|
IOA hemispheric conference underscores need for cooperation on energy, climate issues LIMA , Peru – A Regional Energy Efficiency Center will be created in Peru under a bilateral agreement announced at a June 15-16 symposium organized by the Institute of the Americas. The agreement reached by the United States and Peru was one of several projects and proposals unveiled during the Americas Energy and Climate Symposium in Lima, Peru, attended by almost 300 representatives of governments, business, multilateral development banks, academia and NGOs from throughout the Western Hemisphere. The Americas Energy and Climate Symposium was convoked by the region's leaders during the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago to search for ways to increase cooperation and collaboration on critical energy issues facing the hemisphere. The symposium, hosted by the government of Peru and the Ministry of Energy and Mines, is the first step toward hemispheric agreements on energy and climate issues.
Jack F. Ealy Science Journalism program expands with workshop held in Mexico City The Jack F. Ealy Science Journalism workshop held in Mexico City focused on Latin America’s most pressing concerns during a day-long session attended by more than 100 reporters. It was the first Ealy Science Journalism workshop held in Mexico City. The workshop, sponsored by the Fundacion Ealy Ortiz, El Universal and the Institute of the Americas, brought together Mexico’s leading scientists, researchers and doctors to discuss the most pressing science, health and environmental issues facing Latin America. Juan Ramon de la Fuente, who heads the International Association of Universities, said science journalism should be viewed as a way of strengthening Latin America’s democracies and easing inequality in the region.
IOA and SEMARNAT announce climate change workshop IOA President Jeffrey Davidow and Juan Elvira Quesada, Mexico's Minister of the Environment, said the workshop will provide scientific data that will allow journalists to explain the impact of global climate change clearly and accurately to their audiences. The workshop, offered as part of the Jack F. Ealy Science Journalism Program of the Institute of the Americas, was announced during a two-day conference in Cozumel commemorating World Environment Day. Davidow said the intensive training program will include field trips to meet with regional experts on climate change as well as scientific sessions in the Institute's conference center on the University of California, San Diego, campus. Regional workshop on violence against journalists focuses on missing, murdered reporters LA JOLLA — There is an often-repeated phrase among journalists. No story is worth dying for, journalists say. Journalists are dying at the U.S.-Mexico border, too. And they are vanishing in frightening numbers. Since 2000, 25 Mexican reporters have been killed. In the past three years alone, eight journalists have disappeared, making Mexico the only country in the region where journalists have been reported missing.
In May, the Institute of the Americas organized its first professional journalism workshop on the essential value of a free press and the threat posed to fragile democracies by the rise in violence against journalists. The May 4-8 seminar, entitled “Silencing the Press: Violence Against Journalists as a Threat to Democracy,” hosted specialists from throughout Latin America on the question of freedom of speech as well as journalists who have been threatened or worked in violent situations. Jack F. Ealy Science Journalism scholarship winners announced LA JOLLA —The Institute of the Americas and Fundacion Ealy Ortiz on June 4 announced the winners of 15 full scholarships to the Jack F. Ealy Workshop on Science Journalism to be held July 7-16. The Ealy scholarship, in its sixth year at the Institute of the Americas, is designed to encourage in-depth, comprehensive coverage of science, health and environmental issues affecting the people of Latin America. The scholarship is sponsored by Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, president of the board of Mexico City-based El Universal in honor of his late father, Jack F. Ealy. This year’s winners were chosen from almost 200 print, radio and television journalists reporting throughout the Western Hemisphere. The winners are: “We are exceptionally impressed with the work submitted by this year’s applicants,” said Jeffrey Davidow, president of the Institute of the Americas. “Their outstanding coverage of issues ranging from climate change to pandemics demonstrates their commitment to clear and accurate reporting on issues that are critical to the region’s future.” The journalists are also finalists for two Jack F. Ealy Scientific Journalism Awards, the second annual awards for outstanding coverage of science, health and the environment since the Institute of the Americas science journalism program began in 2003. Winners will be announced and a cash prize awarded on July 13. BP's Hayward receives IOA Energy Innovator Award
