High-level Political and Academic Leaders on Latin America and the Caribbean Gather in New York to Debate the Future of the Americas

From today until Friday, September 27, the second Global Forum Latin America and the Caribbean will bring together more than 40 international experts

New York – High-level political and academic leaders on Latin America and the Caribbean will gather today in New York to debate the future of the Americas. The second Global Forum Latin America and the Caribbean, which will take place between today and Friday, September 27, will bring together more than 40 international experts, among them heads of State, former ministers, high representatives from regional and international organizations and members of the world’s most prestigious think-tanks. The leaders will come together to discuss and develop proposals that contribute to the development of a region with equality.

For the second consecutive year, the Global Forum Latin America and the Caribbean will take place at the Union League Club of Manhattan and in parallel to the Annual Ordinary Sessions of the United Nations General Assembly. The event is organized by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD), and its sister organization, Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). The event also has support from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), World Leadership Alliance–Club de Madrid, Columbia University’s Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) and the Central American Integration System (SICA, for its initials in Spanish).

“The main objective of this initiative is to promote a space for debate and offer a plural platform for the exchange of ideas, discussion and analysis on the current role of Latin America and the Caribbean on the world stage, as well as its implications and challenges,” explains Natasha Despotovic, Executive Director of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, which was founded and is led by the former president of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Leonel Fernández.

“The continual integration process in Latin America and the Caribbean and the growing role of the region as a commercial, political and strategic partner in the current world order are topics of particular importance that will be discussed. We feel very honored to be hosts to a debate on these topics for the second consecutive year,” said Despotovic.

Daniel Zovatto, the regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean of International IDEA, points out that the pace of humanity’s evolution entails a set of challenges coming from the constant changes that face our societies. In this context, as research and educational institutions and think-tanks, “we feel extremely committed to incentivize the creation of ideas and promote new practices that enable our region’s societies to be more inclusive, with greater access to information and knowledge creation.”

Among the former heads of State included in the Forum’s program are Leonel Fernández from the Dominican Republic; Felipe Calderón from Mexico; Laura Chinchilla from Costa Rica; Vinicio Cerezo from Guatemala and Danilo Turk from Slovenia. Humberto de la Calle, former Vice-president of Colombia will be participating as well. Forming part of one of six panels on Thursday the 26^th and Friday the 27^th will be Kevin Casas Zamora, the former second Vicepresident of Costa Rica and the International IDEA General Secretary; Jorge Taiana, former Minister of Foreign Relations of Argentina and Jorge Castañeda, former Minister of Foreign Relations of Mexico.

Ingo Pitterle, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Global Economic Monitoring Branch, Economic Analysis and Policy Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (UN DESA); Rob Wood, Principal Economist, Manager, Country Risk Service, Latin America and the Caribbean, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU); Daniel Titelman, Director, Economic Development Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Paolo Giordano, Principal Economist, Integration and Trade Sector, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will also be in attendace.

Participants also include Adam Posen, President, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE); Otaviano Canuto, Lead Economist, Center for Macroeconomics and Development; Gonzalo Paz, Researcher and Visiting Professor, Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University; Francisco Sánchez, Former Undersecretary of Commerce of the United States; Melvin Redondo, General Secretary of the Economic Integration Secretary (SIECA) of the Central American Integration System (SICA) and Mario Báez, Policy and Oversight Coordination Service, Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management, Department of Management, United Nations

The topics that will be debated at the Forum are split into six panels: Socioeconomic Global Trends; Socioeconomic Perspectives for Latin America; Challenges of Public Order and Security in Contemporary Democracies; Latin America’s 2019 Super Election Cycle; Public-private Partnerships for Development and Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Current Challenges.

More information:
https://www.globalforumlac.org/
About the panelists: https://www.globalforumlac.org/en/panelistas/
Forum 2018: https://www.globalforumlac.org/2018/
2018 Global Forum Latin America and the Caribbean Magazine

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