The choice of Lille for the World Assembly came from the particular features of the Nord Pas de Calais Region, of which Lille is the capital:

• located at a reasonable distance from a number of European international airports, it was well-suited for hosting participants coming from all over the world
• located at a crossroads within Europe, it is deeply cross-cultural
• open to the world and having a strong hosting tradition, it has also been affected by a deep industrial crisis for the past twenty years, which requires it, like the world, to face the challenges of major mutations;
• an active core of the Alliance for a Responsible, Plural and United World, it accepted to take up the challenge of organizing a World Assembly.