. In addition, its environmental benefit has to do with
less use of polluting buses and cars.
It is assured that the tram will offer new
options for tourism in the city and this will
improve the trading in the influenced zone. It
will help to extend the Metro culture, a practice associated with caring the community
makes of its massive transport system.
Naturally, its stations and stops will serve
as points of citizen encounter leading to a
more peaceful coexistence. The image of Medellín will also be consolidated as a city that
cares and improve the quality of life of its
community.
Miraflores station
will connect the tram
with two new cable
lines.
48
UVA´S,
A SPACE
TO SHARE LIFE
* UVA’s stand for Articulated Life Units, an initiative of the Mayor’s Office of
Medellín and EPM.
* The project involves 20 Units; two are already used by the community.
They
are a
kind of
social club
for everyone
UVA’s stand for Articulated Life Units, but in
Spanish, the word also means Grape, so just as
the fruit, UVA’s are juicy and delicious, with
bold and bright colors, full of life, of emotions,
filled with friends and neighbors, spaces and
corners. UVA’s are not eaten, but they are enjoyed, lived and used. Indeed, the UVA’s of
Medellín stir senses and feelings. Children are
happy around them, adults learn and share
within them, and teenagers enjoy them.
They are called UVA’s (Articulated Life
Units), a suggestive name which represents the
fruit itself along with their technical use and
service. This juicy name is closely related to the
services they will provide communities: co-existence, good use of free time, halls to learn and
to hold cultural events, and sports, all ways of
integrating and entertaining the people.
According to the official definition, “UVA’s
are neighborhood urban interventions for citizens to meet and to foster sports, recreation,
cultural activities and community participation.”
However, UVA’s are that and much more.
They represent the place where people meet
and which join neighborhoods, which gather
families, which allow mothers to learn and
share. They are where kids and teenagers have
fun with technology and recreation.
The Initiative
Yiya Gomez, Project Manager, states that
UVA’s were born from joining two initiatives.
“An idea of Mayor Anibal Gaviria to establish
in neighborhoods and communes a sort of
social club open for everyone, a place where
everyone can benefit and have a good time. In
the Mayor’s mind there are places which join
cultural, recreational, sports and training activities as well as a setting where people meet.
“Meanwhile, EPM conducts a review of the
sites of Medellín which lack lighting and discovered that those sites were its water tanks.
That the large dark spots of the city are 144
tanks used to store water for the city. The CEO
of the Company recently visited several youth
centers in Canada and decided that the tanks
could be used as meeting areas for the community.” “
Both ideas merged and gave life to the
UVA’s. Once the concept is given its shape,
the Mayor establishes that their construction
of the Units should be on lands that cannot be
purchased but instead, available. EPM decides
49
They will be located
in 11 districts, 2
villages and 2 more
municipalities
to “open” the spaces where the tanks are located on the lands which allow the intervention.
The number reaches 22 Units; EPM will build
and manager 14 (12 in Medellín, 1 in Bello and
1 in Itagui), while the remaining 8 will be built
by EDU and managed by INDER.
The 20 UVA’s in the city are scattered in 11
communes and 2 villages. “The idea began
when the Development Plan was launched by
Mayor Anibal Gaviria. This Plan conceives 5
UVA0s. After the program expanded and became what we have today. The difference between a UVA and a park is that UVA’s provide
cultural activities, sports and recreation, and
with time more programs from the Mayor’s
office will be added, such as Good Beginnings
(Buen Comienzo) for early childhood,” comments Yiya Gomez.
The Hospitality
areas with trails, halls, staircases, terraces,
ramps, slides and gardens. And water, which
is a very important factor for this project.
Moreover, they are multi-purpose spaces
where community activities take place to enjoy culture (dancing halls, open-door theaters,
etc.), recreation, training, sports. Thanks to
the co-existence within a genuine space which
will be of all and for all, good social practices
such as civics and pedagogy will be fostered.
Life Plan
UVA’s are conceived as a strategy to create,
communicate, share and care. Although these
spaces are designed, built and managed by
the Mayor’s Office and by EPM, the citizens, kids, young adults, women and
men have the chance of enjoying
this new “social club”.
The Project has an estimated investment of
$250,000 million pesos, involving components
focused on flowers, lighting, water, sound and
mountains; all representing factors of cohesion, of symbols for art, life and society.
UVA’s are based on hospitality given that
they create settings where people meet and
50
Communicate is an innate practice which
has been lost in time among communities
and neighborhoods. However, thanks to the
UVA’s, the practice of having a conversation,
telling stories and listening to others will be
part of the daily life to have livelier and more
meaningful everyday activities.
Share, by interacting for increased community co-existence and enhancing relations to
build networks of trust and of solidarity.
Care, an activity which facilitates the life of
others and with others, which boosts not only
a sense of belonging of the new space, but to
care for the body and for the spirit.
The design of UVA’s has been made thanks
to the social work conducted by the Mayor’s
Office, EPM and the communities which will
enjoy the setting. The citizen’s needs and suggestions were kept in mind which makes this
project so special.
Of the 20 UVA’s, two are already fully operational. The first UVA is called Dreams, and is
set in Versalles, in the neighborhood of Manrique; the second UVA is called Hope, in commune 1, in the neighborhood of Popular.
The names of both Units were chosen by the
citizens and they reflect how people that live
close to them feel. For instance, Piedad Londoño, a resident of Versalles, says, “the UVA
in my neighborhood is called Dreams because
it’s exactly what we imagined in would be
when we were asked to design them. And
that’s exciting.”
Luz Marina Marulanda, a mother, gets excited and says, “I enjoy it so much. I have lived
here for many years and seen the tank, it was
on a hill and was surrounded by a fence which
left everybody out, it was a closed place. The
area had nothing fun to do. Today, with the
UVA, kids have a great time there playing
with the water spurting fountains, especially
on Sundays, and with the lights at night, and
everything they offer us”. Marina lives closet
o UVA Hope.
The project estimates that the 20 UVA’s of
Medellín will be handed to the community
and in operation by December 2015. Most are
currently under construction while others are
in their design phase.
UVA’s Juice
UVA’s provide different programs and attractions based on the needs of the communities
nearby. The two Units in operation today pro-
51
vide workshops of painting, sculpture, photography, theater and drawing. In addition, courses are given at both
UVA’s on oral story-telling, literature, reading, creative
writing. Also, IT courses are given to kids, teenagers and
adults, particularly on Internet, text typing, and Word.
The space is adapted as well for music lessons, story-telling, watching movies, sewing lessons and a game ward.
Nonetheless, the best juice of the UVA’s are the water
spurting fountains which recreate and amuse kids. Little
ones go there to interact with the water and their exciting screams are joy to our ears. Indeed, their joy goes
hand-in-hand with the adventure of getting soaked, a
treat which is enjoyed as well by their mothers, since
they seek how their kids have fund outdoors, make
friends, and have fun in peace.
These are neighborhood
urban interventions for
the citizen come to enjoy
the outdoors
Figures
A total of 22 UVA’s will be built.
Twenty UVA’s will be set in Medellín
(12 are built by EPM and the
remaining 8 by EDU and INDER).
EPM will build 14 Units, including
one in Itagui and another in Bello.
The approximate cost of the project
is $300,000 million pesos.
52
“UVA’S are an answer
to a dream”:
The
aforementioned
is achieved within the two
UVA’s were already handed
to the community, that is, UVA
Dreams and UVA Hope, with the
purpose of people making a true appropriation of the spaces, taking care of them
and creating a sense of belonging.
The core of the UVA’s is the EPM Foundation with its
programs and presence, and the Citizens of each neighborhood which participate in every stage of the project.
Consequently, there are no UVA’s alike. Each community participates in the entire process of the UVA in its
neighborhood, from its conception, name selection and
choosing the tree that represents it. All this is done democratically, through exercises of participation, inclusion
and interaction.
Juan Esteban Calle Restrepo, Chief Executive Officer of EPM
The CEO of EPM, Juan Esteban Calle, talks about the
UVA project and how he’s convinced that this initiative is perfectly aligned with the Company’s social
policy to improve the quality of life of the community.
“UVA’s are one of the most important social innovation projects for the people made by EPM in its almost 60 years of history. With these Units we demonstrate that the infrastructure of basic public utilities
can be at the service of the people. We removed the
fences that surrounded our drinking water storage
tanks to be closer to the community, building quality
settings to celebrate life, culture, education, recreation, sports, human development and citizen meetings.
This project, which was made along with the Mayor’s Office of Medellín through the Vice Mayorship
of Education, Culture, Participation, Recreation &
Sports as well as Inder and EDU, reaffirms our commitment to build sustainable and competitive regions with a clear purpose:
“
To contribute to improve the quality of life of citizens
and to help close the enormous gaps of inequitable
conditions we still have in our society.”
What stands out in this project is that it answers an
ongoing dream that the community had with those
spaces. During the Imagination workshops we held
with the communities, it was clear that people of all
ages, kids to senior citizens, learned that this paramount infrastructure to supply drinking water to
the neighborhoods could have complementary uses
which the people could enjoy.
The project stems from the trust and respect EPM
has for its customers and users, and from our gratitude for their loyalty for so many years. This is why
we opened the spaces, always confident that we
would have the community’s compromise, sense of
belonging and culture to take care of them. Hence,
one of the most relevant strategies of the project is
the UVA Community, in which people are trained to
create, communicate, share and care.
The EPM Foundation is
the soul of UVA’s
Ever since we handed to the community the first two UVA’s, we invited
the people to appropriate them and
to enjoy the spaces, paying special
care to the tanks. We believe that
small actions and civil behaviors
contribute to consolidate the UVA
Culture whereby the community can
in turn take care of the water tanks.
Anyways, our tanks undergo rigorous control, monitoring, preventive
maintenance and washing processes
so that the people of Medellín can
drink quality water with peace of
mind.
The design of each UVA is derived
from the results of the Imagination
workshops as well as the architectural possibilities for the programs of
EPM and the Mayor’s Office in each
sector where they will be built. The
tank selection process involved the
population’s needs met and unmet,
population density, land capacity to
support the construction, and population closeness.
53
Hundreds of ideas and contributions from the Imagination workshops are reflected in each UVA. Such a
valuable tool is complemented with the social research
conducted in the area and is shown in the final drawings
of the architects, all led by the Department of Sustainable Urban Interventions of EPM.
Water is indeed a major feature of each
UVA, one of the most important resources
of nature since it gives life – and one of the
symbols of EPM. At the UVA Dreams and
UVA Hope, there’s a square with spurting
fountains, which invite the people to make
a rational use of water resources and to
take care of the planet; but also to share in
harmony – an on-going request stemming
from the Imagination workshops of each UVA.
