Ahmedabad, 23 October 2013

A three member delegation from Spain led by Francisco Javier Leon de la Riva, the Mayor of Valladolid accompanied by Mr. Guillermo Rodriguez Martin, Director, Casa de la, India and Prof. Alberto Grijalba from the department of Urbanism and Architectural Design, Valladolid University, paid a goodwill visit to the Mayor and the Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad on 23/10/2013 to renew the friendship ties between the two cities in connection with the friendship agreement signed in 2008 for Heritage Conservation and Tourism Promotion.

The visiting delegation, while meeting Smt. Minaxi Patel, the Mayor of AMC, announced the European Commission Grant of € 3,98,474 (equivalent to Rs. 3,37,30,800) for the project of “Cultural Heritage Management Venture Lab in Ahmedabad” in the presence of Deputy Mayor Shri Ramesh Desai, Standing Committee Chairman Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel, Leader BJP Shri Mayur Dave and other partners of the project Dr. Amarlal Kalrlo, Mr. C.K. Koshy and Mr. Debasish Nayak from Ahmedabad University, Ms. Manvita Baradi from Urban Management Centre and Shri Rajiv Patel from City Heritage Centre. The project is the first one of its kind awarded to any of the Indian Cities by the European Commission.

The project is aimed at evolving innovative strategies for sustainable development of Historic Urban areas and its preservation, thereby adding economic and use value of the heritage resources. Creation of awareness amongst local communities about the heritage and seeking their participation for its conservation and promotion is one of the major project components. The project is to be implemented jointly by all the partners and associate partners within three years.

AMC in partnership with Centre for Heritage Management-Ahmedabad University, City Council of Valladolid, University of Valladolid and Casa dela India (India Centre), Valladolid – Spain, jointly applied for European Commission Grant for the project in June 2013.

European Commission, after a strict scrutiny of so many entries received, awarded this grant of 3,98,474 Euros for conducting the Cultural Heritage Management Venture Lab in Ahmedabad jointly by the above mentioned partners and two associate partners namely: City Heritage Centre (CHC) & Urban Management Centre (UMC), both non profit organizations based in Ahmedabad.