“Today, Tony is recognized for his leadership in calling for technology investment to create greater energy efficiency and for working to bring new energy sources to the market,“ IOA Chairman David Weaver said during an award ceremony attended by nearly 200 people at the Institute's annual La Jolla Conference. “The Institute believes it is important to recognize the achievements of the private sector. BP, as it is embodied by Tony, is a visionary company and an innovative leader in the energy world.“ BP is the largest investor in U.S. energy development. Over the past five years, BP has invested more than $30 billion in the United States to find new sources of oil and gas, extend production from existing fields, improve the reliability of its U.S. refineries, expand its wind and solar business, create better biofuels and develop new low-carbon technologies. Davidow named to Southwest Border Task Force ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on June 4 named IOA President Jeffrey Davidow to the Southwest Border Task Force, a newly formed commission charged with examining the Department's efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border. Fifth annual Western Hemisphere Energy Forum focuses on Summit of the Americas
This year’s forum, which was held at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Enrique Iglesias Conference Center, focused on the successes and the challenges posed by the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad Tobago. The session laid the groundwork for the IOA’s June 15-16 Lima, Peru, conference aimed at establishing an Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas — a regional effort supported by the U.S. Department of Energy to ensure energy security, promote alternative energy resources and set common goals for confronting climate change. At the Western Hemisphere Energy Forum in Washington, representatives from the DOE and the U.S. State Department spoke about the upcoming Lima conference and areas of possible cooperation. IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno delivered the keynote address opening the conference and IOA President Jeffrey Davidow, who served as the White House Adviser to the Summit of the Americas, offered his insights on President Barack Obama’s approach to regional energy issues. Luis Enrique Berrizbeitia, executive vice president of the Corporacion Andina de Fomento; Mark Lambrides, Organization of American States division chief of energy and climate change mitigation; and Leandro Alves, IDB energy division chief, reviewed energy strategies for the Western Hemisphere. Three ambassadors to the United States— Peruvian Ambassador Luis Valdivieso, Colombian Ambassador Carolina Barco and Trinidad Tobago Ambassador Glenda Morean-Phillip — discussed their views on regional energy and climate cooperation. PRI’s Beltrones urges measures to streamline, modernize Mexico’s political system
“If it is true that we have left behind an era of one-party rule and have entered an era of plurality, it is also true that the instruments for dialogue between those who have differing ideas are the same,” Beltrones said at a May 20 Tequila Talk at the Institute of the Americas. Beltrones, the Senate caucus chairman for the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), said the July 5 mid-term elections are creating “confusion” in the political process and blocking attempts to modernize the system “to improve dialogue in our country.” “We are in a political struggle that does not allow for the offering of ideas,” he said. “What we lack are political parties that say why they want to win the election and what they are going to do after they win. We have political parties that just want to win the majority.” Once the newly elected congressional representatives have taken office, Beltrones said new measures must be passed to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy, to allow for the recall of “bad officials in clearly established cases” and to permit referendums on constitutional modifications. Beltrones also called for a measure allowing the Senate to ratify Cabinet appointments. “We must end these capricious decisions that include on the Cabinet only those who are loyal or who are friends,” he said. “We have to bring to an end these governments of ’cuates y cuotas’ and have professional governments. These measures are needed to guarantee governability and to reach the accords that we all need.” Paulo Sotero elected to IOA board of directors Prior to joining the Woodrow Wilson Center in 2006, Sotero was the Washington correspondent for Estado de S. Paulo, a leading Brazilian daily newspaper. From 2003 to 2006 he taught as an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University, both in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and in the Center for Latin American Studies of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. In addition to his responsibilities at the Wilson Center, Sotero is a frequent lecturer on Brazilian and Latin American affairs at U.S. universities, think tanks and civic and business associations. Foreign Policy publisher Moises Naim keynotes IOA board dinner
Naim has written extensively on international politics and economics -- especially about the unintended consequences of globalization. For the past 10 years, his "Missing Links" column in Foreign Policy has demonstrated the surprising ways in which the world is interconnected. At the dinner, Naim’s provocative remarks painted an impressionistic picture of Latin America. He focused his comments on the challenges facing the region today, as well as Latin America's great promise. The dinner at the elegant Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., was attended by 170 people, including former U.S. Cabinet members, ambassadors, top government officials and trade and commerce officials. Among those in attendance were: John Negroponte, deputy secretary of state; Arturo Sarukhan, Mexican ambassador to the United States; Alan Bersin, Border Czar for the Department of Homeland Security; Carlos Gutierrez, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce; Lazaro Cardenas, former governor of Michoacan; Jim Kolbe, former congressional representative from Arizona; Harriett Babbitt, former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States; Carla Hills, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Bruce Babbitt, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior; Jim Jones, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico and Andres Rozental, former deputy foreign minister of Mexico. IOA expresses condolences to family of board member Charles Dalfen