I would also like to shed light on the fact that UVA’s
are a fantastic chance for social inclusion. Hence, after analyzing the community’s needs, UVA Dreams
launched a pilot project called Public Clothes Washing
& Drying Center, which is engraved in our
corporate social responsibility and we believe can improve the quality of life of the
people. In short, the features of each UVA
reflect what the community feels. Consequently, there ideas are observed in outdoor theaters, computer halls, water spurting fountains, and architectural lighting,
as new symbols of life and places where
people meet in Medellín.”
Each UVA
reflects the
feelings of the
community
Juan
Esteban Calle
Restrepo,
EPM manager.
54
SPEAKING WITH MARAVILLAS ABOUT
URBAN INCLU
*General Secretary of CIDEU
55
USION
There’s no doubt that her first name – Maravillas
(meaning Marvelous, in Spanish) fits like a glove.
But what stands out is not only her name but her
thrive to improve the life of citizens here and there,
from second and third world countries.
Indeed, she stands out for her knowledge on handling matters related to fairness and equality; for
her spirit to drive cities to implement inclusive public policies. And for her dedication on issues such
as employment, innovation, social responsibility,
urbanism planned keeping people in mind.
Maravillas Rojo Tordecillas is 100% Catalan and
was born in Barcelona, Spain on December 9, 1950.
She has a B.A. in Political, Economic and Commercial Sciences from Universidad de Barcelona.
Since 2004, Maravillas Rojo is the Secretary General of CIDEU (Latin American Center of Strategic Urban Development). Hence, she shares concepts and
methodologies developed throughout her career in
different areas of Latin America, pertaining to Strategic Urban Planning.
CIDEU is an association that gathers 124 members, of which 104 are cities from Latin America, 18
are collaborative institutions, and two are honors
members (the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development, and the Iberic-American Secretary General).
CIDEU was established in 1993 in Barcelona,
Spain where the Secretary General is domiciled,
led by Maravillas Rojo. However, the President of
CIDEU rotates and the current honor is based in
Medellín.
56
siderably improve in terms of inclusiveness. The
work behind these fields is underway and will be
presented during the Encuentro de Buenos Aires
meeting held in February 2015, addressing mobility,
public space, formalization of informal settlements
and other forms of urban formality.
Among the many projects that cities have implemented which affect populations, several are clear
beacons, including: the “PUI’s” of Medellín – an
integrated activity for the transformation of space;
“Vila Viva” of Belo Horizonte; “De Villa a Barrio” of
Buenos Aire, integrated activities to transform informal settlements; the “Modernización Comercio Popular del Centro Histórico de Quito”; “Escaleras Solidarias” and “Hospitales Solidarios” of Lima; or projects
such as “Mi Musical” of Bucaramanga, “Bogotá trabaja”; or “Barcelona Activa” which facilitate training
and access to employment.”
CIDEU is an association that gathers
124 members, of wich 104 are cities
from Latin America
Speaking with Maravillas
In your opinion, which are the most inclusive
urban initiatives implemented in Latin America
benefitting the most vulnerable population?
“One of the most significant assets which the
network of Latin American cities (CIEDEU) has
involves its 500 strategic projects incorporated
(www.cideu.org) developed by member cities. The
information related to these projects is the foundation to share and manage the knowledge they
contribute. During the CIDEU meetings and congresses, cities present and share strategic projects
related to the diverse themes in which the network
works each period. “
Inclusion requires identifying those excluded and
though each city must conduct its own diagnostic,
CIDEU targets three fields which our cities can con-
What would you highlight of the public policies
implemented by the innovative city of Medellín?
“Medellín currently chairs CIDEU and there we recognize and value its huge contribution to diverse
variables of the “inclusive urbanism” it fosters and
develops, either participative or civic-educational.
Overall, we can underline how the city manages
cultural change processes hand-in-hand with transformation and urban improvement projects. Medellín provides many social innovations, from the
metrocables as a mean of intermodal urban transporation, the Metro culture, Ruta N, Moravia, the
Library-Parks, Cedezos and UVA’s. All of the above,
which has earned the city the award as the Most
Innovative, is based beyond what technology and
science offers. Instead, its innovation is based on
simplicity and impact, on building a shared vision
of the city.”
In your opinion, which are the three major social
problems Latin American cities face as a result of
urban planning?
“One of the hurdles which Latin American cities
must stop postponing is to strategically incorporate a way to think cities since those that do not
think about their future condemn their citizens to
suffer. I would shed light on three significant problems that stem from lack of planning and which
must be addressed urgently: The existence of extensive informal settlements, the lack of appropriate mobility plans, and problems derived from
giving priority to use cars with fossil fuels, and unemployment and lack of entrepreneurship to create
value and jobs.”
Which are the most important projects in the near
future in Latin America related to initiatives
promoted by CIDEU?
Every city of the network has emblematic projects
related to matters promoted by CIDEU since the en-
57
tity really gathers what its cities deem relevant. We
can highlight the use of tramways in intermediate
cities such as Cuenca in Ecuador; the “Barrios de
Verdad” project in La Paz, Bolivia; and “Villa a Barrio” in Buenos Aries targeted to formalize informal
settlements in the city; the “Transformación del Río
Rimac” which crosses Lima as well as the Medellín
River in Medellín; the comprehensive improvement
of the port of Buenos Aires alongside the improvement of many other obsolete or underused spaces
in several cities of the network, and the UVA project of Medellín (Articulated Life Units), and many
more.”
What can young professionals specialized in Strategic Urban Planning look forward to in terms of
employment?
The Strategic Urban Specialization program given at the Corporate University of CIDEU provides
on-going training to improve the professional profile of those who intervene and lead the strategic
projects of the cities. The Corporate University is
the tool that CIDEU has for professionals to specialize and refresh their knowledge, skills and attitudes
necessary to create urban strategies. More than 500
professionals engaged in urban strategic plans and
projects have attended the ten programs given so
far. Most of all of the attendees of the University of
CIDEU work as urban strategists and they reinforce
their work position s a result of the specific training
they receive. Given its cross-sectional character and
its ties with the practice, training at CIDEU is 100%
occupational.”
Maravillas
Rojo, president of
CIDEU and the Mayor
of Medellín, Aníbal Gaviria.
58
...AND WE’LL WALK ALONG
THE RIVERBANKS
*Medellín River Parks are a reality
One dreams and in those dreams, one walks along
the banks of the Thames in London; or by the
Seine in Paris. The dream may lead us to a bridge
to stare at the mythical Danube going under.
Those dreams are possible, because those cities
and rivers are real, they are there, living together
and giving their citizens the joy of enjoying them.
Around here, actually right here, to make these
dreamy visions a reality is not easy if one speaks
of Medellín and its river. Day by day the city sees
how the river passes and leaves no illusions.
To Medellín, the river is its most accurate reference, because with it the city glimpse up or down.
It is the spine on which development is based, despite its steady decline for many years.
Today, however, there seems to be hope. The
river is part of one of the most ambitious projects
of the current municipal administration. Mayor
Aníbal Gaviria has launched its plan to “bring life
back to the river and the river to the city and its
inhabitants.”
The mayor and his team have given his word
to give to the city and river life they deserve. The
project is called Parques del Río Medellín (Medellín River Parks), because it has an environmental and public space sense and that does not provide one, but several parks.
It will be the transformation of the surrounding
areas of the river. Changes will be made to the
river stops flowing dirty, battered and abused, so
that it becomes into a channel of life since the city
will flow with it. It is a comprehensive and strate-
THE RIVER,
In ITS COURSE,
gic project for urban transformation, public space
and mobility.
Antonio Vargas, project manager, says that the
objective is to “Enhance the Medellín River as the
environmental axis , optimizing its current role as
mobility corridor, making it the structuring and
integrating element of the different systems of the
territory and central scenario for meeting and to
be enjoyed by the citizens.”
The project has mobility, environmental, urban,
architectural and social components. It will run
from the Zúñiga ravine, at South, to Madera station at North, on both sides.
The entire river corridor, its scope from North
to South, is the axis that connects Medellín with
regional and national roads. It is the mobility axis of the Metropolitan Area, its main urban
road.212.000 vehicles will go by this corridor per
day. It is also the mass transportation axis in the
city, it points the way to the metro which mobilizes more than 700 .000 passengers per day.
This corridor also houses the main networks
that supply utilities, energy and telecommunications to the city.
The river in its course, collects water from 52
ravines. Connects three guardian hills, Nutibara,
Volador and Asomadera. It is the biological corridor for over 150 plant species and 90 bird species.
In summary, the river and its corridor are the array axis of the city. However, this spine not always
has been taken care of, nor has had the development and monitoring it deserves.
gathers
the water
of
52
RAVINES
Connects three guardian hills:
NutibarA
Volador AND
Asomadera
59
It is the biological corridor for over
150
plant
species AND
90
bird
species
60
57
Digital
images of
what will be
the first part of the
Medellín River Parks.
proposals
from four continents
were submitted
Therefore the Medellín River Parks carries a
promise that will not only return life to the river,
but the city will enjoy its vial and environmental
axis, as befits the big cities.
See examples
The Medellín River Parks has had foundation on
examples from other cities where mayors made decisions that, although they were not always popular, finally, by its functionality, became public works
with great social impact.
Seoul is among the examples studied by Medellín
to think and make the entire procedure to be done
around the river. There, they made a highway in a
second floor and they were about to build the third.
The mayor decided it was better to implode that
way. Beneath it, there was a ravine and having it
in mind, they reformed the public transport and removed the vehicles from that space to give it back
to people.
Examples of Madrid were also studied, New
York, Rio de Janeiro. In addition, there is a good
example in Cali, where they sank the Colombia Av-
enue. Now there is a connection made only for pedestrian and the avenue was buried. It is a project
that has received many awards.
That’s how Medellín dared to project a work
that will give the city the opportunity to improve
mobility, help to restore the life of the river, make
major changes in environmental development, and
above all, to give citizens the possibility of reclaim
their own space, to enjoy its surroundings and gain
security.
Antonio Vargas says that in less than 50 years
Medellín has grown abysmally. “So you have to
take measures to return to people their space. The
Medellín River Parks goes hand in hand with the
housing issue is also linked to the Green Belt project that seeks the city continues to grow, but inward. Nowadays we are 3.5 million inhabitants and
in 2040 we will be 5 million, with the aggravating
circumstance that also the total number of motor
vehicles will grow, it will be tripled. Hence the project was born, for a mobility problem, but we add
the housing and public space issue.”
