Lord Mayor of Cork speaks at the UNESCO Conference on Learning Cities

Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr John Sheehan is speaking at the opening ceremony of the 4th International UNESCO Conference on Learning Cities in Medellin, Colombia today, Oct 1st.

The Lord Mayor will address the 500-strong crowd from the same stage as the President of Colombia, Iván Duque Marquez, the Director of UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, David Atchoarena and the Mayor of Medellin, Federico Gutierrez. 

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr John Sheehan said: “To represent the city here today is a  great honour and a clear recognition of the role played by Cork in advancing the Learning Cities agenda since it became the first European city to host the UNESCO conference two years ago”.

Cork was one of the first 12 cities in the world to be awarded a UNESCO Learning City award in 2015. It remains one of just 38 cities to hold the award worldwide. Medellin in Columbia has now been presented with this award to recognise the transformation of the city.

Before addressing the UNESCO conference, the Lord Mayor held a private meeting with the President of Colombia Iván Duque Marquez.

A Cork delegation comprised of UCC President Pat O’Shea, CIT Deputy President Áine Ní  Shé, CETB Chief Executive Denis Leamy and Cork City Council Director of Service, Adrienne Rodgers will speak in the first session. The session will focus on inclusion in Education and Learning and Cork has a strong track record in this area.  

The International Conference on Learning Cities is held every two years and Cork have been centrally involved in all four conferences to date.