• The Mayor’s Offices and institutions of Medellin and Milan will ratify cooperation agreements within the framework of the IDB Assembly.
• On Monday, March 30 at 1:30 p.m. in the Yellow Pavilion of Palacio de Exposiciones, where Expodesarrollo will be held, and with the presence of important personalities, both regions will ratify their mutual collaboration and opportunities looking to the future.

 
Within the framework of the IDB Annual Meeting of Governors Assembly to be held at Plaza Mayor/Medellin on March 27-31, 2009, Medellin and Milan will sign agreements that will benefit both cities in matters related to fashion and the textile sector, culture, trade and tourism.

With the presence of the IDB President, Luis Alberto Moreno; the Mayor of Milan, Letizia Moratti; the Mayor of Medellin, Alonso Salazar; Italian Senator and President of RIAL, Gilberto Bonalumi; The Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce of Medellin for Antioquia, Lina Velez de Nicholls and Managing Director of Inexmoda, Carlos Eduardo Botero, Medellin and Milan will ratify their mutual collaboration and opportunities looking to the future.

This event will present the project “Innovation platform for the textile apparel sector in Colombia”, approved on March 26, 2009 by the IDB through the MIF (Multilateral Investment Fund) with the objective of consolidating a competitive scenario for the sector in Antioquia, that seeks the association and collaboration between actors, promotion of research and innovation by training trainers, the development of a market intelligence system and the creation of a national observatory of the sector.

All this will be done for Antioquia under the coordination of Inexmoda and seeking to leave installed capacity in the institute that will play a part as entity responsible for the execution of the project, to expand its benefits to Colombia and Latin America. This project will be possible thanks to the commitment and financial support of the IDB, the Lombardy region, the Mayor’s Office of Milan, the Mayor’s Office of Medellin, the Chamber of Commerce of Milan, the Chamber of Commerce of Medellin for Antioquia, the RIAL (Italy-Latin America Network) and Inexmoda, as executor of the entire initiative.

During the same event, the mayor’s offices of Medellin and Milan will renew the cooperation agreement MMM, Milan-Medellin-Fashion expanding its scope in favor of the mutual collaboration in fashion, culture, trade and tourism.

Likewise, Inexmoda will ratify the partnership agreement signed in 2005 with the National Chamber of Italian Fashion to promote a close collaboration and favoring the exchange of experiences and information in the fashion sector between Italy and Colombia.

Precedents:

• The relation between Medellin and Milan has been very close, given that our textile – apparel sector worked for 5 years with Francesco Moracce of the Future Concept Lab of Milan learning new methodologies to obtain knowledge of fashion consumer behavior in the world.
• Important Colombian designers have participated in Milan Fashion Week, using this showcase as an opportunity to show Colombian talent to the world.
• Mario Boselli, President of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion during one of his visits to Colombiamoda stated that “Medellin was the Milan of Latin America”.

With the signing of these agreements for future opportunities between both regions, the inter-institutional bonds will be strengthened looking to the future.

Date: monday, march 30, 2009
Time: 1:30 p.m
Place: conference room // expodesarrollo // yellow pavilion - palacio de exposiciones.

For more information please contact
the Communications Department of Inexmoda at
viviana.velasquez@inexmoda.org.co or via telephone at: (574) 3115915 / (57) 3207277619.