The adjacent road to Medellín River currently has
61
-Designs-
four lanes, the project will go to seven underground
lanes, because the separator will be used and the
distribution routes will be taken so there is not traffic jam at the exit of the underground path.
By these roads the Highways for Prosperity will
pass, so the project will not be just a matter of city
but of the country, because the river’s roads are
the input and output corridor of Medellín to other
destinations.
Designs
To evaluate the project, the Colombian Society of
Architects was invited. A design competition was
made and

to qualify it seven jurors were chosen,
four international and three national. 57 proposals
from four continents were submitted. The jury, with
the support of seven engineering experts, chose the
work presented by Latitud Taller de Arquitectura y
Ciudad, a company of architects from Antioquia of
the UPB.
Also, an engineering contest was carried out, two
proposals were submitted and the one of the DIM
signature was chosen. This signature is the one
To evaluate the project, the
Colombian Society of Architects
was invited. A design competition was made and to qualify
it seven jurors were chosen,
four international and three
national. 57 proposals from four
continents were submitted. The
jury, with the support of seven
engineering experts, chose the
work presented by Latitud Taller
de Arquitectura y Ciudad, a company of architects from Antioquia
of the UPB.
Also, an engineering contest
was carried out, two proposals
were submitted and the one of
the DIM signature was chosen.
This signature is the one that has
designed more tunnels in Colombia and has built more interurban
roads. They designed the bridge
of 4 south. It is one of the largest
corporations in Colombia.
that has designed more
tunnels in Colombia and
has built more interurban
roads. They designed the
bridge of 4 south. It is one
of the largest corporations in Colombia.
First Part
The first part of the project involves the intervention of the western side of the river, between the
Industriales Metroplús station and the Piloto Public Library. The allocation of this work is known
on December 29th and the works begin in January
2015.The period of execution is eleven months.
The cost of this part will be $ 170.438 million
and 322,000 square meters will be intervened. 922
square meters of underground roads with seven
rails will be built. Other 3,750 square meters of over
ground road with six lanes and 1816 square meters
and two service lanes.
The second part of the project is planning on the
east side of the river, near EPM’s building. It is already designed and the tender procedures will start
62
on 2015. The execution period is 16
months. The intervention will have
a length of 2.6 kilometers.
The environmental
All this connectivity , public space
and park project, goes hand in hand
with efforts to restore life in the river,
which is the work of EPM, which began in 2001 and will last until 2017,
with an investment of 1.047 million
dollars.
Life in the river is measured by the
dissolved oxygen in the water. That
amount is what determines if there
is plant or animal life on it. When the
river rises in the top of San Miguel
Mountain, it has a dissolved oxygen
of eight. But as it starts to go down
and gets in contact with people, the
river begins to lose oxygen. When
the dissolved oxygen is less than five
is not possible to find life whatsoev-
er. Throughout the tour, the most
polluted section is passing through
Medellín.
For the Medellín River Parks the
fact that the river has many tributaries that must be improved and
clean will be taken into account.
There, the awareness of the people
about the river should be respected,
respect ravines, respect nature and
take environmental responsibility
will be critical.
The future
The Riverside Parks project, regarded as a whole, i.e., from the
Zuñiga ravine to the Madera
Metro Station, is expected to
be completed in ten years. Includes the construction of 34
kilometers of walking trails, 12
pedestrian bridges, and 32 kilometers of bicycle routes.
The execution time of
the project will be
11MONTHS
The cost of the
first part will be
$170,438,000
322,000 m
2
will be intervened
922 m
OF ROADS
will be built
63
10 YEARS
is the estimated time to
complete this project
It will connect 17 schools with an
estimated population of 100 .000
students. They will have in their
environment six current Metro stations and four future stations. The
same will happen to Metroplús. The
river will be powered as a biotic corridor and more public space will be
created.
An improvement in air quality is
estimated, reduced noise levels, an
improvement of the landscape, savings in travelling times and savings
in fuel consumption is also estimated. All this brings about a positive
impact on health.
The mayor of Medellín and the
manager of the Medellín River
Parks are convinced that this project
has multiple benefits for the better
life of citizens. That happens now,
because in a month or so, the
works begin, the transformation of the corridor on the
west bank of the river will
be visible.
Maybe there, citizens
start to respect Medellín
and to look at it as you
look and respect the cities
you love and which care for
their rivers. They won’t have
to dream about distant cities
anymore, but they will enjoy
Medellín.
64
Puerto Antioquia
embarking the
dreams of Urabá
turbo,
ANtioquia
The project is combined with the improvement
of access roads to the region
The sea parallel to the region of Urabá in Antioquia is
alive. It sways carrying wood, pieces of old trees from
the Darien jungle, literally close to Panama. The sea
draws the mighty rivers which flow into the Atlantic
Ocean.
The sea is also dark and joyous, like the people of
Urabá. It moves at the pace of drums and lives with
extensive banana and plantain plantations, the richest
food of this untouched region besides fish.
Urabá, which has not experienced the consequences
stemming from a tiresome civilization, exhibits dwellers
who, like the sea, are not in a hurry, smiling and rhythmic. Dwellers that know about violence and pain but
still have a smile on their face, which is part of their personality. However, their joy falls short of the guarantees
provided by development, incentives such as education,
healthcare and well-being.
Well, a good part of those dreams are about to come
true. Development and progress have been slow reaching Urabá – a tip of Colombia on the Atlantic coast
where Afro-American populations
from Antioquia and Choco live
and have suffered, like a stigma,
the abandonment of the State, the
aggressiveness of violent groups
and their own corruption and lack
of interest in finding answers for a
better life.
Hence, the initiative to build a
sea port in Urabá is like finding a
formula which helps redeem the
region from its isolation, to foster
among its dwellers enthusiasm to
work for their own things, a way to look at life beyond
the sea and to seek international perspectives to encourage them to believe, grow and dream.
The Port
The dreams of Urabá are anchored today on Puerto Antioquia. What was before just a yearning and a project, will come
true in less than three years from now. Urabá
will have a port and the construction works will
begin on the second half of 2015. It will be called
Puerto Antioquia and set close to the municipality of
Turbo, amidst the gulf, in an area of intense agricultural
and industrial activities of the region.
The construction will be led by Puertos Inversiones y
Obras (PIO S.A.S.), a firm led by Oscar Isaza a business
man from Valle del Cauca. PIO S.A.S. is devoted to develop, execute and manage infrastructure for ports and
services. This same firm built the Buenaventura Port and
a similar work in Costa Rica.
60
hectAres
36
mONTHS
should be the maximum
time for its construction
The construction of Puerto Antioquia, which already
has the concession and the environmental license, indicates that the work will take place in 4 phases which
65
The
new port
is a project
that will improve
the quality of life of the
inhabitants of Urabá.
The
construction
of the Port is
a formula to
redeem the
region. It is
starting to look
beyond the sea
66
Jobs Generated
during the construction and
1,500 peoplepeople
during the operation
800
should be completed in a term of 36
months. The developments made
will go hand-in-hand with the major
road projects of “Autopistas para la
Prosperidad” (Highways to Prosperity), to guarantee the good condition
of the roads from the central part of
Colombia towards Urabá so that the
cargo can be mobilized without any
setbacks.
The ground area of the Port will be
60 hectares, set in the village of Nueva Colombia, in the municipality of
Turbo, on the banks of Leon River.
Oscar Isaza, President of PIO
S.A.S., who presented the project in
the past ANDI Assembly, stated that
“the work will have a pier in the sea
and a port on the ground. Both will
be connected by a 2.8-mile (4.5 kilometer) viaduct.”
Isaza also confirmed that Puerto Antioquia will be multipurpose:
Containers, grain, general cargo and
vehicles. And one of the advantages
is that the ground transportation to
inveSTMENT:
Urabá will be less long that to arrive
to other ports of Colombia. There
are 250 kilometers from Medellín
to Turbo, while there are more than
600 kilometers from Medellín to Barranquilla. The aforementioned will
facilitate the cargo mobility between
the country’s production centers
and Puerto Antioquia. The State does not build ports in
Colombia but instead, facilitates the
conditions so that those interested in
developing those works are encouraged to do so. Indeed, it is a way
to attract investors to build these
works, and once in operation, to encourage the industry and trade to
settle in the region.
With regard to Puerto Antioquia,
the obligation of the State lies on improving roads to facilitate the arrival
to Urabá. This road improvement
will be paramount to the comprehensive development of the region,
which in turn, projects to open universities, hospitals and large enter-
410 US$millIon
prises in the region – another contribution to benefit the dwellers.
PIO S.A.S. assumes the entire investment for the construction and
in turn, is entitled to exploit the port
during 20 years.
Opinions
Andres Bustos Isaza, Project Director of PIO S.A.S., spoke about why
Puerto Antioquia is attractive for his
company. “This is a great investment
opportunity, to contribute to the social development of the region and
to increase Colombia’s competitiveness, through modern and efficient
port infrastructure. Puerto Antioquia will contribute significantly to
modernize the port activity of the
region, and will open new doors to
the development of an industrial, logistics and port cluster.”
Bustos added, “The largest social
impact derived from Puerto Antioquia in Urabá is undoubtedly the
creation of skilled labor and re-set-
m
14
deEP
Port Capacity
6,5
millION
tons
67
tling people living in high levels of
vulnerability.”
One of the advantages of the Port
is its closeness to the Panama Channel. Bustos explains, “Puerto Antioquia will be the first port large vessels will encounter when they pass
the Channel on the Atlantic side,
and the last port before they enter
the Channel towards the Pacific.
This surely is a strategic advantage
so that maritime lines see Puerto
Antioquia as a complement to their
transship operations which are must
more attractive given that the port of
Urabá will have more than 5 million
tons of its own cargo.”
The director of PIO S.A.S. states
that the work will begin the second
half of 2015. “We are making huge
efforts to begin as soon as possible
(July or August), but it is worth understanding that there are studies
and designs processes we are responsible for so that the Port can
truly meet the expectations of the
region and of the market.”
Is the region prepared to live
next to a mega-work like Puerto
Antioquia?
I think it’s the ideal time for the
development of this project. The
region has current – and future –
conditions which turn Puerto Antioquia into a project with high
chances of success. Of course the
roads and infrastructure works will
be pivotal, such as Mar 1, Mar 2 and
Toyo Tunnel.
When do you estimate that the
first ship will arrive to Puerto
Antioquia?