Mr. Dalfen, an attorney at the Toronto-based international business law firm Torys LLP, served on the Institute of the Americas board of directors from 2006-2009. For five years, he served as chair of the Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Prior to that appointment, he was a senior partner at Torys and chair of the firm’s communications group. Mr. Dalfen was instrumental in supporting the Information and Communications Technologies program at the Institute of the Americas. HIV/AIDS workshop participant wins journalism award
ATLANTA — Erika Cebreros, associate editor of the San Francisco weekly newspaper El Mensajero, received an Ethnic Media Award for a series of stories based on interviews she conducted during an Institute of the Americas professional journalism workshop. Cebreros, who attended the August 2008 “Migration of HIV/AIDS” workshop organized by the IOA, was a second-place winner in the Health Care and Environment category of the 2009 Northern California Ethnic Media Awards. She also received a 2009 National Ethnic Media Award for her education coverage during a June 4 gala sponsored by New America Media and the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication in Atlanta, Georgia. The National Ethnic Media Awards recognize excellence in ethnic media journalism and highlight the increasing importance of ethnic media in U.S. communities. Over the past four years, the ethnic media have gained 8 million new readers, listeners and viewers and now reach 57 million people, according to a poll by New America Media. The increase comes as mainstream media, especially metro daily newspapers, struggle to keep their audiences. As associate editor and reporter at El Mensajero, Cebreros has covered subjects ranging from politics to immigration. A native of Sonora, Mexico, Cebreros earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from the Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa and a master’s degree in United States Studies from the Universidad de las Americas, Puebla. To read her award-winning stories, click here.
MEXICO CITY — Arturo Barba, a 2005 graduate of the IOA’s Jack F. Ealy Science Journalism program, in May 11 launched Mexico’s first science and technology news web site. Barba, the director of Sapiens Laboratorio de Ideas, works with a staff of seven professional journalists to report on the latest advances and challenges in science, technology, health, the environment and education. “Issues like the swine flu, which has battered our country, demonstrate what is very clear to ‘Sapiens’ – that society needs to be informed about issues where science and technology play a role,” Barba explained on the web site. “We know that these issues affect the present and future of humanity and the planet and that the media is the most effective way to reach the public.” Barba is a regular columnist for the Mexico City daily newspaper Milenio and collaborates with the regional science news web site SciDev.Net. He is a contributor to the German magazine "Stern" and to the newspaper Pagina/12 in Buenos Aires. Barba was selected by the Washington, D.C.-based National Press Foundation for a full scholarship to the 2007 International AIDS Society meeting in Sydney, Australia and to the 2008 International AIDS Society meeting in Mexico City. Poverty workshop inspires Ecuador’s first organic store
The colors and the fragrances of Whole Foods in La Jolla washed over Maria Eugenia Lima as she walked with IOA Professional Workshop Director Lee Tablewski through the store. Lima, president of Fundacion Mujer y Familia Andina – an organization of 10,000 women who grow agricultural products in Ecuador -- stopped by Whole Foods in August 2008 as part of the IOA’s workshop entitled, “Innovative Strategies to Reduce Poverty.” She took that idea home with her and on May 1, Lima opened Ecuador’s first organic food store. “When I visited the store with Lee, I realized that we could open a store in Ecuador stocked with purely organic products,” Lima said in a telephone interview from her office in Quito. “I have copied it with great success.” Organicatessen, as the store is called, offers more than 200 organic products. The shelves are lined with fruits and vegetables and grains – all produced by the women in Lima’s organization and all certified as organically grown. “We have had an excellent response from the public. Just excellent,” she said. Since Organicatessen opened, several people have approached Lima about opening a “replica” in other parts of Ecuador. “Our store is small, but it is very nice. We have high-quality products and a good presentation,” she said.“There is no other place in this country where people can buy organic products. “We are just beginning,” said Lima. “We are going to grow.” Geopolitics of Energy alum named to Pemex board MEXICO CITY — Ruiz was one of four presidential appointees named in March to professional adviser posts. The advisers will sit on the Pemex board and preside over seven committees established in last year’s energy reform. The committees cover the following areas: audit and performance evaluation; investment strategy; payment; leases, works and services; environment and sustainable development; transparency and accountability; and technology R&D. Ruiz, who served as an adviser to the leftist Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) during the 2008 energy reform debates, holds a degree in physics and a master’s degree in oil production engineering from Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM). Magazine report focuses on IOA journalism workshop theme
