Melilla is preparing for the future. Achieving the status of Patrimony of Humanity is more a duty than a right for the city and to this end all the city's institutions have tirelessly supported the aim of the Melilla Monumental City Foundation. At the heart of this dream are three essential features on which the city is structured:

MATERIAL RICHES: made up of the Modernist values, with their different schools of architecture and town planning, the fortified areas from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, and those from the 19th Century, which are better-known as the outer fortresses.

INTANGIBLE RICHES: especially the peaceful co-existence of different cultures at all levels, which can be simply defined as multiculturalism.

To these values others can be added, those specifically recommended by UNESCO - the NATURAL RICHES. Here, our proposal might include the protected area of the Chafarine Islands. Taken as a whole, we are speaking of a mixed candidacy which includes physical, psychic and natural features unique in the world.

However, the road will not be easy. Places and official applications are always limited. In view of this, a few months ago, the Autonomous City organized a meeting with Spanish towns that have been awarded this distinction in order to benefit from their institutional support and the lessons they have learnt.

Said meeting was also the perfect occasion to show in "El Pueblo" the result of years of application of the PERI, something which our citizens have not always appreciated, whether due to the routine nature of daily work, or due to simple lack of knowledge. In any event, things are now underway, and it is ironic that our positive points clash directly with our greatest handicap. We are referring to the fact that there are many cities which are Patrimony of Humanity in Spain, and UNESCO limits applications from Spain due to the large number of quality candidacies which are presented.

Nevertheless, we believe that our dream can become reality before the end of the present decade. In addition, we are hoping to join the Network of Spanish Jewries, a non-profit making organisation, whose aim is to defend the Sefard legacy in Spain - in terms of art, architecture, history and culture. The network comprises twelve cities at the moment, with applications pending from Melilla, Jaén and Palma de Mallorca.