In the first semester of 2018.
This is the new dream wandering
in Urabá which is about to come
true. Three years from now, the region will experience the whirlwind
derived from ports, loads, unloads,
people coming and going, jobs and
services. The world will arrive to
Antioquia through Urabá, giving
way to the international promotion
and competition of the region that
will rise to see development is part
of its new history.
68
Cities with
AL-LAS
* Medellín is the only city of Colombia engaged in this international project
69
Eugene Zapata leads the AL-LAS
project, an international laboratory for collaboration
between cities.
Cities that belong to AL-LAS stand out for their entrepreneurship,
global and international future vision, are convinced that public
policies focused on the improvement and appropriation of their
regions will give them wings to transcend, to go beyond and
create better conditions for their citizens.
Indeed, that’s what the AL-LAS project is all about
(Euro-Latin American Alliance of Cooperation among
Cities): to focus on cooperation to strengthen the international relations among cities and their help to implement and improve public policies and their territorial
development. This project was signed in 2012 as an alliance financed by the European Commission. It began in
Mexico, and today includes seven cities and to government entities from Europe.
The cities of AL-LAS are: Medellín (Colombia), Belo
Horizonte (Brazil), Moron (Argentina), Montevideo
(Uruguay), Lime (Peru), Quito (Ecuador). In addition,
FAMSI (Fondo Andaluz de Municipios para la Solidaridad Internacional in Spain) and France.
Other entities that collaborate with the project are
AMAIE (Mexican Association of International Affairs
of States); ARRICOD (Association of Responsibles of International Relations of Local Government of France);
the Embassy of France in Mexico through IFAL (Cultural and Cooperation Institute, and University of Rosario, Colombia. The economic support of the European
Union stems from the program “Non-State Players and
Local Authorities in Development”. On the other hand,
the cities belonging to the program make their own contributions.
The cities of AL-LAs are: Medellín (Colombia),
Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Moron (Argentina),
Montevideo (Uruguay), Lime (Peru),
Quito (Ecuador). In addition, FAMSI
(Fondo Andaluz de Municipios para
la Solidaridad Internacional in
Spain) and France
70
The Focus
The coordination of AL-LAS is currently led by the government of Mexico City, from where the guidelines stem.
The Director General is Eugene Zapata, an Mexican with
a masters in International Relations, Development and
Cooperation.
In the project, each city member leads its own activity
or particular project. The projects should focus on enhancing and driving important changes be it administrative, institutional or of legal nature. Meanwhile, they
should also boost and internationally show the activities of the cities. The bottom line is that is about talking
about international promotion with facts. This is not
international promotion which dies after officials travel
without clear objectives and tangible results. This international promotion instead, is guided by AL-LAS, and is
In the project, each
city member leads its
own activity or particular
project
71
The general objective of AL-LAS is
clear: to enhance international
relations of the governments of
the cities, their communication
networks and their entities,
so that improved public policies
From this consultation, a document is published with
very clear guidelines of the metropolitan landscape,
can be driven to develop the
what´s in the international promotion, what knowledge
municipalities have, what importance municipalities
give to cooperation, to foreign investment, si they beregion
lieve they are prepared to receive that investment, etc.
concrete and
precise, and a
result of a government structure centered on achieving improvements in a region to
teach them abroad.
The general objective of ALLAS is clear: to enhance international relations of the governments of the
cities, their communication networks and
their entities, so that improved public policies
can be driven to develop the region.
Indeed, AL-LAS promotes specific activities:
Building a network of Latin American cities internationally active; Holding 7 workshops for institutional
enhancement; Publishing a collection of notes for the international promotion of Latin American cities; Creating
a technological platform to manage knowledge related
to the project’s themes.
In short, a diagnostic is made.
“ACI promotes international cooperation and attracts
foreign investment. Those are the two activities used as
tools for the development of a region because Medellín
is a city which, although it still falls behind, it has advanced a lot in terms of international promotion. Now
the idea is to transfer that knowledge to Area Metropolitana, replicate it in other municipalities of the Area, and
all of this project is made thanks to resources provided by AL-LAS”, states Anny Munera, officer of ACI, in
charge of the project.
The Medellín Case
Among the programs conducted by AL-LAS, a seminar was recently held to discuss the importance of local
players talking about the international promotion process. And Medellín is currently making a campaign to
reach that conversation. The campaign involves sensitizing and consulting various players and thereafter, teel
the city what international promotion is, its benefits and
to make others understand the concept.
Once the campaigns are completed and the entire information of the consultations is systematized, all of the
players related to the development of a region, such as
universities, public entities and NGO’s, will begin to
discuss the matter.
Consultations are attended by entities related to the
development of Medellín, such as EPM, Pro Aburra
Norte, Pro Aburra Sur, universities throughout the Metropolitan Area, mayorships of the municipalities.
72
INTERNATIONALIZATION IS
NOT A MATTER EXCLUSIVELY
FOR LARGE CITIES
With the Director
Eugene Zapata, Director of AL-LAS, spoke with LINK
about this project of cities that work for their international promotion.
Which three initiatives stand out in terms of international promotion developed by local government of
AL-LAS cities in the year 2014?
First: AL-LAS reviewed the legal and institutional
framework of the international relations of Latin America. The finding has been paramount and not at all flattering. Practically no country of the region explicitly
acknowledged the power of a local government to have
relations with overseas. However, this happens in everyday practices. AL-LAS has made an initial analysis
of this topic and proposed roads to enhance the legal
certainty of the international activities made by the cities and their networks.
Second: AL-LAS identified an important lack of vision and strategy in most local governments of Latin
America to disclose the benefit of international promotion in the cities. Hence, AL-LAS proposed particular
tools to furnish local governments with the capacity
to provided messages to the population showing how
international cooperation can benefit the life of the
people.
Third: AL-LAS began dialogs and consultations of citizens in different cities to demonstrate that international
relations in a city are not matters exclusively handled by
the government. Players from different sectors are invited to join the strategy of engagement and cooperation
with overseas. In this, the example of Medellín has been
very appreciated by everyone.”
How would you rate the international promotion of
Medellín in recent years?
“Medellín has managed in ten years to change the negative image it had in the world, shifting from being
known for its crimes and lack of order to an innovative
city. This indeed has involved a clear construction of a
strategy based on a vision supported on institutions.
The political will of the mayors has been decisive as
well as the guarantee that the international promotion
of Medellín exceeds political or partisan matters, and
turns into a strategy that transcends the government in
office.”
How does the ordinary citizen understand international promotion, something political or something
social?
“Citizens tend to distrust why a mayor travels. This is
a common vision in which people think that the local
government has nothing to do outside its region or
engaging with overseas. However, it’s not possible to
think about a city isolated from the rest of the world
today. Citizens should understand that international
relations are pivotal to improve the government’s management, get to know better public policies, exchange
experiences, and this in turn represents better urban
services and benefits for the population. International promotion is not just a political or social matter, it’s
also economic and cultural. It’s a bet to be part of the
world in the 21st century as an actor, a main actor – not
as a passive spectator.”
Are Latin American cities (not capitals) prepared for an international promotion in the
near future?
“Absolutely. International promotion is
not solely for large cities. We have paradigmatic examples such as Moron
73
in Argentina or Villa de El Salvador in Peru. Or even
Esteli in Nicaragua. These are all cities relatively small
which for one reason or another focused on international relations and made their spot in the world. _However, international promotion is not improvised and local
governments must make it professionally and seriously,
with a long-term vision. This is why the proper skills
should be prepared and furnished. A-LAS is here to contribute in this task.”
How are cities chosen to be part of the AL-LAS project? What requirements should be met to enter the
program?
“AL-LAS is not a club that choses the cities that come
or go. It has never had an “admissions process”. The
project stemmed after an agreement and consensus of a
group of cities and networks that identified a real need
to professionalize their international relations. With a
common problem and the political will of our authorities, the members of AL-LAS jointly built a project which
was submitted to the European Union for its financing.
Although due to contractual reasons with the European Union we cannot expand the number of members
of AL-LAS, all of the lessons learned and activities are
shared with local Latin American governments that request them. Al-LAS is a node of innovation and lessons
learned for the international promotion of cities. The
group of partners work to benefit this in Europe and in
Latin America, expecting to have an impact beyond ourselves.”
The
European
Union-Latin
America partnership
emphasizes the international role of cities.
74
MedellINNOVATION DISTRICT:
TO BELIEVE AND
As this
picture, the
Medellinnovation
District will look
after its construction.
D CREATE
75
Innovation in Medellín is far from
being a whim, an invention or a
far-fetched story. Indeed, innovation
in Medellín became a way to enforce
those that create, produce, lead and
invest in new trends to settle in the
city and there, to project their
initiatives towards competitive
international markets.
76
This is how the Medellín Innovation
District was born. It stemmed from
the engagement of Ruta N and all
of the creative initiatives which appear with this project which today
is a type of wrap teaching paths and
conducts so that the city can move at
the pace of the rest of the world. The
District is headed by María Paulina
Villa, one of the persons that knows
the most about this topic and is
aware of the reason for the existence
of the District. She loves the project
and knows it inside-out.
What is the Medellín Innovation
District?
“The District gathers the entire innovation ecosystem of Medellín. And
when we talk about ecosystem, we
refer to innovative enterprises, to
entrepreneurs aiming at innovative
ideas, to capital funds, to universities, to the public sector targeting
innovation, all this is what we call
ecosystems. So if I gather all this in a
particular area instead of scattering
it all over, I can boost ties and that
makes innovation flow faster and
in turn, gain inertia. That’s the Medellín Innovation District, which at
the end will elevate the competitiveness of Medellín and its wealth, and
hence, should host development
and a better quality of life for the entire city.”
Will the District have an impact on
everybody in the city?
“There are people that have nothing
to do with the District, but they will
live in a city that will improve their
quality of life. Some will be impacted more than others, while there
are persons that will pass by it and
will simply perceive the benefit on
a long-term basis. I’m talking about
the people that live in the District
today, those who are not part of this
economy of knowledge and of innovation which will be socially and
economically included.”
What is the District’s setup?
“The District’s community involves
about 12,000 people from the neighborhoods of Chagualo, Jesus Nazareno, Sevilla and part of San Pedro.
Several entrepreneurial strategies
will be developed with them. We
well know that they won’t begin to
“
The District’s community involves about
12,000
people
from the neighborhoods of Chagualo, Jesús
Nazareno, Sevilla and part of San Pedro.
Several entrepreneurial strategies will be
developed with them.”
design nano-satellites tomorrow, but
at least if they are part of this, they
will feel transformation instead of
being outcasts.”
