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89.

STATEMENT
BY MR. VLADIMIR PETROVSKY
DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE AT GENEVA
ON THE OCCASION OF THE “MUSEUM FOR A WORLD CITY”
EXHIBITION

rd
Palais des Nations, Building E, 3 floor, Monday, 4 December 2000

Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,

I t gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Palais this even-
ing for the exhibition entitled: “A museum for a world city.” First
and foremost, I would like to thank the Administrative Council of
the City of Geneva for their patronage of tonight's event and the Ethnographic
museum for the organization of the same.

This evening's exhibit brings the international character of the city of
Geneva - illustrated in part by its remarkable ethnographic legacy - to the
forefront. What other place could be more appropriate for a museum of
civilizations than the mosaic of such a crossroad as Geneva?!

The history of the city, as cradle of humanitarianism, the headquarters of
the world's first international organization, along with its current statues as a
thriving hub of multilateralism pave the way for an increased role in promotion
of multiculturalism which the new ethnographic museum would solidify.

The orientation of a museum dedicated to civilizations is particularly
appropriate on the eve of the United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civili-

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