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Washington D.C.,On June 8th, the Organization of American States and the Young American Business Trust (YABT) organized the online event “Youth for an Inclusive Future Post COVID-19” sponsored by The Trust for the Americas.  This round table event reunited young leaders from Latin America to reflect on the opportunities that the current pandemic could bring to the organizations working in the development sector. Secretary-General, Luis Almagro and Latin American singer Miguel Mendoza (known as Nacho) offered remarks regarding the challenges to guarantee more rights for people beyond the pandemic.   Veronica Philippe, Project Officer at The Trust for the Americas, moderated the first session, “Our Rights and Our Voice About the Future.” She stated, “this is the perfect call for governments to include youth in the decision-making process. The right to quality education as part of the needs and rights of young people must not be overlooked, especially during the COVID-19 crisis”. Canada – Antigua & Barbuda – Argentina – Belize – Brasil – Chile – Estados Unidos – Colombia – Costa Rica – Ecuador – El Salvador – Guatemala – Honduras – Jamaica – Mexico – Nicaragua – Panamá – Perú – Puerto Rico – República Dominicana – St. Kits & Nevis – St. Lucia – St. Vincent & Granadinas – Venezuela

We invite you to participate in a 48-hour fully virtual hackathon competition and explore ideas staged under the theme “Open Data: Enabling Belize Tourism Post COVID-19”. It will take place on: Wednesday 8th July, 2020 @9:00AM – Thursday 9th July, 2020 @9:00PM (BZ Time) You can register through this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/110059334432 With tourism being an Information-Intensive sector, effective access to data and information provides the basis for awareness, choice, security, and improved service delivery between the prospective tourist and local operators. The DevCA-Belize2020 Hackathon will focus on solutions for the utilization of open data in tourism to promote destinations, highlight value-added services and improve safety and security. Potential solution areas include: Breakout sessions will be organized online so contestants can gather as teams to participate in the competition. An awards ceremony will also be organized and prices distributed to the winners. Prizes:– 1st place US$500– 2nd place US$300– 3rd place US$200 This Hackathon is organized as part of the project Transformation to an Open Public Administration in Belize and in collaboration with BCC, DevCa, Beltraide, the Statistical Institute of Belize, UWI Open Campus, Belize Tourism Board, and the Economic Development Council as part of the Belize Open Government Steering Committee. Feel free to share this invitation with anyone you think might be interested – developers, IT enthusiasts, civic tech, students, public sector, and anyone who would be up to the challenge! Belize

Washington, DC, 26 de maio de 2020. — No âmbito do projeto “Inovação por meio de Dados Abertos no Panamá”, a iniciativa “Trust for the Americas” da Organização dos Estados Americanos (OEA) lança uma campanha de conscientização sobre dados abertos voltada para jovens de diversos setores e províncias da República do Panamá, com o objetivo de promover a participação cidadã, a representatividade territorial nessa área e a formação de líderes em temas relacionados a Dados Abertos, Governo Aberto e Jornalismo de Dados.   Este componente do projeto é implementado em parceria com o Instituto Panamenho de Direito e Novas Tecnologias (IPANDETEC) e em coordenação com a Autoridade Nacional de Transparência e Acesso à Informação (ANTAI), a Autoridade para a Inovação Governamental (AIG) e a Direção Geral de Contratações Públicas (DGCP).   Sobre a campanha Y4OD Serão selecionados 25 jovens que participarão de um programa com quatro módulos de capacitação por meio de sessões virtuais, complementadas por oficinas presenciais entre os meses de julho e setembro. Durante esse período, os participantes desenvolverão seus projetos com foco no uso de dados. Os melhores projetos serão premiados com uma bolsa para apresentar suas ideias em um evento de encerramento na Cidade do Panamá. Essa iniciativa estabelecerá as bases do ecossistema juvenil de dados abertos, em preparação para as Conferências Regionais de Dados Abertos AbreLatam e Condatos 2020, a serem realizadas no país.  