Why was this area chosen for the
Innovation District?
“Because it’s the area of the city
that displays the best conditions.
It has the Metro, and a bunch of facilities related to science and technology which have been 15 years
in the area. It has Parque Explora,
the Botannical Garden and Parque
Norte (the last two combined create the Central Park), and there is
no way of repeating this in another area of the city since we have
no space. It has the Planetarium,
Parque de los Deseos; the Research
Center of the University of An-
77
tioquia which gathers 90 research
groups. There, Dr. Lopera is developing a vaccine against Alzheimer
financed by Harvard. It has Ruta
N, Parque del Emprendimiento.
Besides, there are other institutions
in the area such as the University of
Antioquia, the Hospital University
which has been in operation for 100
years, and the National University
cross the river. Truly, there is no other area of Medellín that gathers so
much from the knowledge-generation standpoint, in terms of energy,
healthcare and ITC’s, which are the
primary targets of the city’s current
science and technology plan.”
What’s the aim of the District?
The purpose of the District is to
anchor the economy of knowledge
which is being generated in the city
and attach it to this area. This must
be done since the economy has been
growing heavily and the future of
Medellín’s economic development
is estimated to be more towards innovation, so that we can be increasingly competitive and independent
in the volatile dynamics of the Colombian and global economy.”
furnishing and this is financed by
the same real estate development.
The greatest achievement was to
include all of the above in the new
POT. Otherwise it would not have
been possible to think of a District.”
How is the area refurbished?
Based on the POT or Land Arrangement Plan, we granted the District
168 hectares (which is the area occupied by the neighborhoods already
mentioned) with special attributes
to turn it into a very attractive area
for the arrival of investments in
real estate, since the District will be
more profitable and easier to settle
economic activities related to innovation. The investment of buildings
and houses will be made by the private sector. As in any development,
obligations are paid and these we
already have a master plan of public
spaces particularly neighborhoodfocused, improvements of mobility,
Are there other cities implementing as well innovative districts?
“There are interesting initiatives.
For instance, Guadalajara has a district, Monterrey has the TEC District. Panama City has the City of
Knowledge and we have the Medellín Innovation District which,
albeit its soft advertising, we have
promoted with our stakeholders,
particularly with the enterprises we
wish to attract.”
How do you attract enterprises?
“ACI this year held five events of
Why Medellín? in Barcelona, Madrid, Buenos Aires and San Francisco. In addition, also with ACI,
78
we visited Boston, Houston and
two cities in Brazil. We want to position Medellín as the capital of innovation of Latin America, a place
where enterprises can arrive to develop their innovative products or
services which serve markets like
ours, that is, emerging markets particularly in energy, healthcare and
ICT’s.”
Are Colombian enterprises included in the District?
“It has been easier to convince foreign enterprises than local enterprises. However, this year locals began
to see how valuable it is to be here,
so large Colombian enterprises have
arrived: Bancolombia, with two
innovation projects; Grupo Nutresa, with the Vidarium Corporation
which has a laboratory here; Grupo
Familia is about to arrive; for a long
while there’s a very large enterprise
from the ICT sector which is Choquer; and Tronex as well.”
What are the attractive points of
the District?
We have a program called Landing
which began in 2012 primarily focused on international enterprises
with the aim to solve their settlement issues. In this case, enterprises
are provided spaces which they pay
for at a competitive rate. This space
is not subsidized but it provides an
area where you only have to connect
your PC and begin to work. A contract is executed and signed up to six
months before the enterprise is incorporated; otherwise, it must leave.”
How many enterprises have used
the Landing program?
“A total of 48 enterprises have arrived since 2012 of which 40 are still
settled here. About 1,090 jobs have
been created both sustainable and
of top quality, that is, it’s not a job
related to a temporary work but instead, related to a medium and longterm project. We receive about two
requests and applications a week.
The Landing program was the clue
to make the District and its success
showed us the thirst these enterprises have to settle here. Yuxi Pacific was the very first enterprise and
when they arrived the building was
incomplete, but ACI assisted them
to look for a place at Ruta N, and
they stayed here.”
“
79
We have a program called
Horizontes
which seeks to boost science,
innovation and technology
among kids from 12 to
16 years.”
Can Colombian enterprises
use the Landing
program?
The program targeted international enterprises its
first year. Later, we began to see
small locals wanting to be here and
it was a great chance to connect both
worlds. For instance, we have a local
entrepreneur called Andres Vergara
with a company of only three employees. The enterprise is called Jaguar and it makes citizen innovation.
For Andres, being here has been
very enlightening and to be able to
share with other enterprises because
he’s next to a company of Argentina with 90 employees and another
one from Israel. We have enterprises
from ten countries.”
How does Medellín compete with
other districts?
“There are many districts that compete offering tax benefits, economic
benefits, and we can’t do that or believe it is a smart strategy. What we
do offer is intangible and powerful.
Selling an intangible is very difficult
until the people come to Medellín
and see it with their own eyes – any
presentation or video falls short. To
sell the city, people must be brought
here, taken to see the city and the
energy of its people. For example,
the Swiss cement company Holsing
arrived here, used the Landing for
three months with 30 people. Today,
they are about 400 people and they
say that the best thing about Medellín and what makes them happy
is the people’s attitude.”
All this is thanks to a political
will?
“It’s said here that innovation is a
virus that spreads from person to
person, that that’s the bottomline
of being together, the closer we are,
the quicker the virus spreads. Medellín’s DNA includes hard-work
and innovation. Here we have a
strong institutional cohesion not
seen elsewhere. To see the public
sector aligned with large enterprises, universities and society at large,
means everybody is headed to the
same place.”
Do you have programs to attract
young adults to all these programs?
“We have a program called
Horizontes which seeks to boost
science, innovation and technology
among kids 12 to 16, to major in areas
aligned with what we do. To attract
them, we have appealed to the
foundational myth of the “paisas”:
muleteers, we are muleteers and
we’ll meet ahead. And the kids’
reaction has been amazing. Even
though they are 12 and have no idea
what a muleteer is, they respond
to the explorer, the adventurer, the
innovator and to those types of
ideals. We worked this year with
3,000 kids and next year we’ll work
with 6,000.
sección
80
Medellín
TEAMS UP
WITH Team
* This firm from the U.S. believes in the city and
in its people
Team International is an enterprise about to
settle in Medellín. It arrived attracted by the
innovation conditions experienced here. It has
a great growth potential, one of the criteria
kept in mind by the Medellín Innovation District to receive enterprises from abroad.
Team is a tailor made software development
consultant focused on three pillars: Development of tailor made applications, Testing and
quality, and Application setup.
Its vision is to “become a leading supplier
of consultancy solutions, software and quality
control for the IT industry.” Its mission is to
provide highly qualified Information Technology resources and services to help clients meet
their corporate goals. Their niches are identified with human resources, telecommunications, transportation, idle and entertainment,
finances and trade.
Its headquarters is in Lake Mary, Florida,
U.S.A., and its centers of operations worldwide are in Kharkiv and Lviv, Ukraine. And in
Medellín, Colombia.
Team chose Medellín because it considers it
has the ideal location and “because it’s one of
the best 20 cities to do business in Latin America, states América Economía magazine.”
sección
81
Their Opinions
Chris Walton, President of Team International,
shared his opinions about why his company is
set in Medellín.
How did Team find out that Medellín had an
innovation policy that could be useful for the
company? Through who or which entity did
you learn abou the program developed by the
city?
“The policy of innovation implemented by Medellín led to the city being awarded the most
innovative city of the world in 2013, an award
given by the Urban Land Institute and by the Wall
Street Journal.”
“WE HIGHLIGHT MEDELLÍN’S
HUMAN TALENT
”
What attracted you the most to settled in
Medellín?
“Medellín is one of the best location of Latin
America since it provides outsourcing services in
business and technology. The city is one of the
top 100 worldwide in externalization services
of businesses processes and IT. Medellín shares
the central and Eastern time zones of the U.S. It
can be accessed by plane. We also highlight the
human talent, the environment, the institutional
efficiency, the physical capital and the economic force are the strongest points of Medellín This
culture of resistence and creativity for establish
and manage innovative corporate projects has
led the city to gain international recognition.”
Matt Moore,
left, is the CEO of
TEAM. Chris Walton
is the president.
Do you use local human resources? How many
jobs do you create in Medellín?
“Team International has a decade of experience
in recruiting, training and retaining good employees throughout the world. Since there is
access to highly qualified human resources in
Colombia, Team uses those local human resources. More than 50 institutions of higher education
with a good English level assure top quality service and qualified talent. Our company has projected, by the year 2015, to build a team of talent
of 50 to 100 employees, and we expect to have
300 employees in three or five years. Currently
we have 3 local talents, one from Bogota and 2
from Medellín. We also contribute to the city’s
82
TEAM
is a consulting
firm for custommade software
development
It is a Success Story of
MedellInnovation
“ people IN
We are here
because
Medellín
is friendly,
open and
reliable.”
economic flow by hiring suppliers such as Hub Empresarial and Contexto Legal.”
What are the corporate activities of Team in Medellín?
“We build a consultancy to develop tailor made software which is top quality, innovative and flexible for clients-enterprises worldwide. Team offers world-class tailor made applications using platforms Java/Open Source,
Microsoft, WEB and mobiles. Here in Medellín we built
a center devoted to development, which is a model of
commitment for the organizations that wish to have a
long-term strategic association.”
Where else in the world do you have centers of operations?
“We also chose two major cities in Unkraine, Eastern Europe, for our development center based on three main
criteria: Access to the large pool of IT highly qualified
professionals, locations, and profitable solutions offered
by the place.”
What’s your opinion about the people of Medellín?
“Human resources and intellectual capital are very important financial assets to build sustainable competitive
advantages. We have established a top priority on human resources and we are willing to create positive relations and a corporate multinational experience in Medellín. The people of Medellín are positive and geared to
action, with a great cultural adjustment. In addition, the
people are very kind, open, reliable, useful and have a
great sense of belonging of their city. Another candidate,
which is another city of Colombia, says about Medellín,
“I feel in another country, this looks like Miami. It’s very
organized; the progress and development of the city
is evident. I have had the chance to see the programs
promoted by the city to promote education and development of people, and I see that perception is inclusion
and equitable conditions.”
83
A MUSEUM FOR
MEMORY
*The House of Memory of Medellín
(Casa de la Memoria) is a place to
reflect and seek the truth in pursuit of
peace
The
victims now
have a place to
tell their own story.
