Major Global Issues with Impact in Latin America and the Caribbean Discussed by Hundreds of Students at CILA 2016

More than 700 students attended the opening of the twelfth edition of the International Conference of the Americas (CILA 2016), organized by the Dominican United Nations Association (UNA-DR),  on Wednesday October 26.

The event began with a parade of the delegates from the International Court of Justice and the usual flags parade.

The executive director of UNA-RD, Emil Chireno, gave the opening remarks to the conference, where 12
bodies and commissions of the United Nations, and other multilateral, regional and international organizations will be simulated. Aferwards, Rainier Mallol, selected as one of 17 global ambassadors of the United Nations for the Sustainable Development Goals, addressed the audience.

Following the speeches from several delegates of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Ailin Lockward, Director of  Student Affairs at the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC), announced the launch of the INTEC-CILA scholarship. It will be assigned to a student among those who win the Best Delegation award, and will cover 100% of the school´s tuition.

The ceremony concluded with the selection
of the order of presentation of the delegations and the formal opening speech by the secretary general of the event, Gabriel Fernandez Leroux.

During CILA 2016 a series of events parallel to the activities of the Model United Nations will take place: the Workshop for Teachers Advisors, Global Concert, the Cultural Meeting and the Closing Ceremony.

The event is a joint effort between UNA-DR and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) and
Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), with support from INTEC. It will run until October 30 at the Hotel Barceló Bavaro Convention Center, in Punta Cana.

Related Link:
http://www.funglode.org/conferencia-internacional-de-las-americas/