MEXICO CITY— Codigo Topo, a monthly magazine published by the Mexico City newspaper Excelsior, will report on its investigation into the murders and disappearances of Mexican journalists in the July 6 edition. Mauricio Suarez, content coordinator for Codigo Topo, said the special report was inspired by the Institute of the Americas’ journalism workshop entitled, “Silencing the Press: Violence Against Journalists and the Threat to Democracy.” “The instruction we received from your organization left a mark,” said Suarez, who attended the May 4-8 professional training session.“It continues to surprise me that journalists die in Mexico and their own media do nothing more than write about the incident. Their memory is very short.” Among the contributors to the July 6 edition will be Renan Estenssoro, president of the La Paz Journalists Association in La Paz, Boliva, who also attended the May workshop. Summer workshops focus on journalism, poverty and pandemics
Join us for our summer workshops on journalism, HIV/AIDS, migration and poverty. Led by the Institute’s program directors and their skilled teams, the workshops offer content-rich, hands-on sessions for mid-career professionals You'll hear the latest research and opinions from public, private and academic experts working in the region. Then you'll head for the U.S.-Mexico border and Tijuana where you can see firsthand the massive flow of trucks, cars and people that make San Diego-Tijuana the world‚s busiest border crossing. But that’s not all. We‚ll host social events, too, so you can meet the vibrant people who live and work in our border region. At the Institute of the Americas, we conduct our workshops in Spanish and they are designed especially for Latin American participants. You’ll meet journalists, legislators, non-profit leaders, academics, researchers, government officials and company executives from countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela. For more information about these workshops click here Jack F. Ealy Science Journalism Workshop Investigative Journalism (July 20-24) will offer journalists new tools for conducting investigative reporting and will focus in part on financial investigative journalism and strategies for revealing corruption and graft through press-induced transparency. The workshop will include training sessions with journalist instructors who will offer techniques and strategies for reporting on organized crime and conducting investigations on breaking, competitive stories. The workshop will include a discussion with a representative of the Organization of America States on challenges to freedom of expression in the region. Innovative Strategies to Reduce Poverty Pandemic Preparedness — Informing the public on the flu, TB and HIV/AIDS pandemics (Oct. 5-9) gives reporters a first-hand look at the pandemic from both sides of the border. Journalists will meet with the region's leading epidemiologists to learn about groundbreaking research on the pandemics, then participate in professional training sessions before heading to north San Diego County, where migrants work in the fields. A second trip will take them to Baja California, Mexico, where the HIV/AIDS rate is the second-highest in Mexico and where a clean-needle exchange program has showed promising results in containing the spread of HIV/AIDS.The journalists will also visit Tijuana General Hospital to learn about the troubling rise in TB cases at the border. And they will meet with health care providers who are working with at-risk populations on both sides of the border. For additional information contact Lee Tablewski, Director of Professional Workshops or call (858) 453-5560 x116. |
LA JOLLA — Tony Hayward, group chief executive officer of BP p.l.c., was honored May 13 with the Institute of the America's first Energy Innovator Award.
WASHINGTON — The Institute of the Americas convened hemispheric representatives from government, the private sector and NGOs on June 9 to discuss energy security in the region.
LA JOLLA — Saying the Mexican Congress has failed to meet voters’ demand for change since one-party rule ended with the election of President Vicente Fox in 2000, Sen. Manlio Fabio Beltrones called for sweeping measures to restructure the country’s political system.
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Moises Naim, editor and publisher of Foreign Policy magazine, delivered the keynote address at a June 8 dinner hosted by the Institute of the Americas and the Woodrow Wilson Center Mexico Institute for the organizations’ boards of directors.
The Institute of the Americas expresses its condolences to the family of board member Charles Dalfen. Mr. Dalfen passed away on May 26.
Workshops Events
