After the summit in Suriname, GFDD partnered with Virtual Educa to celebrate the sixth edition of Virtual Educa Caribe in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The 2012 edition called attention to: the new role of educational institutions before a digital world; educators and environmental challenges; innovative trends in teaching and learning; and current perspectives on new technologies applied to education.

As part of GFDD’s mission to prepare the next generation of global leaders, the Foundation partnered with the Organization of American States (OAS), the Youth Outreach and Development Program of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United Nations Association of the Dominican Republic (UNA-DR) to celebrate the second edition of the Dominican Inter-American Development Bank System (MODOSI), which featured the involvement of international experts and over 400 youth from  high schools and colleges in the Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile, GFDD has continued to bolster its contribution to United Nations processes. This quarter the Foundation united with the United Nations Office of the President of the 66th Session of the General Assembly and the Dominican Mission to the United Nations to organize the side event “Women Empowerment in Developing Country Democracies,” during the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which presented success stories from the Dominican Republic, Columbia and North Africa. In addition to providing valuable input in terms of gender equality and advancement of women, GFDD also engaged in a high-level dialogue on financing for development, presenting relevant findings regarding the impact of financial speculation of basic commodities on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed upon development targets.

What’s more, our broadcast program “The GFDD Global Roundtable,” has continued to garner the interest and support of the Foundation’s online community. This quarter featured a timely discussion with Bruce Niswander, Director of the Global Business Incubator, on employment generation through public-private partnerships.

Moreover, InteRDom launched the second edition of InteRDom PRO, a 4-day program designed to introduce professors and university administrators to InteRDom’s admissions and placement process, cultural activities, housing and academic facilities.  Participants also toured InteRDom’s partner university, Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) and met with partner organizations that offer internships to InteRDom students at the simulation of the InteRDom Business Day.

InteRDom PRO 2012 highlighted the colonial heritage, cultural diversity and rapid development that characterize the Dominican Republic and provide unique opportunities that make it a prime destination for students, professors, academics and professionals.

GFDD’s Environmental Program continues to break new ground. The Foundation has begun actively partnering with Ocean in Google Earth. GFDD is working to provide educational content for the “Explore the Ocean” layer of the initiative. GFDD is contributing to the “Explore the Ocean” layer of the initiative through the development of content on aquatic habitats, coastal marine zones, marine protected areas, biodiversity and pollution found off the shores of the Dominican Republic.

The Environmental Program is also in the process of producing a short film on the Silver Bank Marine Mammal Sanctuary. The project will raise awareness of the importance of this marine protected area in the overall global protection of marine mammals, in particular, humpback whales. A team of marine biologists, producers, camera persons and project consultants are at work filming onsite footage of whales in the bay of Samaná, and conducting interviews with local authorities involved in the ongoing management of the sanctuary.

During this past quarter, our initiative, Dominican Get-Togethers, also headed south to the city of Miami, Florida, where the Foundation hosted a screening of the film Sugar at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, followed by a discussion session with the film’s protagonist, actor Algenis Perez Soto. We hope that this will be the start of future activities in Miami, Florida.

What’s in store next you may be asking … We have an equally ambitious agenda underway for the following quarter, which includes a youth expedition to Pico Duarte; the launch of the photo exhibit “New Perspectives: Dominican Republic” in Seoul, South Korea; and screenings of environmental documentaries in the Dominican Republic, among other initiatives.

Thank you for your ongoing interest and support for the Foundation’s projects and programs. Please do not hesitate to contact us to request additional information about our initiatives and how you can become involved. We look forward to hearing from you!

Natasha Despotovic
Executive Director