Mexico City has been selected by UNESCO to host the second International Conference on Learning Cities. The decision was announced on July 14, at an event organized by the Mexico City authorities and attended by representatives of universities, national and international agencies, governmental and non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

In his address, the Governing Mayor of Mexico City, Mr Miguel Ángel Mancera, declared that “Investment in education is one of our greatest responsibilities; we need to heed this call”.

Mr Arne Carlsen, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), affirmed that “learning is essential for individual dignity and the best way to bring sustainability to development.” Repeating the words of UNESCO Director General Ms. Irina Bokova in her letter informing Mexico City of its selection, he added, “ I am very conscious of Mexico City’s potential to inspire other cities in the world to become learning cities”.

The conference, which is planned to take place in 2015, will take stock of progress in establishing and expanding UNESCO’s Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) and will provide a platform for stakeholders to share best practices and lessons learnt in building learning cities. It is expected that more than five-hundred delegates from over one-hundred UNESCO Member States and collaborating partners of the GNLC will participate in the Conference.

UIL, in close cooperation with UNESCO Headquarters, the Mexican National Commission for UNESCO, the Ministry of Education of Mexico City, and the UNESCO Office in Mexico, is pleased to lead the coordination process for the Conference and will work with the Mexico City authorities to set the agenda and manage the logistics of the Conference.