Global Guests Attend the Third Annual World Heritage City Celebration

It was a night of extraordinary achievement and performances. The Global Philadelphia Association hosted its third annual World Heritage City Celebration Dinner at the Crystal Tea Room in the Wanamaker Building in Philadelphia. There were many in attendance to celebrate Philadelphia’s achievements and our impact on the global stage.

That evening, we welcomed honorary Celebration co-chairs U.S. Senator Bob Casey, Jr. and Mayor of Philadelphia Jim Kenney, as well as our distinguished international guests Denis Ricard, the Secretary General of the Organization of the World Heritage Cities (OWHC); Dr. Manuel Monteira de Pina, Mayor of the City of Cidade Velha, Cape Verde and member of the OWHC Board of Directors; Israel Nitzan, Deputy Consul General of the Consulate General of Israel in New York; and Mrs. Palma Costi, Councilor and Minister for Economic Development, Regione Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

Dr. Manuel Monteiro de Pina will be visiting Philadelphia again in the fall of 2019 when the Global Philadelphia Association will host the OWHC Board of Directors, which also includes seven other international mayors.

OWHC Secretary General Ricard is a driving force in the dialogue of World Heritage and its importance to a city’s economy, tourism, culture and education. Mr. Ricard noted that Philadelphia has the distinction of being the nation’s first World Heritage City and that Philadelphia is leading the way for World Heritage in the United States. In recognition of his extraordinary achievements, Mr. Ricard was awarded the Distinguished Global Leadership Award for not only his assistance with Philadelphia becoming a World Heritage City, but also for his diligent contributions to the OWHC, the United Nations Biodiversity Programs (UNEP) and also being Senior Advisor to the governments of Senegal, Mauritius, Benin and Vietnam as part of the Summit of Heads of State.

The night was filled with many performances representing different parts of the world. These international musical guests are based in Philadelphia and performed their music for all of those who attended. There was the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School who danced the tango in front of guests who were arriving to the dinner registration table. Next, Text Rich and Lava welcomed guests into the Crystal Tea Room with percussion, drum and digeridoo sounds of Australia, and Raices Borius performed Caribbean and Latin American music during the VIP Reception before the dinner. The final selection of performances was by the Philadelphia Suns Lion Dance Troupe who led the crowd into the Crystal Tea Room before the beginning of the dinner.

Next year’s World Heritage Celebration Dinner will take place on September 5th, 2019.

Written by Kyle Purchase on behalf of the Global Philadelphia Association