The Americas Megacities Forum 2007 (AmMF 2007) was officially opened on 19 September 2007 by Mr. Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, Head of Mexico D.F. Government, and Dr. Fouad Bendimerad, Chairman of EMI, and successfully ended on September 21, 2007 at the Colegio de Mexico with the official renewal of the partnership agreement between Mexico City Government and signed by Dr. Elias Miguel Moreno Brizuela the Secretary of Civil Protection of the Host Government of Mexico D.F, and Dr. Fouad Bendimerad. The participants re-iterated their commitment to reducing disaster risk in their cities by approving a declaration, which also recognizes the importance of local action and calls for greater cooperation between cities, their communities, their governments and the international organizations.
This yearly regional forum aims to galvanize the network of cities that are members of EMI’s Cluster Cities Project (CCP) towards reducing disaster risk. This is achieved through the promotion of city-to-city learning exchange and empowerment. The Americas Megacities Forum 2007 aimed to provide a platform for member cities to share their experiences and sound practices in disaster risk management and strengthen the coalition towards the local implementation of the principles of the Hyogo Framework for Action.
In addition to the host Mexico City DF, the AmMF 2007 Forum was also attended by representatives from EMI Americas partner cities of Bogota, Los Angeles, and Quito, which shared the preparedness and disaster risk reductin projects and programs in their respective cities.
In line with the theme of city-to-city knowledge sharing, city officials from other regional clusters of the EMI network were likewise invited. City officials and representatives of the mayor of guest cities such as Makati City, Philippines; Shanghai, China; Istanbul, Turkey; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Wellington, New Zealand actively participated in the discussions. Elected officials in the persons of the Vice-Mayor of Quezon City, Philippines, Hon. Herbert Bautista and Councilman Greig Smith of Los Angeles likewise contributed in the Forum. Vice-Mayor Bautista made a presentation on two sound practices in flood disaster mitigation currently being implemented in Quezon, while Councilman Smith invited all the participants to the next Americas Megacities Forum in November 2008 to be hosted by Los Angeles.
One of the highlights of the Forum was the Share Fair where five cities (Bogota, Mexico, Los Angeles, Makati, and Quezon) and two organizations (EMI and the Pacific Disaster Center) put up poster exhibits and PowerPoint presentations regarding their DRM programs, projects and sound practices. During the Share Fair, more intensive one-on-one interactions were made possible among participating cities. This year forum saw the launching of a new EMI project, named C2C Sharing, aimed at energizing and facilitating city-to-city knowledge and experience sharing.
The Americas Megacities Forum was held from September 19 to 21, 2007 at the Sheraton Hotel Centro Historico, Mexico City. It was jointly organized by EMI and the Ciudad Mexico, D.F., in partnership with El Colegio de Mexico, the ProVention Consortium, the United Nations Development Programme [UNDP/BCPR], the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR).
