As part of the celebrations for the formalization of Havana as a Wonder City of the Modern World, the president and founder of New7Wonders, the entity that controlled vote for this purpose, is visiting Cuba.
Swiss-born Canadian Bernard Weber has had a varied career as a filmmaker, museum curator, aviator and explorer. Fluent in five languages, he has spent most of his life traveling the world.
This self-confessed lover of Havana, was timely recognized as a rare blend of taste for adventure and inspiration that came to him through different cultures.
He stated that as soon as he was old enough to explore the world, he discovered that travel is one of the great pleasures in life. It is not as a way of escaping our usual life and work routines, but as a great adventure that allows to see the beauties and human accomplishments.
It is precisely such a global perspective that led Weber to embark upon the New 7 Wonders of the World project.
He said about this issue that the renowned Ancient Wonders belong are ancient and, with the exception of the Pyramids, none remains in existence.
There has never been any true public consensus of opinion in the last 2000 years of human achievement. So, the beginning of the new millennium was a moment for determining the New 7 Wonders of the Modern World, he said.
The internet is perhaps the only democratic means of distributing information around the world.
That is why we are urging the world population to participate in this free vote which pays tribute to our collective global cultural heritage, she said.
After graduating from the New York University Film School, Bernard Weber moved to Rome in 1974 where he worked as an assistant to legendary director Federico Fellini. He then went on to direct his first feature film, Hotel Locarno, in 1979 which earned several awards.
He repeatedly visited Havana, and confesses his love for this city, its people and traditions.
The New 7 Wonder Cities contest, is the third organized by the New 7 Wonders Foundation (founded in 1999 in Switzerland), with the history of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, and the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. The two initial inquiries accumulated 600 million votes.
Such competition was organized by the Swiss foundation that has implemented since 2007 an online voting system (Internet). The consultation process for Wonder City began in 2011 with more than 1,200 nominations from 220 countries.