Comunicados de imprensa

2020/04/02 This is the first ideathon in Jamaica in which youth will present projects to offer solutions for the challenges posed by the COVID-19 April 1, 2020- The Trust for the Americas and the Institute of Law & Economy (ILE) with support of Citi Foundation is launching a two-day urban challenge ideathon through our DIA Lab in Jamaica. In this virtual workshop, fifty young participants shortlisted from more than one hundred registries will find solutions to combat the impact of the fast-spreading COVID-19 specific to select sectors of Jamaica. This activity will serve as a platform for youth to start their long-term project in community building or disruptive entrepreneurship. Thirty solutions will reach to the virtual pitch phase, which will happen on Monday, April 6, 2020, at 9:00 am. The solutions will focus on the following themes: · COVID-19 & Health · COVID-19 & Education and Access to Information · COVID-19 & Economic Relief · COVID-19 & Crime and Security Davey Haughton from the Ministry of Education, Youth & Information, Michael Sappleton from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Agriculture, Simone Green from the Youth Innovation Centre, Spanish Town, and the renowned entrepreneur Mrs. Godiva Golding will be the judges to select the winning projects based of the innovation and entrepreneurial potential of the solutions. Linda Eddleman, Executive Director of the Trust for the Americas commented: ¨As the world is facing significant challenges amidst the COVID-19 situation, this virtual ideathon is an excellent opportunity to empower youth to be protagonists of the solutions for the communities. We are proud to support their ideas coming from remote places of Jamaica to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit of the island.¨ Follow the ideathon and support our entrepreneurs while working and creating solutions through these hashtags and in our social media. #DIAJamaica #Ideathon2020 #DIAInnovation #OvercomeCovid19 #Innovateremotely #Covidsolutions 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: @Trust4America Jamaica

2020/03/26 El miércoles 25 de marzo de 2020, The Trust for the Americas llevó adelante la primera capacitación de Teams, liderada por Jorge Cella, director de filantropías de Microsoft para América Latina.   Teams es una plataforma que permite establecer comunicaciones unificadas en las organizaciones, ofreciendo funcionalidades como chat, reuniones, llamadas, colaboraciones, integración de aplicaciones o almacenamiento de archivos. The Trust for the Americas utiliza esta herramienta para coordinar sus operaciones en más de 20 países del hemisferio.   The Trust for the Americas durante las últimas dos semanas, se ha enfocado en identificar cuáles son aquellos cursos y oportunidades de capacitación que podrían tener mayor interés en el público, sobre todo para los operadores de los centros tecnológicos y socios locales de nuestra franquicia social POETA y en nuestros beneficiarios para seguir adelante con su trabajo diario, su capacitación y su educación.   Con mucha satisfacción pudimos verificar que las 273 personas de 13 países que estuvieron conectadas en la presentación, nos confirmaron la importancia de la capacitación y el entrenamiento online en este momento.   El contexto de crisis que trajo aparejada la pandemia del coronavirus en América Latina nos convoca a una responsabilidad mayor de seguir brindando oportunidades y capacitaciones a nuestros beneficiarios en toda América Latina y el Caribe.   Es por eso que, a partir de esta semana, con el lanzamiento de este primer curso, estaremos realizando una serie de capacitaciones en formato virtual, por Teams través del uso de nuestra plataforma exclusiva “aula virtual” con la cual damos apertura a un conjunto de capacitación continua para nuestros beneficiarios garantizando el seguimiento de nuestras operaciones y el apoyo a toda la red de centros en la región.  Los invitamos a mantenerse atentos a nuestras redes sociales para información de nuestra programación.  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 Argentina – Brasil – Chile – Estados Unidos – Colombia – Costa Rica – Ecuador – El Salvador – Honduras – Mexico – Panamá – Perú – Puerto Rico – República Dominicana

