Enrique Iglesias Points to the Importance of a Capacity for Political Dialogue in Latin America
Iglesias, Secretary-General of the Ibero-American Secretariat (SEGIB) and ex president of the Inter-American Development Bank, holds conference in FUNGLODE to inaugurate the Ibero-American Forum about New Technologies, Caribbean Virtual Educa 2007.
Santo Domingo. March 23th, 2007.

Enrique Inglesias, Secretary-General of the Ibero-American Secretariat (SEGIB), remarked that political dialogue is one the main areas the Latin American region must seek to defend and strengthen.

“We are a group of countries in which strong hegemonies do not exist, where political plurality is accepted. This is something which in a certain way gives us the capacity to engage in important dialogue,” the ex-president of the Inter-American Development Bank stated upon opening the conference in the auditorium of la Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE).

His conference entitled “The Future of the Latin American Community” included the inaugural act of the Ibero-American Forum for New Technologies, Caribbean Virtual Educa 2007, which was organized by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and its sister organization la Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE).

Natasha Despotovic, Executive Director of GFDD/FUNGLODE, introduced Iglesias in the auditorium of the Foundation, accompanied by the Secretary-General of Virtual Educa, José María Antón.

Iglesias stated that he believes it necessary “for our region to defend dialogue about diversity as something fundamental, free of other influences that may determine these dialogues.”

He pointed out that fluency in dialogue in Latin American summits is an important element due to the fact that there are 22 countries which play an active role that needs to be strengthened.

He signaled education as an important resource, as well as sharing a common language and joint projects, such as Virtual Educa.

He referred to other common educational initiatives, such as the Literacy Plan 2015 “Latin America Free of Illiteracy” and the great number of university alliances in the region.

Iglesias stated that the ability to work together in such a way in order to achieve technological developments is another of the goals that the region must pursue, through instruments such as Virtual Educa and other initiatives.

Referring to migration, he pointed out that the relevance of remittances in countries’ economies and the dynamic that generates resources by immigrants just as much in the country where they are established as the country where they come from.  He noted the case of Spain, where it is estimated that one third of its growth dynamic in the last few years has been due to immigrants, many of whom originate from Latin America.

He added that remittances in the region reached $US 62,000,000,000

He also spoke about out financial initiatives which give rise to financial schemes emerging from the new economic reality. He also addressed the impact of current remittances which give rise to debt in Spain and investment in Latin America.

In reference to investment in the region, he mentioned new opportunities which offer the possibility of medium-sized Spanish associations linked to medium-sized and small Latin American companies, a phenomenon which is already being seen in Japan and the U.S. with other regions.

Another theme that also emerged was that of social cohesion, which he maintained is much closer to the European vision than the Latin American one. The theme of social cohesion will be one of the main topics at the next Ibero-American Summit.

Supporting indigenous communities that have been included in the social ranking and also Afro American communities are challenges which need to be addressed in the area. This is at a time when the Ibero-American social security system currently being looked at will allow for the adoption of retirement policies which benefit emigrants from the region.

According to Iglesias, another possibility would be to underpin the shared values of Latin Americans – which have materialized in associations and integration schemes – and should maintain all the responsibility it deserves.

 “Definitively what we are aiming to do is discover little by little the nature of this community and on how many fronts one can effectively project in order to deepen the concept of an authentic Latin American community.

The maximum aspiration that I have at this moment in time is to get to the 2010 commemorations to see if we can really speak as an authentic Latin American community.

He underlined that the formation of a common space for the development of knowledge through organisms such as Virtual Educa are initiatives which allow for the visualization of such an aspiration.

Later Iglesias talked about Spain’s investment in Latin America, equivalent to $ 150,000,000,000 in the last fifteen years. He also mentioned inter-Latin American investments, emerging from countries such as Brazil, Chile, Venezuela and Mexico, which are giving rise to new opportunities in the region. This is something which broadens the possibility of getting closer to a community which holds a gross product of currently around three trillion dollars.

With regards to the economy, this region is home to potential natural resources which are entering a period of free valuation, due to the introduction of large consumers, such as India and China.

He mentioned mining and agricultural resources and the capacity to supply the demands of Asia.

He indicated the Latin America makes up 9% of the world’s population and its gross domestic product also consists of 9% on a global scale as well as 33% drinking watering in the region which is only used by 2%. It contains 49% copper, 41% of which is soldered, 25% is iron and 15% is silver, amongst others.

 “There is not only a political-social reality but also an economical one. This is gradually becoming more visible when we look at a regional perspective as a whole,” he stated.

Innovation as a tool to transform education and training as an essential element in socio-economical development make up the main themes and debates of the Forum, whose work sessions began Tuesday 20th until the afternoon of Wednesday 21st.

GFDD and FUNGLODE organized the meeting for public and private educational institutions in the country, which brought together hundreds of specialists and educators over the course of two days to participate in academic exchange of the highest level. Social corporate responsibility and its role in the sustainable development of a nation were also areas covered.

Virtual Educa, as a program which forms part of the Ibero-American Summit, carried out innovative multi-sector initiatives in the areas of education, professional and permanent training. The appointment of the program to the Ibero-American Summit for Governments and Heads of State took place during the XIVth meeting in San José in Costa Rico on the 18th – 20th November 2004.

Angel Dubón from El Salvador, will address “The School of the Future: the Vision, Involved Processes and Learnt Experiences”.

Llorenc Valverde García, from Spain will discuss “Free Tools for Open Knowledge” to give rise to a debate concerning “Social Corporate Responsibility and its Role in Innovative Education”

Antón will also take part in an event about Virtual Educa, entitled: “an Initiative for Sustainable Development.”

In order to begin working on Tuesday 20th, he will arrive from Spain to talk about “Quality in Long-Distance Learning: Fundamental Elements for New Educational Project”.

Other themes that will be addressed on the second day of the activity are: “Society of Knowledge. New Challenges in Education in a Globalized World,” and “The Use of Open Software as a Platform in Long-Distance Learning.”