INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE OPENCITIES PROJECT

The OpenCities project is led by British Council and focuses upon the relationship between cities and their increasingly diverse populations and will explore how immigration can significantly contribute to city success, by tracing the links between new migrant populations (first and second generation) and the successful economic internationalisation of cities.

OpenCities aims at producing tangible research outputs which will serve as guidelines for city politics. The project includes three main elements: Research & Content; Conferences & Publications; Cultural Activities.

Bilbao City Council is one of participating EU cities, with Bilbao Metropoli-30 acting as Technical Secretariat. Other cities include: Belfast, Madrid, Dublin or Cardiff.

One of OpenCities output is the celebration of the 1st International Conference in Madrid on 28& 29 February 2008: "Competitive Advantages of OpenCities - Internationalisation & Population Strategies". Conference participants will include governance and migration experts, economists, media representatives and local and regional government officials as well as representatives of EU institutions. We expect around 150 delegates representing European cities and regions as well as North America, Latin-America and Asia.