The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation today announced that 13,683 prospective participants from 94 nations and all fifty states have registered for the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition.  The competition is being administered by LMDC to select a memorial to honor the victims of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the September 11, 2001 attacks.  The registration period for the competition began on April 28, 2003 with the launch of an outreach campaign that included the announcement of the competition in 22 languages on two occasions and the placement of advertisements in more than 60 publications worldwide.    With the close of registration yesterday at 5:00 PM EDT, the final number of registrants far exceeds that of any other design competition in United States history. 
 
LMDC Chairman, John C. Whitehead said, "We had expected significant interest in the memorial competition, but this response has been extraordinary.  It underscores the strong feelings of not only artists, designers and architects, but, more importantly, men and women of all ages around the globe who may not be professionals yet wish to participate in this most important undertaking.  We thank each and every one of them for their efforts and wish them the best in succeeding to the finals."
 
LMDC Interim President Kevin M. Rampe said, “The overwhelming response to this competition—over 13,000 registrants from 94 of the world’s nations—ensures that we will see many diverse visions for the World Trade Center Site memorial design.  In the coming months our distinguished jury will embark on the difficult task of evaluating these proposals and selecting a final design that appropriately honors the victims of these tragic events.”
 
Memorial design proposals will be accepted from registered participants from June 9, 2003 through the deadline of June 30, 2003 at 5:00 PM EDT.   All proposals will be evaluated by the 13 member memorial jury comprised of individuals representing various points of view, including world renowned artists and architects, a family member, a Lower Manhattan resident and business owner, representatives of the Governor and Mayor, and other prominent arts and cultural professionals.  
 
The jury will evaluate proposals in a two stage process based on how well they express the mission statement and program, as set forth in the competition guidelines. The mission statement describes the purpose of the memorial, while the program describes the principles that the memorial must embody and the elements it must feature to be considered in the competition.  During the first stage, members of the jury will review anonymous submissions.  During the second stage, finalists will be asked to further develop their design proposals, which the LMDC will reveal to the public while the jury continues to deliberate.   A final design for the competition will be selected by fall 2003.
 
LMDC is also conducting an outreach campaign titled, “Public Perspectives” to ensure that the members of the jury are informed of the public’s hopes and aspirations for the memorial.   Over 700 members of the public shared their comments directly with jury members at a public forum held on May 28, 2003 in Lower Manhattan.   A webcast of this forum is also available for viewing via LMDC’s website, www.renewnyc.org and comments are continuing to be accepted through online comment forms and regular mail.   LMDC is also conducting targeted outreach to family members and Lower Manhattan community groups and organizations, ensuring that all residents, businesses, workers and survivors have an opportunity to share their views on the memorial.