Rodrigo Iriani, gerente de projetos do The Trust for the Americas, comenta sobre o objetivo da campanha: “buscamos oferecer oportunidades concretas a jovens estudantes, entusiastas da tecnologia e organizações juvenis de diferentes regiões para desenvolver capacidades, implementar iniciativas inovadoras que utilizem dados abertos para melhorar suas comunidades”. Por sua vez, Lía Hernández, diretora do Instituto Panamenho de Direito e Novas Tecnologias (IPANDETEC), comenta sobre o resultado esperado: “Essa iniciativa estabelece as bases para a criação de um ecossistema juvenil de dados abertos em nível nacional, com potencial de representação nas diversas instâncias já institucionalizadas no país na área de dados e governo aberto, como a Comissão Nacional de Governo Aberto. Além de incutir neles valores que lhes servirão como ferramentas em suas ações cidadãs para gerar mudanças em seus diferentes âmbitos de atuação”. Os dados abertos são para todos Esta iniciativa tem como objetivo ampliar o uso dos dados em todos os níveis. Durante a seleção dos 25 participantes, será levado em consideração o equilíbrio de gênero e geográfico. Os estudantes selecionados representarão a Cidade Capital e o interior do país: Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Guna Yala, Chiriquí, Veraguas, Herrera, Los Santos, Coclé, Colón, Darién, Panamá Leste e Oeste.  Inscreva-se aqui. Siga nossas hashtags: #Y4ODPanama #OpenGovPanama Sobre o The Trust for the Americas:  A Trust for the Americas é uma entidade sem fins lucrativos afiliada à Organização dos Estados Americanos (OEA). Fundada em 1997 para promover parcerias público-privadas, a Trust já implementou projetos em 24 países e trabalhou com mais de 1.000 organizações na região. Nossas iniciativas buscam promover oportunidades educacionais e econômicas, bem como a responsabilidade e a transparência do governo. Nossa parceria única com a OEA nos permite ter acesso aos tomadores de decisão na região. Essa parceria fundamental é a base sobre a qual criamos redes sólidas em todos os Estados-membros e no setor privado. Por meio do desenvolvimento de nossa região, a The Trust continua contribuindo para superar os desafios, promovendo alianças estratégicas que geram resultados sustentáveis. A The Trust for the Americas é uma organização sem fins lucrativos 501 (c)(3) com sede na cidade de Washington, DC.   Acesse: www.trustfortheamericas.org Facebook: The Trust for the Americas Twitter: @Trust4Americas Folheto de Lançamento no Panamá

Durante a primeira reunião semestral do Conselho de Administração, realizada em 11 de maio de 2020, os membros reelegeram a Comissão Executiva da Trust para as Américas. O Sr. L. Enrique García foi reeleito presidente do Conselho, a Sra. June DeHart, vice-presidente, e a Sra. Susan Benson, secretária. Com aprovação unânime, a Comissão Executiva liderará a organização por mais dois anos, até 2022. Após a eleição, o Sr. García declarou: “É uma grande honra ser reeleito presidente do Conselho de Administração da The Trust para as Américas, uma organização comprometida com o desenvolvimento social e econômico da região, que busca melhorar a qualidade de vida das populações mais vulneráveis em nossos países. Estes são tempos desafiadores que exigem nosso total compromisso para ajudar as comunidades carentes com ideias inovadoras e apoiar os países membros da OEA em sua busca por democracias mais fortes.” Antes de ingressar na The Trust para as Américas, o Sr. L. Enrique García concluiu seu quinto mandato (25 anos) como presidente executivo e CEO da CAF – Banco de Desenvolvimento da América Latina. Ele também atuou como governador no Banco Mundial, no Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento (BID) e no FONPLATA. Foi membro e presidente do Conselho de Administração da CAF, além de membro do Comitê de Desenvolvimento do Banco Mundial e do FMI, representando a Argentina, a Bolívia, o Chile, o Paraguai, o Peru e o Uruguai. O Sr. García também foi Ministro do Planejamento e Coordenação da Bolívia. A Sra. June DeHart faz parte do Conselho há mais de dez anos. Ela é sócia da Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, LLP e está na empresa desde 1987. A especialização da Sra. DeHart abrange questões legislativas e regulatórias, além de uma vasta experiência no governo estadual. Seu amplo leque de clientes inclui empresas americanas e internacionais, governos estaduais e municipais, governos estrangeiros, associações comerciais e organizações sem fins lucrativos. A Sra. DeHart frequentemente assessora CEOs e conselhos de administração em questões de políticas federais, e seus clientes incluem empresas americanas e internacionais, governos estaduais e municipais, outras entidades públicas, governos estrangeiros, associações comerciais e organizações sem fins lucrativos. Susan Benson fundou a The Trust for the Americas em 1997, com base em sua experiência na concepção e gestão de projetos multinacionais da OEA nas áreas de sistemas de informação, desenvolvimento de bibliotecas e comunidades, e comercialização de artesanato. Com um subsídio inicial da Missão dos EUA junto à OEA em 1998, ela montou uma equipe para criar os primeiros programas de tecnologia voltados para populações marginalizadas e para a transparência, que evoluíram para os programas atuais.   