2020/03/18 As a way to encourage learning in programming and artificial intelligence for all ages, The Trust for the Americas, organization affiliated with the OAS – Organization of American States, in alliance with Microsoft, held on March 11, the Hour of Code Minecraft 2020 event. The global online event that has certified more than 130 million people in 180 countries since 2015 also held a face-to-face version in São Paulo for people with and without disabilities. Celebrated in the Education Room at the Microsoft facility, participants were able to access content using the free version of “Minecraft: Education Edition”. Hour of Code is a global trend that wants to show children, youth, adults, parents, and teachers that the logic of programming can be available to everyone. In its sixth consecutive year, the Hour of Code aims to demystify computer science by promoting learning in basic programming and machine learning concepts, based on activities of up to one hour in duration. 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 Argentina – Brasil – Estados Unidos

2020/03/18 By Rodrigo Iriani, Project Manager In 2016 we began a journey in support for the government and Costa Rican society on the Open Government agenda. Today, we have valuable lessons learned, best practices, and a projection towards sub-national governments. In 2018 we undertook the challenge of transferring the successful national processes to fifteen Municipalities outside the Greater Metropolitan Area. In July 2019 we signed an agreement of understanding with the Ministry of Communication of the Costa Rica to work together in bringing these experiences and best practices to all the Costa Rican cantons, under an Open Munis Route. During 2020, we will implement pilot projects for the use of civic technology in two municipalities, which simplify government services for greater efficiency in the management and issuance of municipal certificates, licenses or patents, generating confidence in their validity and traceability. Following the project, six municipalities have an Open Data policy, and another seven are for approval by the Municipal Council. To contribute to the debate on the importance of opening public data and enhancing the capacity of governments we present this paper where The Trust for the Americas, the Organization of American States and various instances of the Government of Costa Rica explain how collaboration to promote social innovation at the service of citizens. Furthermore, this article will showcase how this alliance positioned Costa Rica as a leading country in open government. This technical note covers our journey that started in 2016 and culminates with the summary of activities and achievements met in the last three years. The goal is to bring our readers and especially the Municipal leaders, closer to an experience that will allow them to build new services and position themselves among the few projects of this style in Latin America. Want to learn more about what it means for a country to want to be an Open State? Download our publication in the orange link below. (Available only in Spanish) Costa Rica

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

The Trust for the Americas, in collaboration with OAS, launched its cycle of webinars on Open Government last week in Belize City to strengthen the capacity of the Belize Ecosystem towards the development of a National Open Government Action Plan. Over 58 participants attended the webinar, online and onsite at BTEC (Belice Training and Employment Centre), which generously provided access to their training room facilities. The webinars were delivered by international experts in a videoconference format, overseen by the OAS and the Open Government Partnership (OGP), and accompanied by the project’s coordinating team in Belize.  Belize has made significant strides towards reducing corruption and advancing public participation, including the acceding to UNCAC (United Nations Convention against corruption) – December 2016, as well as active participation and development of government and non-government actors in the first phase of Trust for the Americas Open Government Project. This new phase “Transformation to an Open Public Administration in Belize” is not only timely in the face of the many issues of accountability and transparency currently in the forefront but seeks to build on the first phase through the development of a National Action Plan for Open Government and the establishment of a national monitoring mechanism.  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 Belize

Washington, D.C. (February 10th 2020) — The Trust for the Americas together with the National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information (ANTAI) and the National Authority for Government Innovation (AIG), invite to the first workshop on transparency, government, open data, and citizen participation in the province of Veraguas, Panama. This workshop is part of the implementation of the first phase of the project “Public Innovation through Open Data in Panama” initiative sponsored by the United States Embassy in Panama. The objective of the workshop is to sensitize the public officials, civil society, academia, media and the private sector of the central provinces of The Republic of Panama on the use of data to improve problems that overwhelm communities. As result of the workshops, it is expected to identify some of the needs of the population of central provinces, what are the demands for data at the local government level to propose solutions through citizen participation mechanisms finally. The activity will be facilitated by Ana Gabriel Zúñiga Aponte, who currently serves as manager of the open contracting program for HIVOS Latam in Costa Rica. Zúñiga during the presidency of Luis Solís, she held the position of Vice-Minister in political affairs and citizen dialogue of the Republic of Costa Rica between 2014 and 2018, where she was responsible for establishing the Open State Plan for Costa Rica. The workshop will be held in Santiago de Veraguas at the Compa Mida facilities on February 12 and 13, 2020. 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 Panamá Agenda (only spanish)

