"The City as Capital and Metropolitan Center" is the name of the 25th Jerusalem Conference of Mayors taking place this week in Jerusalem, sponsored by the American Jewish Congress Council for World Jewry. Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski will host the event, which is co-sponsored by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Mayors from 40 cities are taking part in the five-day event, including Kiev, London, Dublin, Addis Ababa, Leipzig (Germany), Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Zagreb (Croatia), Tbilisi (the former USSR republic of Georgia), and others. The South American cities of Lima (Peru), Montevideo (Uruguay), Quito (Ecuador), and La-Paz (Bolivia) will also be represented. Participating US cities include Cincinnati (Ohio), Baton Rouge (Louisiana), Providence (Rhode Island), Madison (Wisconsin), and others.
The mayors will participate in round-table sessions exploring various challenges facing modern metropolitan areas. Among the topics to be discussed are the concept of metropolis and capital city as government centers, intercultural and economic challenges facing cities, the role of mayors in the international arena, and more. They will also tour various sights of Jerusalem and meet with local businessmen and volunteers.
The visiting mayors will also meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski predicted that the conference "will be the beginning of future cooperation between the cities," and especially with Jerusalem.
"In sponsoring this annual gathering of mayors from around the world," Council for World Jewry Chairman Jack Rosen said, "we hope to give them a fresh outlook of Jerusalem, and a new understanding of Israel and its achievements. Mayors Conference alumni are among Israel's best ambassadors of good will."
The Council for World Jewry is a body that seeks, inter alia, to narrow the gaps between peoples of different backgrounds and faiths, combat world-wide anti-Semitism, and support Israel.
Previous such conferences have been held under banners such as Excavating the Future: Tradition and Technology in the City, The Role of Mayor in Times of Crisis, and Mobilizing the Past for a Better Economic Future.