Durante a reunião, o Conselho deu as boas-vindas à sua mais nova integrante, a Sra. Kim Meredith, diretora executiva do Centro de Filantropia e Sociedade Civil de Stanford/Revista de Inovação Social de Stanford.  Luis Almagro, Secretário-Geral da Organização dos Estados Americanos, que atua como membro ex-oficial do Conselho, proferiu um discurso de abertura para abordar o atual cenário político da América Latina.   Ao final da reunião, o Conselho realizou uma cerimônia virtual de assinatura com a primeira-dama do Paraguai, Sra. Silvana Abdo, que marcou o primeiro compromisso para o lançamento de um programa que beneficiará mulheres empreendedoras no Paraguai.   Sobre a Trust para as Américas: A Trust para as Américas é uma organização sem fins lucrativos afiliada à Organização dos Estados Americanos (OEA). Fundada em 1997 para promover parcerias públicas e privadas, a Trust já implementou projetos em 24 países e trabalhou com mais de 1.000 organizações na região. Nossas iniciativas buscam promover oportunidades educacionais e econômicas, bem como a prestação de contas e a transparência governamental. Nossa aliança exclusiva com a OEA nos permite ter acesso aos tomadores de decisão na região. Essa parceria fundamental é a base por meio da qual criamos redes sólidas entre os Estados-membros e o setor privado. À medida que nossa região evolui, a Trust continua a se manter firme, enfrentando desafios por meio de parcerias estratégicas que promovem a cooperação para resultados sustentáveis. A Trust das Américas é uma organização sem fins lucrativos 501(c)(3). Mais informações: www.trustfortheamericas.org Facebook: The Trust for the Americas Twitter: @Trust4Americas Estados Unidos

Washington, DC, 14 de maio de 2020. — Durante a sessão do Conselho Permanente da Organização dos Estados Americanos (OEA), o secretário-geral da OEA, Luis Almagro, exortou os Estados-membros a trabalharem juntos em prol da democracia na região.  Almagro enfatizou que “cada um dos países e Estados-membros pode, hoje, ter o Trust como referência para o desenvolvimento de projetos que abordem diferentes capacidades institucionais e transparência no âmbito dos sistemas políticos e do hemisfério, inovação na gestão governamental, elaboração de políticas públicas, foco em programas de governo aberto, todas essas são iniciativas de participação cidadã e prestação de contas”. Para enfrentar a pandemia sob a perspectiva dos direitos humanos e da democracia, devemos fomentar alianças entre os setores público e privado e envolver os governos para que trabalhem em conjunto com os cidadãos e fortaleçam os níveis de trust pública.   “A gestão e as respostas transparentes por parte dos governos são elementos da democracia que devemos promover; a transparência e a participação cidadã são elementos da democracia que devemos garantir. A transparência e a participação cidadã são elementos essenciais da legitimidade democrática, e a redução da corrupção é, sem dúvida, um dos pontos-chave no contexto das compras governamentais durante a pandemia”, afirmou o secretário-geral Luis Almagro.  A Trust para as Américas apoia o Governo Aberto e a agenda regional de governança e transparência por meio de: O Conselho Permanente reúne 35 Estados-membros do hemisfério. Durante a edição de 14 de maio, uma reunião totalmente virtual, ficou estabelecido que as alianças público-privadas são fundamentais para a resiliência democrática; especialmente quando toda a região enfrenta um estado de emergência. Vídeo do Conselho Permanente: https://youtu.be/2noikhJjYLo?t=4951 

The Trust for the Americas, through its local partner, the Institute of Law and Economics (ILE), will kickstart the Caribbean School of Data online training module for the first cohort of 25 students on May 18th 2020.   The Caribbean School of Data (CSOD) is an initiative of the Caribbean Open Institute (COI)1, that seeks to develop a comprehensive and sustainable digital/data literacy program aimed at underserved populations within the Caribbean. Some of the CSOD’s goals include building a stronger data culture across the region and creating essential employment skills for the emerging digital economy.  The long-term goal of the CSOD is to develop a comprehensive and sustainable “data literacy” program that will facilitate greater awareness, attitudes, competencies and capacity to build a stronger data culture across the Caribbean. Through this specific initiative, the CSOD will create employability and economic opportunities for at-risk youth across the Caribbean through digital literacy and data skills training.  Rodrigo Iriani, Project Manager of the DIA Lab mentioned ¨The ultimate goal of the DIA Program is to bring innovation to people. This means having youth engaged and contributing to their own development and that of their communities. The DIA Urban Lab and the CSOD partnership is another proof of the potential of using data to foster progress in the Caribbean¨.  