New Seven Wonders of the World
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the New 7 Wonders Foundation list. For other uses, see Wonders of the World.
New Seven Wonders of the World was a project that attempted to update the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a modern list of wonders. A popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber[1] and organized by the Swiss-based, government-controlled New7Wonders Foundation,[2] with winners announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon.[3]The New7Wonders Foundation claimed that more than 100 million votes were cast through the Internet or by telephone. Nothing prevented multiple votes, so the poll was considered "decidedly unscientific".[4] According to John Zogby, founder and current President/CEO of the Utica, New York-based polling organization Zogby International, New7Wonders Foundation drove “the largest poll on record”.[3]
The program drew a wide range of official reaction. Some countries touted their finalist and tried to get more votes cast for it, while others downplayed or criticized the contest.[3][3][4] After supporting the New7Wonders Foundation at the beginning of the campaign, by providing advice on nominee selection, The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) distanced itself from the undertaking in 2007.[5][6]
The New7Wonders Foundation, established in 2001, relied on private donations and the sale of broadcast rights and received no public funding or taxpayers' money.[7] After the final announcement, New7Wonders said it didn't earn anything from the exercise and barely recovered its investment.[8]
In 2007 the foundation launched a similar contest, called New7Wonders of Nature, which will be the subject of voting until mid-2011.
Contents |
Winners
| Wonder | Location | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Chichen Itza Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' | Yucatán, Mexico |  |
| Christ the Redeemer O Cristo Redentor | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |  |
| Colosseum Colosseo | Rome, Italy |  |
| Great Wall of China 万里长城 萬里長城 Wànlǐ Chángchéng | People's Republic of China |  |
| Machu Picchu Machu Pikchu | Cuzco Region, Peru |  |
| Petra البتراء al-Batrāʾ | Ma'an Governorate, Jordan |  |
| Taj Mahal ताज महल تاج محل | Agra, India |  |
| Wonder | Location | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Giza Pyramid Complex أهرام الجيزة | Giza, Egypt |  |
[edit] Reactions
[edit] United Nations
In 2007 the New7Wonders Foundation contracted a partnership with the United Nations in recognition of the efforts to promote the UN's Millennium Development Goals“. The UN stated:| “ | The New7Wonders campaigns aim to contribute to the process of uplifting the well being and mutual respect of citizens around the world, through encouraging interaction, expression of opinion and direct participation by voting and polling on popular themes and global issues which are understandable to everyone.[9] | ” |
| “ | There is no comparison between Mr. Weber’s mediatised campaign and the scientific and educational work resulting from the inscription of sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The list of the 7 New Wonders of the World will be the result of a private undertaking, reflecting only the opinions of those with access to the Internet and not the entire world. This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of sites elected by this public.[6] | ” |
[edit] Egypt
Egyptian commentators viewed it as competition to the status of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only surviving monument of the original Ancient Wonders. "This is probably a conspiracy against Egypt, its civilization and monuments", wrote editorialist Al-Sayed al-Naggar in a leading state-owned daily. Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni said the project was "absurd" and described its creator, Weber, as a man "concerned primarily with self-promotion". Nagib Amin, an Egyptian expert on World Heritage Sites, has pointed out that "in addition to the commercial aspect, the vote has no scientific basis."After the complaints from Egypt, the New7Wonders Foundation designated the Pyramids of Giza — the only remaining of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World — as an Honorary New7Wonders Candidate, and removed them from the voting. However the Great Pyramid of Giza is not featured in their official results web site.[10]
[edit] Brazil
In Brazil there was a campaign Vote no Cristo (Vote for the Christ) which had the support of private companies, namely telecommunications operators that stopped charging voters to make telephone calls and SMS messages to vote.[11] Additionally, leading corporate sponsors including Banco Bradesco and Rede Globo spent millions of reais in the effort to have the statue voted into the top seven.[3] Newsweek reports the campaign was so pervasive that:| “ | One morning in June, Rio de Janeiro residents awoke to a beeping text message on their cell phones: “Press 4916 and vote for Christ. It’s free!” The same pitch had been popping up all over the city since late January—flashing across an electronic screen every time city-dwellers swiped their transit cards on city buses and echoing on TV infomercials that featured a reality-show celebrity posing next to the city’s trademark Christ the Redeemer statue.[3] | ” |
No comments:
Post a Comment