Washington, D.C. (January 16, 2020)  The Trust for the Americas in partnership with the Collaborative Public Innovation Laboratory InnovaAP Laboratorio Colaborativo de Innovación Pública InnovaAP and the University Agency for Entrepreneurship Management of the University of Costa Rica launch the project Gente Emprende. Proyecto Gente Emprende. Gente Emprende’s objective is to promote high social value impact projects, that have the capacity of becoming sustainable entrepreneurships. Its structure is composed of 1 introduction session, 5 public innovation workshops using the “sprint” methodology, and 2 follow-up sessions for five municipalities outside of Costa Rica’s Great Metropolitan Area. AUGE will guide the development of the entrepreneurs. AUGE focuses in understanding the issue being resolved and the solution created. The selected projects within each municipality will receive a maximum of $US5,000 for financial support. Jorge Umaña, local coordinator of The Trust for the Americas in Costa Rica “We seek to improve citizen participation in five municipalities of Costa Rica, through a strategy of developing co-creation processes with social actors and proposing solutions to local needs that result in viable, sustainable and high value projects for the population of these locations. During the month of January, informational workshops will be held for NGO’s, philanthropies, media outlets, PYMES, cooperatives, and interested community groups within the selected municipalities, with the following itinerary:  Applications will begin February 2020. We expect participation of more than 750 people throughout the process. For more information follow or social media or contact our local coordinator, Jorge Umaña at jumana@20.9.190.97. 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 Costa Rica

Dominican Republic (13-12-2019) – The AES Dominicana Foundation and The Trust for the Americas, an affiliate of the Organization of American States (OAS), completed the “Strengthening Innovative Entrepreneurship” project strengthening local entrepreneurship in the municipalities of Boca Chica, Guayacanes, Quisqueya, Bancos de Arena and la Malena. More than 150 entrepreneurs in those municipalities completed the training in the Canvas Business Model. Participants also acquired tools to strengthen their business concepts.  By increasing entrepreneurial skills the project will contribute to the socio-economic development of communities of Boca Chica, Guayacanes, and Quisqueya, sustainably. The project sponsored an entrepreneurial fair on December 9 – 11. Participants competed for an investment funds  by  explaining their business plan for the development or expansion of their business. The winners were recognized by AES’ Fondos Concursables. Judges from AES Dominicana, The Trust for the Americas, and other experts in business development selected the winning projects. Participants were evaluated on various criteria such as financial viability, sustainability, creativity, innovation, and coherence of their business model, among other criteria. The participants spent two months in training and the development of their business model under the leadership of Luz Marina Correa, Project Manager of The Trust for the Americas. The winning ventures will continue to receive personalized mentoring and advice until March 2020 by Trust for the Americas’ strategic allies IOTIC and Social Cube. AES and The Trust have successfully implemented Fondos Concursables for entrepreneurs and future entrepreneurs. The alliance between AES and The Trust created technology centers for people to acquire skills in digital literacy as well as preparing participants for the job world and entrepreneurship. This fund has impacted citizens in El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Panama, countries where AES has a presence and where the company has developed social responsibility programs aimed at communities. The project concluded with events in: About the Dominican AES Foundation The AES Dominicana Foundation is the Corporate Social Responsibility entity for the AES Dominicana group. Since its creation in 2007, it sponsored essential projects in the areas of education and health, including sponsoring more than 10,000 students of elementary schools in Haina, Boca Chica, and Los Mina and partnering with the Dominican Rehabilitation Association (ADR). The result of this alliance has benefited more than one million people. AES also maintains a recycling program for communities near AES operations to create a lifestyle for youth and adults to support a 3Rs culture (Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling) to improve the environment over the long term. About AES Corporation: It is a Fortune 200 global energy company. It provides affordable and sustainable energy to 15 countries through a diverse portfolio of distribution businesses, as well as thermal and renewable generation facilities. 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      República Dominicana