According to the dictionary of the Royal Academy of the Spanish
Language, peace has seven definitions. Some of them suggest that
peace is the situation and interrelation of those who are not at war.
Peace is the public tranquility and calm of the States, in contrast to
war or turbulence. Peace is calm and good match between people
in counterpoint to dissensions, quarrels and confrontations. Peace
is reconciliation, return to friendship, harmony. Peace is the virtue
that gets in the mood of tranquility and serenity, as opposed to
84
the discomfiture and passions. And finally, peace
is peaceful genius, quiet, gentle.
In Colombia, peace (with all its definitions)
has to do with a common dream, an illusion that
has been searched for over 50 years. Sometimes
harder than others, sometimes with momentary
results, often no results at all.
Today, peace is walking a tortuous and rugged path, but it seems it can become a reality, if
the will of the parties, that are essential to make
peace, gather above the resentment and grief.
• To generate opportunities for the expression
of victims of the armed conflict and for stories
and expressions generated by it, where artists
of various disciplines, victims, academics, researchers and civil society can gather.
• To recognize, in the country and abroad, the
experiences and outcomes of The House of
Memory and to promote the flow of local visitors and outsiders as part of the recognition of
the recent history of our city.”
Memory for peace in Medellín
The Museum is the place to reflect, for the citizen to recognize the scale of what has been the
urban conflict in Medellín. Only by recognizing
what Medellín has lived, remembering, the city
may live in peace and won’t allow these painful
experiences to come back.
The dream of peace has settled in Medellín, a city
that has suffered moments of intense pain by violence and today, thanks to an initiative of the Mayor’s Office, seeks reconciliation and forgiveness
by giving to the victims a place for reflection, to
encounter and dignify themselves. Thus was born
The House of Memory Museum of Medellín.
The project began in 2005 with the Victim Assistance Program. “Since then, the memories of
violence and armed conflict have been the subject of concern of local government, which is why
the Historical Memory Area was settled. Within
this area came the need to generate reflection and
report conflicting events that have taken place in
Medellín and Colombia in recent decades,” that is
how it is exposed in a virtual document summarizing the history of the project.
According to the document, the objectives of the
House of Memory of Medellín are:
• “To become a space for encounter, expression,
participation and reconstruction of memory, violence and armed conflict.
• To create opportunities for social research and
specialized documentation in matters of historical memory and conflict in Colombia
Facade of the House
of Memory
Museum.
The director
The House of Memory Museum of Medellín is located at the Bicentennial Park in the central-east
of the city. Its director is Lucia Gonzalez Duque,
an expert in cultural management with extensive
knowledge in social work with victims.
The citizen encounter
is a way for
remembering.
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Her task is focused on the relationship with the
community for the restitution and assessment of
memory, rather than the traditional model of collection of works. All the work of the museum is
linked with the Ministry of Citizen Culture.
Lucía González is architect of the UPB and has
served as Coordinator of the Equity Project, Director of the National Unit for Victims, General
Coordinator of Colombia Humanitaria and Director of the Museum of Antioquia. This experience allows her to provide her experience in social work with victims.
Once, Lucía González described herself as a
“dreams manager” and that has been her commitment in her public life, which today placed
her in front of The House of Memory Museum
of Medellín.
In an interview with Telam, Argentine news
agency, Lucía González admitted that the particularity of the House Museum is that “it recalls,
in real time, a conflict which is still current and
dormant. That’s not only a challenge from the political point of view by the tensions and risks generated, but it has an advantage, that the memory
is there, at the exit of armed conflict. It is a recent memory, there isn’t a story, there are many
memories, and there is a commitment to build a
plural memory. Not a hegemonic memory that
is constructed after the conflict ended. “
Lucía González says that most Colombians
don’t know how to explain what happened in
the country so the violence settled during more
than 50 years. That’s why memory is a pending task. The idea is to visualize violence and
armed conflict resistance by building the historical memory of the conflict. We will contribute
to transformation with it. “Remember not to
repeat”.
Colombia has a law of victims and land restitution since 2011 which is one of the key points
to achieve this goal. What most of the victims
demand is for the truth to be known. “We must
recognize that this issue is not only about the
guerrillas and if we end up with the guerrillas
we’d have the solution. Society must ask itself
how to make peace. This is a teaching and reflection act in the present, and a response to the
immediate future,” said Lucia González.
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COFFEE THAT TASTES LIKE
Antioquia
Specialty coffees are a market trend. They were born in the world to set apart the qualities
of coffee, focusing closely on the strongest properties: smell, flavor, aroma, texture.
Emphasis is on the product’s top quality: unique origin, blends and non-conventional coffees
given they are aromatized or because they have a special story.
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Specialty coffees require
special coffee-growers.
We’ll work with them
to improve their
productive practices,
more environmentallyfriendly, and the bottom
line is to improve their
product’s quality.”
Governor of Antioquia, Sergio Fajardo
Antioquia
has about 88,000
coffee growers.
A serious, circumspect expert would describe
it as follows: “a coffee seed does not measure
more than one centimeter. It is flat on one side
and convex on the other and it is crossed by
a longitudinal line. It has a greenish or light
brown color before it is toasted, and a dark
and intense brown color after it is toasted.”
That’s coffee.
That small seed that turned from green, to
read and lastly is peeled, washed and toasted,
is the same seed that produces the strongest
sensations with its aromatic and charming
smell, and its strong and dense taste. Just as
Gabriel Garcia Marquez praised and pondered the smell of the guava fruit, an emblematic diatribe should be made about the smell
of coffee. Albeit its taste and consequences are
very personal, it’s hard its smell won’t attract
everybody with the same force.
Indeed, it’s a captivating smell which, as
perfumes, cannot be resisted to be breathed
seeking the pleasure coffee spills in the air.
National Flavor
Tied to that smell and flavor of coffee is the agricultural and productive history of Colombia.
Coffee is a national emblem, one of its strongest prides, much more than bicycling, banana
and emeralds.
Coffee is a universal beverage that captivates
and never wears out. And Colombia is privilege to produce an exceptional coffee, known
worldwide for its mildness and great flavor.
Indeed, Colombia has always been known internationally for its coffee. Historically, coffee
was the foundation of the country’s economy
although there have been difficult periods
which are just beginning to be surpassed.
Consequently, one of the flagship programs
of the Governor of Antioquia, Sergio Fajardo,
is to reactivate in the region the production of
coffee, using more technified systems, with increased emphasis on quality and with serious
and important studies to commercialize the
product seeking more benefits for producing
families.
The road taken leads to the coffee-producing
farms - which were the foundation and refuge
of the “paisa” boost – will bloom again with
the same aroma released by coffee. This gave
birth to the project Antioquia: Origin of Special
Coffees (Antioquia: origen de cafés especiales).
“Special coffees require special coffee-growers. We’ll work with them to improve their
productive practices, more environmentally-friendly, and the bottom line is to improve
their product’s quality,” assures Governor Sergio Fajardo when he launched the program.
The project centers on the product’s quality which, undoubtedly, will represent better
prices and higher income for its producers –
so those families from Antioquia can join and
begin the adventure of producing special coffees; a global trend we must adapt to to compete vis-à-vis with the largest coffee producers
from every corner of the world.
With What and How
“We began to structure a program with resources from royalties, over $20.000 million
pesos. The development plan was in charge
of identifying those coffees, where they are
produced and which families produce them,”
explains Jaime Velilla, Secretary of Competitiveness and Productivity of Antioquia.
The department has about 88,000 different
lands devoted to coffee throughout 94 municipalities. In short, Antioquia is a department
100% devoted to coffee. The goal of the Special Coffees program was (I would place WAS
since it was the initial goal but it’s been surpassed) to reach at least 5,000 families to determine what type of coffee they produce and to
begin to advise them, especially on good crop
practices, from planting to the best practices to
handle the coffee mill.
“This should be done with the help of a
team of advisors or what we call “extensionists”, who visit the families’ farms. We have
identified a very important figure, the coffee
core, which can consist of 100, 120 families in
a region, very close like neighbors, and there’s
where the extensionist arrives to provide them
assistance,” states Velilla.
There are a total of 23 cores and this task is
made with the Department Committee of Coffee Growers (Comité Departamental de Cafe-
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teros), an ally of the project, and with the four
coffee-growers’ cooperatives of Antioquia, for
over two years. Today, there are more than
5,000 families visited and assisted.
After providing the assistance to plant and
the coffee mil, a sample is taken from each
farm and sent to a lab, where it is tasted and
rated. This gives way to identify the areas
where there are good coffees. This phase is
reinforced by the Cup of Antioquia contest
which chooses the best special coffees of the
department.
The third invitation to the contest is currently open, inviting families to present a sample
of 1,000 kilos of their coffee harvest. A total of
500 samples were received last year and 700
are expected this year. This gives way to take a
closer look at the families which have worried
about producing a top-quality coffee.
This process is followed by a selection made
by coffee tasters backed by the cooperatives,
the Department Committee of Coffee-Growers and SENA. A sample of those 1,000 kilos
undergoes a test. In January, the 60 best Cups
of Antioquia were identified, while the top ten
and the winner will be identified early February. But the idea is not just to award, but
to establish profiles per regions and per municipalities to identify the qualities and their
features.
Jaime Velilla assures that, “when the top
60 are chosen, the Governor’s Office will invite business people of the world of coffee
to taste the special coffees of Antioquia. We
are talking about people from Asia, U.S.A.,
Europe, Central America and Colombia. Coffee tasters come to judge the quality of those
60 coffees in a period of three days, getting
to visit the farms, meet the families, getting
involved with the producers to learn everything about those coffees. And the best cup is
awarded at the end.”
After the ceremony, an auction is made with
the visitors from abroad and with the participation of the top 60 producers. This year,
the best cup of Antioquia was won by Luis
Guillermo Varela, from the Asesi village in the
municipality of Caicedo. He obtained the best
profile and also the first place in the auction.
His coffee sold at US$15,50/lb. to a Colombian
enterprise, Amor Perfecto.
The second place in Antioquia was Carmen
Montoya, from Urrao. She won the Cup of Excellence held in Colombia and is well known
internationally.
These contests also help these persons to get
to know the production foundation of the families. That is, there is a direct tie between the
Coffee is a
national emblem
and Antioquia is
committed to produce
the finest specialty coffee
to sell to the world.
A total of 500 samples
were received last year and
700 are expected this year. This
gives way to take a closer look at
the families which have worried about
producing a top-quality coffee
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Coffee
tasters or
Cuppers, a
new profession in
Colombia.
seller and the exporter – practically zero middlemen, excluding the cooperative of coffee-growers.
