A center for teaching and collaboration could change the future of Birmingham and make a better world, if the vision of the nonprofit Global Forum for Freedom and Justice is realized.

Its backers say the center would inspire future generations of leaders with education programs and draw people worldwide to the Magic City to collaborate on civil rights.

“I believe this will be transformational for the city and for the nation,” said Wayne Reynolds, chairman of the American Academy of Achievement and a member of the Global Forum Advisory Council. Reynolds spoke about the forum during a lunch event with community leaders at the Florentine Ballroom on Tuesday.

A property adjacent to 16th Street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park is being considered. Design renderings have been created by Foster + Partners.

Among the ideas:

Build it in an Opportunity Zone on property owned by Alabama Power. Reynolds said the city of Birmingham has also offered land for the project. The city has not committed to offering land for a project, said Rick Journey, director of communications for the city of Birmingham.

Create digital archives, a research library, classrooms, a recording studio and a theater

Offer grants, research fellowships, residences and scholarships

Make it a hub for those touring the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

“It will bring hundreds of thousands more tourists and visitors to Birmingham,” Reynolds said. “Everyone in the world knows what happened in Birmingham whether you’re in Tokyo, Johannesburg, Paris or Moscow.”

Reynolds said he also envisions retail space, a hotel and residential property as part of the project.

A timeline has not been determined, Reynolds said.

More about the idea is on the Global Forum for Freedom and Justice website, including a list of prominent members listed as the advisory council. The website also says the organization is working in partnership with Alabama Power, the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation and the American Academy of Achievement, of which Reynolds is the chairman.

“This project, while still in the developmental stage, has great potential to help further elevate our community. We look forward to continuing the conversation, to ensure all stakeholders in the civil rights district are on board with any projects proposed for the area," Alabama Power said in a statement issued by its media relations coordinator, Michael Sznajderman.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute also issued a statement:

“The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute represents a mission, a movement and a monument.

As part of the Birmingham Civil Rights District, we are open to collaboration with others who share our vision for research and archives, educational programming and empowering young people worldwide to preserve and promote civil and human rights using innovative tools to advance the people’s movement.

For 27 years, the BCRI has preserved and promoted Birmingham's historic legacy of civil rights, helped create international understanding of the city’s role in kindling the world’s great human rights movements and raised awareness of the key human rights issues facing us both locally and globally.

We commend and welcome any economic development initiatives that improve the overall attraction factor for Birmingham, and in particular for our Birmingham Civil Rights District, which has been designated a National Monument by the U.S. National Park Service.

As a key stakeholder in the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, our goal is to help ensure all future development plans will be inclusive of all voices in the National Monument footprint, and seek the collective advancement of the dream fought for and shared with generations past, present and future.”

Updated at 10:07 a.m. on Dec. 20 to add a statement from the city of Birmingham. Updated at 2:31 p.m. on Dec. 20 to include a statement from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.