MIAMI, FL – Miami Mayor Manny Diaz will convene the third Mayors’ Hemispheric Forum on June 19 and 20, 2008, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Downtown Miami.

For the first time ever, this unparalleled gathering of urban mayors of the Americas will be held in conjunction with the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) annual meeting, bringing together almost 300 municipal government leaders. Mayor Diaz will assume the Presidency of the USCM at the organization’s annual meeting.

At the Forum, a diverse and notable group of mayors from Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, and the United States will share successful models to reduce poverty and exchange innovative ideas on energy reform, infrastructure, and digital literacy in a Microsoft sponsored session. A key part of the discussion will center on how cities can invest in sustainable development to elevate their  global competitiveness.

Forum participants include the mayors of Bogota, Medellin, Mexico City, Monterrey, Chacao (Caracas), Port-au-Prince, Santo Domingo, Lima, and Toronto, among others.

United States participants include the mayors of Chicago, Los Angeles, Trenton, Seattle, and Austin, among others.

Forum speakers include Emilio Azcarraga, Chairman and CEO of Grupo Televisa, and Eduardo Castro-Wright, President and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores US.

Representatives of multilateral financial institutions, namely the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will provide their expertise in financing development projects.

The USCM annual meeting will feature Presidential candidate United States Senator Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton. Presidential candidate United States Senator John McCain has also been invited to speak.

PRESS INFORMATION:
Media interested in covering the event should send their name and the name of the media outlet they work for to Maria Morales, Public Relations Agent at mamorales@miamigov.com (305) 416-1449.

A press conference will be held on Friday, June 20th at 10:30 a.m. at the Intercontinental Hotel. Mayors and other participants are available for interviews on both days of the Forum.