What does a family from the mountain export
its special coffee? This task is made by the coffee-growing cooperative, either that of Salgar,
Occidente, Andes or Antioquia. Since they export coffee containers, they place the coffee bags
every week called Special Coffee, which was
sold in the auction.
According to the Secretary of Productivity of
Antioquia, special coffees in the department will
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gain positioning, given that more buyers are
coming and they tell others and so on.
A New Generation of Coffee-Growers
The average age of coffee-growers in Antioquia is 57, a generation that is getting old
displaying the risk of losing the coffee activity quickly. Hence, the Governor’s Office has
begun to work with other strategies to attract
the young adults of the families that produce
special coffees.
The strategies include several campsites inviting 1,000 young adults (two have been held
to this date). There, kids are trained on coffee;
new planting techniques, commercialization,
tasting, barism, entrepreneurship, and ICT’s.
“This serves to integrate them. It is an opportunity to create a community. We begin by
rescuing them to look back and see coffee production as an activity with alternatives, particularly with special coffees. Their parents lack
that information but the kids apply it at the
farm. This is called the New Coffee-Growing
Generation. They begin to communicate online. Young adults need other opportunities of
higher education to avoid them leaving their
regions. Hence, the Educational Park becomes
a center where they are part of an entrepreneurial community. We already launched the
School of Coffees of Antioquia with SENA,
focusing on four subjects: Barism, Toasting,
Commercialization and Tasting, to certify the
young adults,” explains Jaime Velilla.
Another subject matter of the Special Coffees program is a research project. We should
learn, scientifically, why coffee qualities are
produced in determined regions of Antioquia.
Microclimates and other variables that deter-
IMPORTANT FIGURES:
• Of the 125 municipalities of Antioquia, 94 produce coffee in a range of 132,000 hectares.
Of this figure, 72,000 hectares are committed
already to produce special coffees.
• The program involves 5,000 coffee growers.
• The purpose is to turn Antioquia into the largest
producer of special coffees of Colombia, competing with the best worldwide.
• The program was launched August 2012 and
will expand to 2016.
• Investment amounts to $3,115 million pesos,
most from royalties perceived by the Governor’s Office.
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mine coffee quality are determined. This task
is headed by the National University, and its
results will be published in 2016 on the factors
which lead to why and where the best coffees
of Antioquia are made. Farms are constantly
monitored to reach conclusions. Meanwhile,
UPB and Eafit universities are developing an
application, an information system to begin to
store all this data.
Conclusion
Carmen Cecilia Montoya, with her family.
She was the winner of the Cup of
Excellence in Colombia. Her farm
is called Buenavista and is
in the town of Urrao in
Antioquia.
The Secretary of Productivity states that,
“the Governor’s Office of Antioquia will
establish this Special Coffees program as
a public policy, by order. Resources will
be financed by royalties, and from there,
several resources will be appropriated
by the area of science, technology and
innovation, and for a fund of regionalization. These resources are taken every
two years, thus the program is assured
for 2015 and 2016.”
Nonetheless, the most important aspect of the program Antioquia – Origin
of Special Coffees is the mobilization observed in the country. This project creates a new culture, the culture of special
coffees..
“The Governor’s Office does not sell
coffee or coffee bags or a brand here.
What we do is enhance a coffee culture
by educating, transforming lives, making use of social infrastructure, such as
the Educational Parks, to seek transformation based on education,” concludes
Jaime Velilla.
Indeed, the program Antioquia – Origin of Special Coffees involves: improving
the quality of life of families so that they
feel backed and assisted in the process to
modernize their productive activity.
Another benefit related to this new agricultural practice is that we will see a return to highlight the wealth of a region,
families will be educated and this is turn,
will help to assist the peace process in
the region. All this helps to have a better outlook for the people that live in the
countryside.
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[South-South Cooperation]
Cuenca,
Ecuador, is
one of the “sisters” cities of Medellín
in the implementation of
public policies.
ACI APPLIES
AND MULTIPLIES
THE BEST PRACTICES OF MEDELLÍN
It’s not just words that rhyme and it’s certainly
not a tongue-twister: this is ACI, the Agency of
Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the
Metropolitan Area, an entity established to serve
as a bridge, mediator, facilitator, among government entities and international entities interested
in getting to know each other, help each other, exchange ideas and successful practices.
ACI is not an agency of tourism or organizes
trips or leads tours throughout the city. ACI is an
expert in “selling” the city as an example of good
practices; it’s also in charge of finding facilitators
to reach social objectives thanks to international
cooperation.
Within this task arises a different model to seek
and offer exchanges and benefits: South-South
Cooperation, a sort of alliance among countries
and entities, in which the cooperation not necessarily implies financial aid.
The first entity of Colombia to adopt this cooperation model was ACI when it decided to document and systematize al of the good practices
which have turned Medellín into a city worth
watching.
In 2011, the book entitled “Medellín Laboratory” was launched which describes ten good practices of the city. This book was made by UN-Habitat and the IDB showing experiences of Medellín
which could be interesting for others. It involves
lessons leraned, principles, values, so that it can
be copied any other place. It’s having instruments
to be able to share good practices.
Indeed, the South-South Cooperation is a collaboration made among peers to share experiences, methodologies. It’s not resources, as if
you receive financial aid from North America or
from Europe. No, cooperation has shifted since
there are less resources. This attitude and willingness to share and learn strengthens public
servants since what they show is their management.
This exchange of knowledge and methodologies
generally takes place by sharing costs – the new
wave of cooperation. Today, many financial entities prefer countries and entities requesting collaboration to learn and to replicate, since there is
where they see the results of the support received.
In this entire process, ACI is an expert in pre-
93
paring documents and agendas which give way
to exchanges, cooperations and lessons learned.
“What we do here is organize technical agendas for those international organizations with
the city’s mayor or the governor, secretaries or
technicians responsible. Information is provided during a morning or afternoon and a tour is
made the other half of the day. So the exchange
and meeting is on-site – technical and hence, Medellín is positions as a laboratory city, showing
how Medellín bets on cooperation. Since 2013,
ACI began the South-South Cooperation”, states
Pablo Maturana, Deputy Director of Local and
International Relations of ACI.
The task began by documenting in a book what
was already done in Medellín, and next, gathering and systematizing another document with
the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation
as part of a project that fosters South-South Cooperation. Medellín talks about two of its best
practices: the Good Beginning (Buen Comienzo)
program, and ACI in terms of supply and demand.
On the other hand, agendas were organized.
“What passes through here, through ACI, are not
tourism agendas; we are not devoted to tourism,
and the agendas became workshops. So we have
delegations which are a morning with experts of
Medellín, share experiences, and go see in the afternoon, first-hand, what has been done,” stated
Pablo Maturana.
This is the framework handled by ACI with
reference to the South-South Cooperation. ACI
presents and shares the good local practices
with the international visitors that arrive to the
city. And next, when the officers travel abroad to
international events, ACI provides them documents so that they can replicate those good practices elsewhere. Thanks to this, Medellín has become a beacon of technical cooperation. With the
South-South Cooperation program, the purpose
is to maximize the impact of those agendas with
contacts.
The Cuenca Case
There are different instruments to give life to
South-South Cooperation. One is the sisterhood
or cooperation agreement, or letter of intent. In
them, officials generally state the topics they wish
to learn about. In this case, Medellín and the city
of Cuenca, Ecuador signed several agreements so
that they could come to learn about the transportation and mobility system of Medellín.
Cuenca was building its metroplus and also
had a proposal to build a metro and tramway
and that’s why it wanted to learn about Medellín.
From that moment on, agendas went back and
forth. People from Cuenca would visit Medellín
or officers from Medellín would visit Cuenca.
This began to strengthen the mobility development plan of that city, as a result of exchanging
information.
And then the relation between both cities
moved to phase II. Cuenca is one of the few cities
of Ecuador with municipal transit. That´s why
Medellín has with Cuenca learning and cooperation activities on this topic which is tied to mobility, pedagogy and road education.
The
Cuenca River
has life.
94
Medellín learns from
Cuenca the good
management of
the river
Cuenca is
building the
Metroplus. It has
learned from Medellín.
Medellín also learns from Cuenca, a city
crossed by a river where people fish. This
was achieved thanks to a project made with
the IDB. The Mayor’s Office of Medellín was
interested in knowing how they did it. So another mission will be sent there to learn that
experience and to work as sister cities.
ACI is part of the South-South Cooperation
context firstly because it is in charge of the
city’s international agenda, it knows the delegations that arriba, the purpose of their visit
and how those visits can be boosted. And secondly, because it oversees that by sharing the
city’s experiences, these goes hand-in-hand
with the guidelines and political concepts implemented in Medellín.
The most concrete cooperation cases underway from and towards Medellín are Cuenca,
which was already mentioned above, and the
following:
With Lima, that city is implementing PUI’s
(Urban Integrated Projects). Medellín has assisted them to conduct an educational exercise. In turn, Medellín is interested in learning
from Lima everything related to gastronomy.
With Rio de Janeiro work is done on what is a
library park. This exchange was made through
the Presidential Agency of Cooperation which
told the people of Rio that Medellín was an expert on library parks, and hence, this led to the
beginning of exchanging information.
Another cooperation case is an agreement
made with Monterrey, Mexico, a city that handles matters related science, technology and
innovation.
In addition, ACI carries out South-South
Cooperation models for Colombia, particularly to disclose its own model of a Cooperation
Agency. Conversations have been made with
Manizales, Barranquilla, Bogota, Cali, but
none of these cities have begun the project so
far. For now, only Pasto has replicated the ACI
model and Medellín has provided collaboration to reach it.
An important matter must be addressed:
everything that ACI achieves is tied to a single premise given that Medellín has had political will and determination. Medellín has
had three administrations in a row with three
different mayors, all willing to continue with
ACI. In short, ACI promotes the public policy
of the city. You could say that it’s another good
practice of Medellín.
95
“
MEDELLÍN PLACED ITS BETS ON
THE BRILLIANCE AND SURPRISED ME”:
Joseph Stiglitz
The Nobel Prize in Economics stressed that public policies have thought of space
for everyone and how people interact to make it a city in which they can live.
BY DIANA CAROLINA JIMÉNEZ
“I could not imagine Medellín that colorful,
(Article published with the permission of newspaper that bright” he told to Juan David Valderrama,
director of the Agency for Cooperation and InEl Colombiano, Medellín).
