Press release
Closing of Rendez-vous November 2007 Montréal, Cultural Metropolis
Montréal: Mobilizing for the Future
Montréal, November 13, 2007 Rendez-vous November 2007 Montréal, Cultural Metropolis ended today with a common resolve to act. The partners agreed on the implementation of the 20072017 Action Plan, which is intended to promote greater access to culture for citizens, investment in cultural infrastructure and funding for arts organizations; promote Montréal in Quebec, in the rest of Canada and abroad; and increase the number of cultural and tourism events.
The five key partners will continue their work by meeting at least twice a year as part of a policy committee, which will oversee the implementation of the Action Plan and the co-ordination of sectoral round tables, and ensure ongoing follow-up to the Rendez-vous November 2007 event.
The Mayor of Montréal noted that the combined efforts of the three levels of government, the cultural community and the business sector in organizing such an event devoted to culture constituted a first in Canada.
The dynamic action plan we have today prioritizes culture in Montréal. We now have a collective plan and the means to speed up the city's development through culture, so as to establish Montréal as a cultural metropolis at the international level. The closing of Rendez-vous November 2007 marks the beginning of a new chapter: We have a plan, a vision and projects, said Montréal Mayor Gérald Tremblay.
Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Status of Women and Official Languages, added that in supporting the Action Plan, the Government of Canada will be able to play an effective and responsible role in making Montréal, Cultural Metropolis a reality and in promoting Canadian culture across the country and abroad. We are proud to contribute to the success of Montréal, Cultural Metropolis, which is an event unlike any other that has given a large number of stakeholders at every level the opportunity to bring to the fore the importance of art and culture in the lives of Canadians.
Rendez-vous November 2007 provided a forum for fruitful discussion reflecting a common resolve to rely on our innovativeness to promote the cultural, economic and social development of Montréal and that of the country as a whole, said Michael M. Fortier, Minister Responsible for the Region of Montréal. The Government of Canada is proud to join forces with its partners in the public and private sectors to build Montréal's reputation as one of the world's most important cultural metropolises.
Culture is a major asset to Montréal's development and represents the city's soul. Montréal's creators, performing arts, strengths in design, creativity and thousand-and-one forms of cultural expression give the city its identity and diversity, as well as the beauty of which we are all so proud when we speak of our cultural metropolis, said the Quebec Minister of Culture, Communications and the Status of Women, Christine St-Pierre.
The Quebec Minister of Economic Development, Innovation, Export Trade and Minister of Tourism, Raymond Bachand, maintained that the discussions held during the two-day event have made it possible to increase dialogue with a view to strengthening Montréal's cultural vision. Culture is the soul of a nation, and creativity is the soul of our city. In addition to fuelling economic development, culture is a unique outlet for expression; it arouses passion, it mobilizes people. With more funding for our libraries, our artists, our creators and the Quartier des Spectacles, Montréal will be able to compete with the world's biggest cultural metropolises, said Mr Bachand.
What has gone on here in the last two days could only have happened in Montréal, and this is why we strongly believe in the future of Montréal, Cultural Metropolis. We now have a solid action plan and the commitments needed to carry it out, concluded Simon Brault.
I have often said that making Montréal a cultural metropolis is something that I hold dear because I firmly believe that our city's development and achieving our greatest aspirations to growth and prosperity are tied to culture. I invite all of the stakeholders who took part in Rendez-vous November 2007 to seize the marvellous opportunity that lies before us in order to ensure that culture continue to contribute to Montreal's success and to enhance the city's identity here and abroad, said Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal.
Mr Tremblay thanked the members of the Steering Committee for their commitment and their work since 2005, without which the event, held at Montréal's Palais des Congrès on November 12 and 13, would not have been possible.
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Source:
Susan Ellefsen
Montréal, Cultural Metropolis Rendez-vous November 2007
Information:
Élizabeth Boileau, Media Relations Officer
Montréal, Cultural Metropolis Rendez-vous November 2007
Tel.: 514-872-4624 or 514-591-7914
Sylvie Paquette, Coordinator, Media relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4015
sylvie.paquette@ccmm.qc.ca