The 2012 IDEA Youth Forum will take place at the Universidad Iberoamericana (Ibero-American University) in the city of Leon. The City of Leon is located north of the Mexico City (about 4 and ½ hours by car from the capital city of Mexico) in the state of Guanajuato.
With the population of 1.5 million, Leon is the 6th most populous city in Mexico and the first in the state of Guanajuato. It is also the seat of the municipality of León. It has a strong leather industry, offering shoes, boots, belts, jackets, and other leather accessories both to national and international markets.
Its first-class services and hotel industry turn it into one of the most important centres in Mexico with numerous options of entertainment, gastronomy, leisure activities, arts and recreation. It is also considered one of the most environmentally friendly cities in Mexico and has a high number of cyclists, in part because of its integration a network of bike lanes into its transportation system.
The state of Guanajuato is located between the arid north of Mexico and the greener south, and it is geographically part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, the Mexican Plateau and the Sierra Madre Oriental. It was initially settled by the Spanish in the 1520s due to mineral deposits found around the now capital city of Guanajuato, but areas such as the Bajío region also became important for agriculture and livestock. Mining and agriculture have been the traditional mainstays of the state’s economy, but today, about 30% of the state’s GDP is accounted for by industry, which includes metals, automobiles, leather goods, processed foods and more.
The state is home to several historically important cities, especially those along the “Bicentennial Route”, which retraces the path of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s insurgent army at the very beginning of the Mexican War of Independence. This route begins at Dolores Hidalgo, and passes though the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, San Miguel de Allende, Celaya and the capital of Guanajuato.