The deployment of the CSOD program over a two-year period aims to train at least 1,500 marginalized young people in seven countries across the Caribbean. These training fields include Digital/Data Literacy and basic to advanced Data Management skills- geared towards creating a range of employment opportunities.  ILE has trained three facilitators to guide the first cohort of 25 students that will complete the training in 10-12 weeks. By the end of 2020, ILE will train 100 young people in the CSOD module.  Launched in 2016 with support from Founding Donors, Citi Foundation and USAID through A New Path Project, DIA Jamaica is an initiative created by The Trust for the Americas, an affiliate of the Organization of American States, to empower a new generation of young entrepreneurs and innovators- who will act as agents of change in their communities. DIA Jamaica is part of Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress global initiative to prepare young people with the career readiness tools and opportunities needed to thrive in today’s economy. Pathway to Progress is comprised of programs, research, and partnerships such as the one with Trust of the Americas, which help young people build an entrepreneurial mindset and acquire leadership.  The DIA Urban Lab has awarded more than 100 seed funding opportunities and benefited over 1,500 young people through innovation training and access to state-of-the-art technology. The DIA initiative is a regional program also present in Belize, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama.  Stay tuned for our calendar of special events.  Hashtag Jamaica  #CSODJA  #DIALAB  #ILEJA  About The Trust for the Americas:  The Trust for the Americas is a non-profit organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS). Established in 1997 to promote public and private partnerships, The Trust has implemented projects in 24 countries and worked with over 1,000 organizations in the region. Our initiatives seek to promote educational and economic opportunities as well as government accountability and transparency. Our unique alliance with the OAS allows us to have access to decision makers within the region. This foundational partnership is the basis through which we create strong networks across member states and the private sector. Through the evolution of our region, The Trust continues to endure by facing challenges through strategic partnerships that promote cooperation for sustainable results. The Trust of the Americas is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. More information: www.trustfortheamericas.org Facebook: The Trust for the Americas Twitter: @Trust4Americas Jamaica

Washington DC, May 11, 2020.- TThe Trust for the Americas, an entity affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Office of the First Lady of Paraguay, Silvana Abdo, agreed today – in a virtual meeting – to launch a technological training program for vulnerable populations in Paraguay with special emphasis on women entrepreneurs and artisans. The Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, stressed that the initiative will provide digital education in times when the use of technology is crucial to improve economic growth. “We celebrate the signing of this agreement whose objective is to train and empower women entrepreneurs in Paraguay. The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting our economies hard and this initiative is an opportunity to generate sources of employment,” said Secretary General Almagro. For her part, First Lady Abdo indicated that the alliance between the Trust and her government will provide better possibilities and rights for the Paraguayan people. “The objective will be especially placed on the possibilities of improving the lives of women in our country so that they can use technology to improve their businesses and jobs, as well as disseminating and publicizing their companies and products,” she said. For his part, the Chairman of the Board of the Trust for the Americas, Enrique García, said that the alliance with the Paraguayan government will allow the development of a social inclusion program that will improve the economy of many low-income households. “Today more than ever, the times demand that we act quickly and efficiently to facilitate, together with local partners in each country, the skills that the most vulnerable populations need to cope, during and after overcoming the coronavirus pandemic in the region. We will work together on that,” added García. The initiative, which is in the design phase, will include public-private participation and will focus on digital and business training, as well as job skills, leadership, assertive communication, and the prevention of gender violence. The projects developed by the Trust for the Americas have a rate of access to economic opportunities of 55 percent of its graduates.

