I welcome you all this afternoon to the forty first edition of the Lecture Series of the Americas. Today we will hear from well known political figures from the region about the realities of our cities. This discussion comes on the heels of the Roundtable we held last week on Achieving the Millennium Development Goals, in which we addressed the burgeoning inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean.

We are indeed honored to have three distinguished mayors who have been invited to share with us their considerable knowledge and practical experience in addressing the multiple challenging facets our cities. I am pleased to welcome to this Lecture the Mayor of Lima, Perú Mr. Luis Castañeda;, Mayor of Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation, Jamaica, Mr. Desmond McKenzie and Mr. Enrique Peñalosa, Former Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia. We are also honored to have with us Ambassador Guillermo Cochez, Permanent Representative of Panama to the OAS and a former mayor of Panama City, who has agreed moderate the dialogue among these distinguished speakers.

Millions of people from across our region migrate to urban centers in search of employment opportunities, better access to health and other public services, higher quality education, and improved livelihoods. The demographic and economic importance of the region’s cities cannot be overstated. In 2000, urban centers concentrated 75% of the 523 million Latin American and Caribbean inhabitants and generated over 50% of the region’s economic growth.

We have seen a notable shift in living situations throughout the 20th century. In 1900 one out of four inhabitants lived in urban centers and by the early 21st century, three out of four inhabitants were in cities.

Additionally, in the early 20th century, no city had a population of over one million; yet in 2000, there were 49 cities that surpassed this mark. The region is also home to 4 of the 15 largest cities in the world, including Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro. These cities are the center of Latin-America’s political, economic and social life. Overall, cities offer better opportunities for personal development and enhanced quality of life, and it is expected that 80% or more of the Latin American population will concentrate in cities by 2025.

However, despite the rapid development and progress of many of our cities, they often lack the necessary infrastructure and social services to absorb the growing number of people. We still see poverty, unemployment and informal employment, growing criminality, violence, drug dealing and other such problems. Moreover, this combination of elements evidences the need for socially inclusive cities that don’t relegate the poor to living in less than desirable conditions, reinforcing and perpetuating the inequality characteristic of our region.

The OAS is proud to offer this prestigious forum to increase awareness of the importance of sharing best practices and developing policies that reduce inequality and help local governments provide opportunities for growth and prosperity in a healthy and safe environment. We hope that our audience in the room and across the Hemisphere will be enlightened and inspired to contribute to the improvement of our region’s cities and of the lives of the increasingly millions of urban dwellers in the Americas.

As we will see, addressing the complex realities of our great cities requires a comprehensive and multidimensional approach which includes political, economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects. I am confident that we can all learn from the experiences of Lima, Kingston and Saint Andrew, Bogota and Panama, which will no doubt offer valuable examples of how a multidimensional approach is important to promote the development of peaceful, prosperous, and democratic cities in our region.

I am convinced that together we can develop appropriate polices and establish effective mechanisms that will allow our citizens to reach their full potential in clean, safe, inclusive, diverse and modern cities.

It is now my honor to offer the floor to Ambassador María Isabel Salvador, Chair of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the OAS, who will introduce our speakers.

I thank you for your attention and I look forward to the presentations and the debate.