The Forum of Cultures (Catalan: Fòrum de les Cultures) is an international cultural event. The real name is "Universal Forum of Cultures". Catalan (Català, Valencià) is a Romance language understood by as many as 12 million people in portions of Spain, France, Andorra and Italy, although the majority of active Catalan speakers are in Spain. ...

The first Forum was in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from May 9 to September 26, 2004. Was organized by the Barcelona's local council, the regional government (the Generalitat de Catalunya), the Spanish National Government and UNESCO. Barcelona within Barcelonès Population (2003) 1,582,738 Area 1004 Km2 Population density (2001) 15,764/Km2 Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, an autonomous region in northeastern Spain (41°23′ N 2°11′ E). ... Capital Barcelona Official languages Spanish and Catalan In Val dAran, also Aranese. ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Generalitat de Catalunya is the official name of the autonomous system of government of Catalonia, in Spain. ... UNESCO logo The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly known as UNESCO, is a specialized agency of the United Nations system established in 1946. ...

The official aims of the 2004 Forum of Cultures included support for peace, sustainable development, human rights and respect for diversity. The concept of peace ranks among the most controversial in our time. ... Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, according to Our Common Future, a 1987 report from the UN. One of the factors which sustainable development must overcome is environmental degradation. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... The prerogative to respect diversity, often said to begin with biodiversity of non-human life, is basic to some 20th century studies such as cultural ecology, Queer studies, and anthropological linguistics. ...

The Fórum Barcelona 2004 had international conventions, performances, markets, games, 423 concerts, 57 street performances, 44 theatre, dance and cabaret companies, 20 circus performances and more than 20 exhibitions.

The epicentre of the events was a place at the far-east end of Avinguda Diagonal, the main street that dissects the city. The area - which lies alongside the sea - has been recently developed to house the event. It covered 300,000 square metres between Barcelona Olympic port and Sant Adrià de Besòs and culminated the urban regeneration programme started for the Barcelona Olympic Games of 1992. The new site comprises a convention center, central plaza, parks, auditoriums and a new port.

The event was controversial, with critics pointing to the $270 million price tag and commercial sponsorship by multinationals with a dubious reputation in the Third World. Several groups also criticised the massive property and coastline destruction involved in building the Forum site. In addition, many NGOs, including Greenpeace and Amnesty International, withdrew from the Forum project in protest. The official final attendance figure was around 3.5 million. Greenpeace protest. ... Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization, the stated purpose of which is to promote all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. ...

The 2007 Universal Forum of Cultures will be held in Monterrey, Mexico. This article is about the Mexican city; for other uses, see Monterrey (disambiguation). ...

External link

• Universal Forum of Cultures web page (http://www.barcelona2004.org/eng/)