The Trust for the Americas and the Department for Effective Public Management of the OAS, with the Support of the Embassy of the United State of America in Belize, presents the complete webinar resources carried out during the project “Transformation to an Open Public Administration in Belize (2019-2021)”. The first webinar series was designed for the Open Gov Steering Committee (Open Gov SC). The second series caters to all participants interested in learning about the open government ecosystem.  All webinars were facilitated by Mike Mora, Specialist of the Department for Effective Public Management of the Organization of American States Audience: Open Gov Steering Committee.  Webinar 1: Open Government: An overview of the path to 2020. This session is intended to serve as an overview of how open government has progressed since inception. The overview will allow us to interpreter how countries had responded to its implementation, what methodologies had been pursued, and what kinds of commitments have been established; all from the perspective of a participatory multi-stakeholder approach; lead by a core group of key public actors acting as a cohesive national open government body. Recorded on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 3:30PM-5PM (BZE-CST) – at BCCI Boardroom, Belize City. Webinar 2: National Steering Committees in Open Government; principles and world cases. This session is intended to provide an in-depth overview of the in-country mechanisms established to guide the implementation of open government. The session will touch on their role, configurations, practices, and also roles taken by their participants. Recorded on February 19, 2020 3:30PM-5PM (BZE-CST) – at CITO Training Room, Belmopan Webinar 3: Steering Committees & the development of National Open Government Action Plans. This session is intended to dive deeper into the role of the national open government committees in relation to the processes of developing the national open government action plans. What to do, what to expect, how to navigate and encourage a participatory process and decision making. Recorded on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 – 3:30PM-5PM (BZE-CST) at CITO, Belmopan Audience: Open Government Ecosystem Webinar 1: Open Government: an overview of the path to 2020. This session is intended to serve as an overview of how open government has progressed since inception. The overview will allow us to interpreter how countries had responded to its implementation, what methodologies had been pursued, and what kinds of commitments have been established; all from the perspective of a civil society centered participatory multi-stakeholder approach. Recorded on Thursday February 13, 2020 – 10:30AM-12:00PM (BZE-CST) – at BTEC, Belize City.  Webinar 2: Development of National Open Government Action Plans. This session is intended to provide an in-depth overview of the standards and practices when developing open government national action plans. What are action plans, what’s in them, and how to get there, will be some of the topics to be covered. The Speakers will dive into the processes to enable co-creation of an action plan, also looking at the specific case of Uruguay, where government and civil society have incrementally progressed in the embracing of open government. Recorded on February 20, 2020 – at BTEC, Belize City. Webinar 3: More of co-creation and setting ambitious commitments. This session is intended to explore deeper into the processes of setting the commitments for the open government action plans and how these have worked well in other countries. The exchange will encourage participants to think about what commitments may be of interest to pursue in Belize for the development of its first open government action plan. Recorded on Thursday, February 27, 2020 – 10:30AM-12:00PM (BZE-CST) at University of Belize Auditorium, Belmopan. Thank you to all our collaborators and interested participants. For more information on the project click here or contact the project manager: Rodrigo Iriani at ririani@oas.org.  Download documents here  Belize Open Government Belize Webinar Program

On March 10, 2020, The Trust for the Americas’ Director of Communications, Lara Bersano and the ambassador of Paraguay to the Organization of American States Mrs. Elisa Ruiz Diaz, visited the office of the First Lady of Paraguay Mrs. Silvana Abdó. The purpose of the visit was to present the programs that the Trust for the Americas develops in twenty-one countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Also, during the meeting, the First Lady talked about the work of her office to empower women and to support the networks that collaborate, developing entrepreneurship initiatives in Paraguay. The Trust for the Americas is very honored to have had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Abdó and is preparing a proposal to put in place a POETA center in the country. This will be the first program that the Trust for the Americas will develop in Paraguay, becoming the twenty-second country in which the Trust operates. The first lady was also interested in the results of the VIVE project that we developed in Mexico and in which we trained more than 56,000 women in three years. As a follow up to this meeting, both parties agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding in