Brussels, 08/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Danish village of Aaalborg will be hosting the fourth European conference on sustainable towns and cities on 9-11 June. the theme of the conference is "Aalborg+10 - Inspiring Futures - sustainable development from the local perspective".
This conference is organised jointly be the city of Aalborg, the council of European boroughs and regions, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and the European campaign for sustainable towns and cities. Around 1,200 participants (more than 100 mayors, NGO representatives, experts and local civil servants) from more than 45 countries are expected at this event marking the anniversary of the conference which launched the network of European cities in 1994 and which is committed to promoting Agenda 21. Convinced that sustainable development is best translated at a local level, around 2100 local authorities signed the Charter of Aalborg, which currently represents the broadest possible movement for urban sustainable development world-wide.
The Aalborg + Objective is to provide a boost to the commitments that have been made. The discussion and exchange of experiences is expected to produce a political declaration to be signed by all the Mayors as a sign of their commitment to move forward.
Hans Christian Schmidt, Danish minister of the environment, Margot Wallström, Commissioner for the Environment, Martine Aubry, Mayor of Lille, Gundards Bojars, Mayor of Riga, Beate Weber, Mayor of Heidelberg, are some of the many personalities that will be taking part in the debate.