Nobel laureate in Economy Joseph Stiglitz visited the city on the
occasion of the Seventh World Urban Forum.This text was published
in the journal from Antioquia on April 9th, 2014.
Joseph Stiglitz, one of the wisest economists on
the planet, Nobel Prize winner and who may
be able to provide more answers to modern
problems of globalization, toured Santo Domingo Savio with the eyes of a child, full of
curiosity and surprise.
At every corner there was a source of wonder for this 71 year-old American who worked
as director of economics for the administration
of Bill Clinton and former chief economist at
the World Bank.
vestment of Medellín, while watching the colorful house facades through the windshield of
the metrocable cabin.
When they got to the Metro station, Stiglitz
toured from the commercial sector of Santo
Domingo to the viewpoint. There, he heard
Valderrama talk about the past and present
of Medellín and enjoyed the landscape as a
tourist.
The man with the answers (he was the most
quoted economist in the world in 2008), yesterday had more than enough questions: Do the
houses of the communes have utilities? Why
is there police in this sector? How to keep the
streets so clean? Is the library Spain closed?
Can we go in?
Of course the Library Spain was open. Alexandra Moncada and Daniela Agudelo were read-
96
ing stories to a group of children while Stiglitz
learned that through a higher education fund,
the Mayor’s Office of Medellín will pay for
their college costs, each semester to 3,000 students from outlying areas of the city.
“It’s amazing what has been done in Medellín. There have been many investigations in
the United States describing how our cities are
economically segregated, and one of the problems is that poor people cannot access education or employment, creating a vicious cycle of
poverty: without work, then no income, they
settle in poor areas and stay there,” said the
economist.
Stiglitz was amazed with the integrated
transport system of Medellín and even compared it to the city where he lives, New York.
“Michael Bloomberg (former mayor of New
York) did a very good job with the access of
citizens to health, public transport but not
that much.”
He continued: “Public transport is very important. There are many parts of the US where
there is no good public transport and people
have to get a car. Many can only buy a bad car
that breaks in short time and prevents them
Stiglitz, 71 years
old, worked as
economics adviser
for the President
Bill Clinton
from getting to work. That causes many people to lose their jobs, and the vicious circle of
poverty begins. So it is very important to have
public transportation so people can get to their
workplace without problem,” said Stiglitz before qualifying as “bright” the initiative of libraries in Metro stations.
In Moravia, the last stop of the tour in which
El Colombiano exclusively accompanied him,
the Nobel prize-winner for economics toured
one of the kindergartens. “What I like is that
Medellín is trying to focus on the concept of
dignity, in trying to give attractive spaces to
make people feel good. It is not just a struggle for survival, is a commitment to brilliance.
The entrance to the Metrocable is full of light
under the shadow of the Library. I thought I’d
find something dark and dirty. Definitely, everything is different to what I expected.”
What remains to be done
Stiglitz went out last night heading to Toronto
amazed by Medellín and its little details, like
the signs in English in schools and within the
same Metro stations, and figures such as the
population connected to the Internet, which
according to the mayor reaches the 45 percent.
“I highlight two things. The first, integrity in
city projects. For example, I have seen that
there are many parks that work together and
generate simultaneous effects. They have a
clear vision of what is needed to recapture
the city. Secondly, the constant and conscious
reference of the citizens to bring dignity to the
most vulnerable.”
However, the economist made
it clear
during his visit, that there are challenges and
tasks: “The quality of education must be ensured. Much coverage does not ensure quality. From the economy, jobs must be created,
make room for new businesses and make efforts to boost small. The effort to attract international companies is well done, but a city
must not focus only on that. We need entrepreneurs.”
97
FROM OUR REGION TO THE WORLD
In 2014, ACI convened national and international journalists to the Global Agenda Seminar, to take a
look at territorial development and globalization.
The internationalization of territories, towns, villages
and cities, has made the world a little bit small, closer,
there are no secrets, everything is disseminated and
nothing is strange anymore. That approach, which allows the world to be today just a place full of common
spaces, had to be looked at from the journalistic perspective from here and there.
That’s why ACI, the Agency for Cooperation and Investment of Medellín and the metropolitan area, convened local and foreign journalists to set out together all
the challenges that globalization brings to the practice of
journalism.
Among the speakers were: Manuel Campo Vidal, PhD
in sociology, he holds a degree in journalism from the
University of Barcelona (Spain); María del Carmen Pardo
López, a graduate in Economics and Business from the
University of Santiago de Compostela, MA in European
Union (Spain); The Chilean Samuel Silva, Editorial Director for the magazine America Economía. And from Colombia Alberto Salcedo Ramos (chronicler); Pacho Escobar
(editor of The Two Shores); Francisco Miranda (consulting
editor of the magazine Semana).Dialogues, discussions,
debates and lectures that made possible the reflection and
learning were established with the speakers.
The event also allowed speakers and attendees to
meet at field the key initiatives that the government
of Medellín promotes for the development of the city
and the ACI strengthens by its management of internationalization.
The conclusion was that the look of journalism to the
regions and cities must be understood more broadly,
since from the local view we construct and contribute
to sustainable development that facilitates and strengthens the internationalization. Hence the importance of
responsible and sensible journalism not blind or abettor.
It is necessary that the role of journalism to be vigilant
and constructive so that, beyond criticizing policy, disseminates the most important territories development
achievements in order to promote sustainability for the
benefit of people .
“Global Agenda wants the local and national press to
be aware of its role as a key player in the internationalization of their territory and therefore decisive in the
development of a new, positive, strong-based imaginary
on Medellín, Antioquia and Colombia. The media influence on public opinion and, therefore, affect or benefit
our image. It is a basic issue for the success of efforts
that find great opportunities abroad in terms of attracting investment and attracting cooperation,” said Daniel
Vasquez, ACI’s Positioning and Communications Deputy Director.
Global Journalism was supported by the University
of Antioquia, la Colegiatura, Semana magazine América
Economía (Chile) magazine and Las Dos Orillas.
98
Memory of a false positive
Alberto Salcedo Ramos, writer, was
a speaker at the Global Agenda
and encouraged young
journalists to write
about the city and
its people.
By Maria Alejandra Valencia García
Luis Amigo University Foundation Student
Assistant to the Seminar Global Agenda
Amid white walls and walls of colors that
brighten the soul, photographs and letters
that tugs at the heartstrings, models that
reflect memories and chairs for those who
want to remember and read to sit, there
she was; robust, large breasts, approximately 1.55 meters tall, clean skin, seemingly smooth and without a drop of makeup; gray little shoes, jeans and an orange
shirt indicating that worked at the Museum
of Memory.
Orlinda de las Misericordias Mesa Monsalve, or as her colleagues call her, Morbolinda, is a 50-year-old woman who has
fought for her and her four children. Proud,
very expressive and with a sparkle in her
eyes when she speaks of her children that
captives, especially when she mentions her
son Andrés Ramirez Mesa.
On May 15th, 2007 Andrés got up at eight
o’clock as he used to, sat willing to have
breakfast, but his stepfather, Darío Antonio
Castaño, told him not to until he take a bath,
as usual in Orlinda’s house. “My husband
is very picky, he doesn’t even allow me to
have breakfast before bathing.” Andrés
bathed and wore a blue shirt, his mother
remembers it well. Before leaving to look
for work in the downtown of Medellín, after
months of unemployment, his mother sent
him away by saying “God bless you son” as
every day.
Andrés went out eager to work, but
not only did not get the job but he never
returned. He was19 years old, fair complexion, thin, he had bushy eyebrows and
he was good looking; he was a very good
son, attentive, generous, always shared his
salary with his mother, even if it was only
5,000 pesos. He was a cheerful and happy
young man and even more when he was
at home having some drinks with his family
and listening to his favorite Ranchera song
“El perrazo.”
Several weeks and months passed without Orlinda reporting the disappearance
of his son. During the first days she was
calm. She thought her son was in the downtown selling drugs. She thought it was very
strange he didn’t call asking her for lunch
as he used to. Eventually, she began to
despair and gossip and rumors of people
from “Picachito” neighborhood, where Orlinda lives, made everything worse. People
spoke about her son’s whereabouts, “I was
told that he had gone with a circus.”
Uncertainty increased as days passed
without any sign of life from her son. When
she finally decided to report the disappearance, there were no results. Three years
passed after his departure and finally, one
day, the trial judge called her to confirm they
had found her son in the town of Segovia.
The boy had died on March 17, 2007, two
days after his disappearance and apparently in a military confrontation.
A few days earlier, Orlinda had prayed to
God for her son in the church of San Miguel
Archangel of Villahermosa. She received
the news that her son had appeared, the
same day she always visited that place.
She had mixed emotions, but mostly an
immense sadness that you can still see in
her eyes.
Desperate, asked her friends to chip in
so she could travel to Segovia to claim the
evidence and the body of her son. Sadly, he
had been buried as a John Doe on March
18 of the year of his death. She gathered
300,000 pesos and traveled with her husband to get her son back.
Andrés Felipe was deceived with hopes
of work and was illegally arrested by members of the Colombian Army. They brought
his dreams down by shooting him three
times in the chest. After that, they left him
lying in the street, in his underwear and with
gunshots from different weapons; they disguise him as a guerrilla member who died in
combat against the army, as many victims
of that time.
“At dawn on March 17, amid the “Prócer”
Operation, tactical mission El Angel, there
was little visibility given the climate around
the area where the four soldiers implicated
in the death of Andrew were camping. According to the soldiers, they were attacked
and unable to see the attackers. So they
started shooting back and suddenly, the
bandits fled and only one of them died, Andrew “, they recounted in the report of the
Attorney General’s Office.
The bandit died at the end of the confrontation which lasted from five to ten minutes
according to military sources. The soldiers
took Andres’ dead body to Segovia where it
was found on the street.
Orlinda Mesa, a humble woman and
vulnerable by the death of her son, began
and ended the process of Andrés all by
herself. Finally, she managed to bring the
“little bones of her son,” as she says, to the
cemetery San Pedro, in Medellín, closer to
her and his three brothers.
With the strong knowledge she had about
her son and the perseverance that characterizes her, she managed to demonstrate
that Andrés was part of a false positive, like
thousands of innocents who were removed
from their homes to die, as alleged guerrilla
members in false fighting and confrontation.
Today, seven years after the disappearance and death of her son, she has managed to rebuild her life with her family. Life’s
given her a new opportunity, she is working
precisely in the Casa Museo de la Memoria
de Medellín, a place that was created to
remember the victims, to remember, learn
and understand a violent past.

medellín

Transcription

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