NEWS RELEASES
AXWORTHY TO PARTICIPATE IN CULTURAL EVENTS DURING PAN AM GAMES
July 22, 1999 (4:45 p.m. EDT) No. 167
AXWORTHY TO PARTICIPATE IN CULTURAL EVENTS
DURING PAN AM GAMES
The signing of the People's Landmine Treaty, a Cyber Café and a Mardi Gras Street Festival are among the
activities the Government of Canada will support at the XIII Pan American Games taking place in Winnipeg,
July 23 to August 8, 1999.
"The Games are a celebration of the Americas community and of Canada's dedication to the nations of the
western hemisphere," said Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Foreign Affairs. "Many of the events the Department of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade is supporting during the Games reflect this reality -- both from a foreign
policy and a cultural perspective."
Minister Axworthy will participate in the opening of the Canada Place Pavilion on July 23 at The Forks site in
Winnipeg, where a Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) exhibit will showcase some
of Canada's most recent achievements in foreign affairs. Visitors can also learn about Canada's role in the
Americas at an interactive kiosk where they can log on to Cyber Café and explore DFAIT's new Web site
(http://www.AmericasCanada.org).
"Our significant and valued contributions in banning landmines, helping war-affected children, and supporting
international peacekeeping and the United Nations will be highlighted," stated the Minister. "I invite everyone to
come to Canada Place and sign the People's Landmine Treaty which will be there for the duration of the
Games."
At this year's Royal Bank Ballet in the Park (from July 28-30 at Assiniboine Park), citizens can support anti-landmines work by contributing to a pass-the-hat collection to raise money for the newly established Canadian
Landmines Foundation.
Minister Axworthy addressed an International Women's Conference held on July 21. The theme of the
conference was On the Edge of Tomorrow: Celebrating Achievement, Embracing Challenges, and was jointly
sponsored by DFAIT, the Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg. Participants discussed the
fundamental leadership role that women provide in the Americas.
The Minister is also participating in several other activities at the Pan American Games. He hosted Team
Canada athletes at a kick-off rally on July 21, and today will inaugurate the Market Square Mardi Gras -- a
street festival featuring entertainers from Manitoba and from across the Americas which is being sponsored in
partnership with the City of Winnipeg.
Several very original cultural initiatives aimed at fostering relations between the hemisphere's arts communities
have been made possible with assistance from DFAIT's International Cultural Relations Program. This program
helped launch the Pan American New Creation Project -- a collaborative project between three modern dance
companies from Canada, Mexico and the United States (the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers, the DELFOS
Danza Contemporanea and the Neo Labor) -- which is premiering in Winnipeg on July 22. The Department, in
co-operation with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, also assisted with the commissioning of Drunken Butterflies which
will serve as a cultural legacy of the XIII Pan American Games.
Canada will host the Americas over the next two years on a number of occasions. After welcoming the
hemisphere's youth to the Pan Am Games in July and August, the Ninth Conference of Spouses of Heads of
State and Government will be held in Ottawa in September; the FTAA Trade Ministers Meeting and the Fifth
Americas Business Forum will take place in Toronto this November; the OAS General Assembly will visit
Windsor in June 2000; and Canada will host the hemisphere's leaders at the 2001 Summit of the Americas in
Quebec City.
Minister Axworthy will attend the annual meetings of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in
Singapore, July 25-28, and will visit Bangkok until July 30 where he will discuss with leaders Thailand's recent
joining to the Lysøen Agreement on human security. He will then return to Winnipeg to cheer on the athletes
during the final week of competition and to attend the official closing ceremonies of the XIII Pan American
games.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Debora Brown
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
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