Fernández Heads Opening Ceremony of UNESCO’s Latin America and Caribbean Week

This Tuesday, President of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development(GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) Dr. Leonel Fernández led the opening ceremony of the Latin America and Caribbean Week held this week at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

In his address, Fernández, former President of the Dominican Republic, praised renowned literary figures from Latin America and the
Caribbean, who sang to their region with optimism and became cultural points of reference around the globe. Among these men of letters he mentioned the Cubans José Martí and Nicolás Guillen, the Nicaraguan Rubén Darío, and the Chilean Pablo Neruda.

The Dominican leader, appearing in his capacity as European Union–Latin America and Caribbean (EU-LAC) Foundation president, declared that the region could not be ignored worldwide, given that – in addition to its cultural
contributions – it also holds the greatest reserves of potable water, oil, and natural gas on the planet, among other features of global relevance.

Going into depth on the cultural aspect, Fernández highlighted that the term Latin America was created by the French, and in that regard expressed pride that this important cultural event is in fact being held in France.

The former Dominican head of state was introduced by Ecuadorian ambassador to UNESCO and president of Grupo Latinoamérica y el Caribe (Grulac) Galo Mora Witt, who described him as a regional leader
renowned for his mediation work in favor of peace and fraternity throughout the entire Latin American and Caribbean region.

During the celebration of this important cultural event, the former president also appeared alongside Institut des Amériques president Jean-Michel Blanquer in a colloquium on higher education and European–Latin American and Caribbean cooperation, where he underlined the importance of higher education for the development and insertion of Latin
American and Caribbean countries into the globalized economy.

The opening ceremony included the participation of members of the Latin American and Caribbean diplomatic corp before UNESCO, the UN’s cultural arm, among them Grulac president and Ecuadorian ambassador to UNESCO Galo Mora Witt, EU-LAC Foundation executive director Paola Amadei, and Dominican ambassador to UNESCO Laura Faxas.

Latin America and Caribbean Week, under this
year’s slogan “Solidarity Among the People,” seeks to celebrate and reinforce relationships between France and the headline region in various areas of cooperation.

The event holds great significance for the host government, with French president François Hollande offering a welcome cocktail party for all international delegations to the event. During the soiree, Fernández spent time with presidents Hollande of France and Ollanta Humala of
Peru, as well as former Colombian president Ernesto Samper.

The economy is an important subject this year because the event coincides with the 8th International Economic Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean, entitled “New Challenges and Innovative Partnerships in a Shifting World.”

The scheduled activities will be held with the presence of intellectuals, academics, officials from various European bodies, students, and diplomats
from several Latin American and Caribbean countries to France.