Speaking today in Jeju City, South Korea, Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, announced the launch of the New7Wonders Global Network. It will be, he said, “a platform to exchange information, create stimulus for shared programs, and a chance to network for common goals like tourism, branding, promotion, the environment and education.”
Specifically, the main objectives of the New7Wonders Global Network will be to:
- exchange best-practice and know-how amongst the 14 winners across 20 countries
- support the intelligent development of the global New7Wonders values
- promote educational, environmental and cultural collaboration on the New7Wonders theme
- share joint marketing and branding initiatives for tourism, development and investment
“It is now clear that one of the biggest rewards of having a man-made New7Wonder or a New7Wonder of Nature is the impact on tourism in the host countries,” said Bernard Weber. “This is creating jobs and is bringing people from all over the world together. It represents a great chance to offer hospitality and a welcome to the rest of the world. But it is also a big challenge. For example, how to manage the increasing influx and flow of visitors in such a way that it does not compromise the monument itself, its environment or the natural beauty and habitat, in the case of the Nature Wonders.”
The New7Wonders Global Network Summit will take place under the authority and aegis of the New7Wonders Foundation and will be attended by delegates from the host countries of the man-made New7Wonders of the World and the New7Wonders of Nature representing more than 60 percent of the world’s population.
Participants in the New7Wonders Global Network will be representatives of the man-made New7Wonders of the World (Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Petra, Colosseum, Christ Redeemer, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza), of the New7Wonders of Nature (Jeju Island, Puerto Princesa Underground River, Komodo, Ha Long Bay, Table Mountain, Iguazu Falls, Amazon), and of their respective countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Guyane Francaise-France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Suriname, Venezuela, Vietnam). The network is expected to expand significantly following the conclusion of the New7Wonders Cities campaign in mid-2014.
The announcement event ended with the publication of the New7Wonders Global Network Declaration, which begins: “We, the Delegations attending the New7Wonders Global Network Announcement, agree to the following through discussing our role to achieve sustainable environmental, social and economic objectives based on our motto of ‘Our Heritage is Our Future'”.