Showing posts with label 'Celebrate Libya'. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 'Celebrate Libya'. Show all posts

Monday, May 30, 2011

FOCUS LIBYA: G8, Gaddafi has to go



30 May 2011 13:32 Africa/Lagos


FOCUS LIBYA: G8, Gaddafi has to go

ROME, May 30, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The violence in Libya and Syria needs to stop but the “Arab Spring” must be helped, starting with support for economic and social development. The G8 Summit in Deauville, the first since the rebellions broke out in North Africa, shone the spotlight on the upheaval on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. It also set up an ad hoc fund to support the region (and more in general the entire Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region).


“Today we launched the ‘Deauville Partnership' with the people of the region, based on our common goals for the future, in the presence of the Prime Ministers of Egypt and Tunisia, the two countries that originated the movement, and of the Secretary General of the Arab League”, reads the declaration on the Arab Spring. “We stand ready to extend this long term global Partnership to all countries of the region engaging in a transition towards free, democratic and tolerant societies (‘Partnership Countries'), beginning with Egypt and Tunisia, in association with countries wishing to support transition in the region”.


According to the Final Declaration, “this Partnership is based on two pillars: a political process to support the democratic transition and foster governance reforms, notably the fight against corruption and the strengthening of the institutions needed to ensure transparency and accountable government; and an economic framework for sustainable and inclusive growth”.


The funds will be delivered through the international financial institutions and multilateral development banks and will be linked to support for development and to the reform effort.


The G8 also calls for the immediate cessation of the use of force against civilians by the Libyan regime forces and a political solution that reflects the will of the Libyan people. It states that Gaddafi and the Libyan government have lost all legitimacy and that the Libyan leader must go. It calls on the Syrian leadership to stop using force and intimidation against the Syrian people and to engage in dialogue and fundamental reforms in response to the legitimate expression of the demands of the Syrian people.


The G8 leaders also appeal for an urgent solution in the Middle East. “We are convinced that the historic changes throughout the region make the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through negotiations more important, not less. We urge both parties to engage without delay in substantive talks with a view to concluding a framework agreement on all final status issues”.


Source: Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs



Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time

30 May 2011















Monday, August 31, 2009

'Celebrate Libya'



30 Aug 2009 13:12 Africa/Lagos

Libya Readies to Take Center Stage
Celebrate Libya

TRIPOLI, Libya, August 30/PRNewswire/ --



- Spectacular Opening Event to Headline a Week-long Series of Celebratory
Events

- Libya's Rich and Ancient History Featuring the Jewels of the African
Union to be Showcased


Preparations are near conclusion for 'Celebrate Libya', one of Africa's biggest ever events, in Tripoli today. The grand celebration will then set in motion a week-long series of festivities for the world to enjoy. Libya appears to be striving not only to outdo any of its earlier Al Fateh revolution anniversaries, but perhaps Any event on the continent as well. The historic celebration designed to mark 40 years of Muammar al-Gaddafi, Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution, also commemorates another significant regional milestone - a decade since Africa's countries came together, under his leadership, to form the African Union.




After months of preparation, the festivities are in their final stages on what is considered to be one of the world's largest stages. Working alongside the Libyan Government, international planners, builders and managers have been flown in to ensure next week's success. The architect behind 'Celebrate Libya,' Philippe Skaff, remarks on his experience throughout the project, "I was an explorer about to embark on a journey of a lifetime with the chance to write the most impressive chapter of the story of my life and this unique challenge has evolved in terms of content to extreme proportions. It is a beautiful thing to control the full event management and the people of Libya made it enjoyable and rewarding from start to finish."


Eight hundred performers, including hundreds of dancers, unique African animal structures, military bands, flame ballet, and laser projections will bring to life 12,000 years of the land's rich history and see the 120 meter-wide screen stage fill with water to recreate the Mediterranean Sea. To top off the grand event a fireworks display will light up the sky, launched from ships off the coast of Tripoli. The show is orchestrated by the French company, Group F, who are credited with some of the most impressive light displays including the Eiffel Tower's Millennium Celebrations and the famed Sydney Harbour New Year's Eve.


More than 300,000 people are expected to gather in Tripoli's Green Park along with hundreds of special guests and dignitaries. Place-cards have already been made for the likes of Berlusconi, foreign ambassadors, leaders of industry and celebrities, along with most, if not all, African heads of state who will already be attending the August 31st Africa Union Summit hosted by Libya.


As for the next seven days, unprecedented events are scheduled to sweep through the country introducing some of Libya's lesser known national treasures to the world. Their itineraries boast castles, floating restaurants, touareg horse performers, hot air balloons, island escapes and a circus. Concerts featuring both international and Arab music are to be set in some of the world's best preserved sites of world heritage while images and lights will be projected on monuments in cities across the country.


Ranked as the second wealthiest country in Africa, after Equatorial Guinea, Libya's GDP reached over US$100bn last year and has remained largely unaffected by the global economic crisis. Along with Nigeria, it is also the continent's largest oil producer with reserves of at least 36bn barrels of high quality oil. In a time when the Gulf's reserves are limited, conflict in West Africa, and Russia's logistically difficult business environment, Libya's largely unexplored hydrocarbon industry appears highly promising.


Libya is seen by many as a long hidden treasure. And to the joy of flocking business executives from New York to Tokyo, the 'Gateway to Africa' has been increasingly liberalizing the role of the private sector. The country has even partnered with the Middle East's leader in alternative energy innovation, the UAE, on an ambitious eco-tourism project in the Jebel Akhdar. Other industries with emerging opportunities include telecommunications, real estate and tourism. Plans for a 500-unit Movenpick Hotel with a yacht club and a JW Marriott Hotel in Tripoli's new central business district are already underway.


Libya's sanctions have for decades impaired access to investors and tourists alike, leaving its five UNESCO World Heritage sites pristine yet unseen. The cave drawings found in the Sahara's Fezzan area, date Libyan civilization back to at least 12,000 B.C. and since, the country has experienced occupation under Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Ottomans and Byzantines, all leaving behind traces of their conquests. Visitors to Leptis Magna, Sabratha, or Cyrene can marvel at some of the world's most well preserved ruins, explore the Sahara's exotic wilderness or simply enjoy a holiday break on one of the 1,200 miles of unspoiled coastline.


Libya's rich history, culture and its determination to see change happen will be a celebrated by the most historical opening to the world on September 1st, 2009.


For access to full media materials, visit http://www.celebratelibyapress.com. This site will be updated with new materials and images throughout the week's events.



Contact:
- Bushra Hamwi
- Rebecca Farquhar
- Luiza Carter
- Jordana Tasker - +218-917-171294
or celebratelibya@greybeirut.com




Source: Celebrate Libya

Contact: Bushra Hamwi, Rebecca Farquhar, Luiza Carter, Jordana Tasker - +218-917-171294 or celebratelibya@greybeirut.com

Other related links:

Libyen bereitet sich auf seine grosse Show vor

La Libye s'apprête à prendre le devant de la scène


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