Brussels, 18/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - "Gaining from Visions- Cities for a new perspective on social and economic prosperity" will be the theme of the 2004 annual general meeting of the Eurocities conference, which will take place from 10 to 13 November in Vienna. Michael Häulp, the Mayor and governor of Vienna, and Wolgang Tiefensee, mayor of Leipzig and president of Eurocities, will open the conference. Commissioner Günter Verheugen, the Dutch deputy Prime Minister and minister for constitutional and administrative reform and urban policy, Thom de Graaf, and the Head of the British Prime Minister's Strategic unit, Geoff Mulgan, will be taking the floor.
Three subjects will dominate the work: 1) cities and the European social model; 2) cities and the economic prosperity of Europe; 3) cities and the institutional and political dimension of Europe. Thematic workshops will be held, dealing with: -public management of water; -sustainable urban development strategies; -education and youth; -urban security and social inclusion. The inaugural plenary session and the mayors' forum will focus on these fundamental issues, to help shape a new urban social perspective within the EU (Info: http://www.eurocities2004-vienna.at ).