the coming weeks. The Director of Communications of the Trust for the Americas also met with officials from the University of Columbia in Asunción to explore a potential partnership to develop joint programs in the region. About The Trust for the Americas: The Trust for the Americas is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS). It was established in 1997 to promote public and private sector participation in social and economic development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our initiatives, implemented through local partner organizations, seek to improve access to economic opportunities as well as to foster innovation in vulnerable communities in the hemisphere. To this end, The Trust also promotes social inclusion and good governance. The Trust has offices in Washington, D.C., Colombia, and Canada. More information: www.trustfortheamericas.org  Facebook: The Trust for the Americas  Twitter:   @Trust4Americas Estados Unidos

Twenty-three women entrepreneurs presented homemade foodstuffs and tailored clothes at Merida, Yucatan. This product showcase marks the completion of their training under the program “Women discovering their potential ”implemented by The Trust for the Americas through the VIVE project and CREA Community of social entrepreneurs AC. During the awards ceremony, Maria Alejandra Barrios, Communications Officer of the VIVE Project, reiterated the commitment of The Trust for the Americas to boost the economy of women in Mexico. Also, she recalled that “VIVE” started in 2016 with the support of Walmart Foundation, and as of 2020, more than 60,000 people including 52,000 women have been benefited, which 52 thousand are women. With this training, women “currently have the tools to encourage businesses and strengthen their economic empowerment. This will benefit not only them but also their families and communities,” Maria Barrios stated.   Antonio Gonzalez Blanco, General Director of Yucatecan Entrepreneurship Institute, highlighted the partnership with CREA and VIVE project as an active force motivating the development of women in the state. Likewise, Gonzalez Blanco recalled that the IYEM (Yucatecan Entrepreneur Institute) offers more services which the graduates may use, such as trademark registration and design of nutritional information charts, among others. Let’s talk investment with gender perspective Pro Mujer, the implementing partner of the VIVE project, organized the first edition of Gender Lens Investing Forum Latin America (GLI Forum Latam), in which The Trust for the America was a media partner. The event gathered around 100 people (majority women) to analyze the challenges, good practices and generate solutions to boost investment with a gender perspective, also known as the gender lens. Klaudia Gonzalez, the National Coordinator of project VIVE, moderated the roundtable “How gender violence affects company investments,” and concluded it is necessary to develop mechanisms to measure violence in companies and encourage training about prevention of violence against women among employers, directors, and funders. “Investment decision-makers in these companies must be trained and conscious about the situation that women face in the labor force. In this way, there will be a cumulative effect on the solutions.” Klaudia Gonzalez explained. Maria Fernanda Sierra, The Trust for the Americas Project Manager of VIVE, participated in the roundtable “Landscape of investment with a gender perspective: where are the gaps and what can we do to close them?”, and “talked about the importance of breaking down the steps investors perceive to find barriers and solutions in every phase. Also, about the value of addressing gender in a diverse way beyond women” explained. Furthermore, she said that “one of the best ways of finding solutions is to analyze if our companies or organizations having gender perspective or not, from there we can generate progress. Another relevant topic during the GLI Forum Latam was sexual and reproductive health with entrepreneur and gender perspective, for this roundtable Ursula Sanchez, Consultant of Economic Opportunities of VIVE, participated. Ursula shared the thought that “we need to be capable of measure the intangible benefits that investment with gender perspective may bring in terms of sexual and reproductive rights. It is necessary to create an investment fund network with a gender perspective in Mexico and provide technical assistance to investors to avoid unconscious biases”. GLI Forum Latam was held in the framework of the Latin American Impact Investment Forum (FLII Spanish acronym) in its tenth edition. About The Trust for the Americas: The Trust for the Americas is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS). It was established in 1997 to promote public and private sector participation in social and economic development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our initiatives, implemented through local partner organizations, seek to improve access to economic opportunities as well as to foster innovation in vulnerable communities in the hemisphere. To this end, The Trust also promotes social inclusion and good governance. The Trust has offices in Washington, D.C., Colombia, and Canada. More information: www.trustfortheamericas.org  Facebook: The Trust for the Americas  Twitter:   @Trust4Americas Mexico