Mayor of Amman reviews features and objectives of the Universal Forum of Cultures to be hosted by Amman in 2016

Mayor of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), Omar Maani, said that until due time of the Universal Forum of cultures 2016, Amman will carry on implementation of all GAM's projects oriented towards rehabilitating urban regions in the center of the city, public transport matrix, theaters and showrooms.

In addition to King Abdullah Gardens project at Al-Muqabalein, which is the biggest in the history of the Kingdom, and King Abdullah House for Culture and Arts, which is meant to be a prominent cultural and artistic landmark on the international arena.

During the morning program on Hawa Amman Broadcasting Station: "Ma' Al-'Ameen" (with the Mayor), Maani congratulated His Majesty King Abdulla II, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, and everyone for Amman's winning the hosting of the Forum for the year 2016.

He further added that the Forum is bound to give Jordanian intellectuals and artists of all segments, the opportunity to share their peers around the world with social, political, economical, and intellectual dialogues, in addition to the possibility of highlighting the Capital's identity, deep rooted in history.

Maani clarified that the Board of Trustees of the Forum believed that the host cities of Amman and Quebec of the Forum in 2016, which was announced officially, is to show the strong competition between them for representing two different cultures, and human values, which the Forum considers with great interest.

He noted that 21 international cities including Amsterdam, Istanbul and Alexandria filed for candidacy to host the Forum of Cultures 2016, consequently, they were shortlisted to 3 cities including Amman, and Quebec (in Canada), which won the hosting of the Forum, in addition to the City of Cape Town in South Africa.

He said that the Forum is much like cultural Olympics; it is a chance to place Amman on the world map as a tourist, cultural, regional and global destination, pointing out the positive outcomes by several hosting cities of the Forum on tourism, such as Barcelona, which was visited by 3.5 million people.

Maani noted that the main features of the Forum, which is held once every three years in one of the cities, is based upon each of (UNESCO, the Spanish Government, the Catalonia Government, and Barcelona). It aims at broadening the highest humanistic values such as coexistence, sustainable development, and promoting mobility and cultural diversity in the cities.

During the program presented by Rozeen Al Naber, Maani listened to the observations and requests made by citizens, which focused on the sectors of public works, planning and public services; in addition, he promised to follow-up on such observations and answer questions in the next episode of the program.