The delegation, headed by Helen Fotopulos, Executive Committee Member, Responsible for Culture, Heri¬tage, Design and the Status of Women of the City of Montréal, and directed by Alain Dufour, Executive Director of Mission Design, also included Raquel Penalosa, Vice-President of the Québec association of landscape architects, the Association des architectes paysagistes du Québec (AAPQ), Marie-France Polidori, Director of International Development, Palais des congrès de Montréal and Ana Masut, 2017 Project Man¬ager, Mission Design. They successfully petitioned the delegations of 32 countries represented at the 47th IFLA World Congress in Suzhou (China), who unanimously agreed to grant Montréal their 2017 congress.

The first of a series Mission Design is striving to bring to Montréal, this congress will be an integral part of a larger multidisciplinary event planned for 2017, the year Expo celebrates its 50th anniversary, Canada its sesquicentennial and Montreal its 375th. These inter-related congresses are expected to attract thousands of designers, architects and urban planners to the city.

Helen Fotopulos, president of the delegation, stresses, “I am thrilled by the delegates’ decision. Creativity, innovation and knowledge are in Montréal’s DNA. Design derives from these, which will play an important role in the development of Montréal as a UNESCO City of Design. The 2017 project initiated by Mission Design is an excellent illustration of the city’s 2007-2017 Action Plan—Montréal Cultural Metropolis.”

President of Mission Design’s Board of Trustees, Jean Paul L’Allier adds “this is great news, not only for the creative professionals directly concerned but also for those of us that grasp the importance of design for business development. Montréal is positioning itself as a leader in this forward-looking sector.

“We are very proud to have successfully accomplished this first step. This is an important milestone for us because it opens the door for this event, an exceptional opportunity for Montréal, Québécois and Cana¬dian architects, designers and urban planners to showcase their talents on the world stage. The collabo¬ration of the Québec and Canadian associations and the support of the Ville de Montréal, as well as the provincial and federal governments were key in obtaining IFLA 2017,” affirms Alain Dufour, delegation director.

“The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) along with our Québec member, the Association des architectes paysagistes du Québec (AAPQ) look forward to collaborating on the program for this great multidisciplinary project, in keeping with the high standards we set for ourselves at the IFLA Congress in Calgary in 2003” adds Linda Irvine, CSLA President.The Canadian delegation was supported in their endeavor by the Consul General of Canada in Shanghai, Mr. Nadir Patel and the Québec Bureau Director of the Québec Office in Shanghai, Mr. François Gaudreau.

Mission Design is an organization whose mandate is to stimulate the demand for design as a driver for in-novation and as a competitive tool for Québec businesses and public organizations. We strive to anticipate global trends in order to assure the strategic position of Quebec Architecture and Design on a national and international scale.

Mission Design would like to thank its partners: the Québec government, Minister of Economic Develop¬ment, Innovation and Export Trade, and Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy, as well as Tourisme Montréal, the Palais des congrès de Montréal and our private sector partners for their financial support.