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Trust for the Americas of the OAS Launches “DIA” Initiative to Promote Innovation in Vulnerable Communities

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today signed a letter of intent to support the initiative “DIA – Democratizing Innovation in the Americas”- together with representatives of CAF, Microsoft, AES Corporation, and the Seattle International Foundation, in a ceremony that took place in the framework of the Seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama.

The signing ceremony included the participation of the Executive President of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), Enrique García; the Secretary for External Relations of the OAS, Alfonso Quiñonez; the Director for International Organizations for Microsoft Latin America, Pedro Julio Uribe; and the Executive Director of The Trust for the Americas, Linda Eddleman.

Secretary General Insulza said the new initiative “seeks to democratize access to spaces for innovation favoring vulnerable communities, and therefore to empower a new generation of innovators and micro-entrepreneurs to create solutions that promote prosperity and equality in their communities.”

“Through DIA – Democratizing Innovation in the Americas, we are looking to create a network of centers of technological innovation and development of innovative social enterprises in the region, in which training will be offered in new technologies, as well as support in the development of social enterprise and leadership skills,” said the OAS leader.

For his part, the Executive President of CAF highlighted three factors that led his organization to support the initiative. First, he cited “the very close relationship with the Organization of American States.” Second, he said the Trust of the Americas “is one of the most interesting and serious initiatives, that brings together distinguished businesspeople from the Americas.” Finally, said García, is his conviction that “if Latin America and the Caribbean want to make a qualitative leap toward the future and close the gaps that separate them from the most advances countries in the world, it must make important adjustments to its model of growth and development.”

The Director for International Organizations for Microsoft Latin America highlighted that “the youth have the spark of innovation. When they have the right tools and the right surroundings, they can create,” added Uribe, who emphasized that the objective is “to help them learn to bring new ideas and applications to the world.”

Secretary Quiñonez, for his part, recalled that the Trust for the Americas, a non-profit organization affiliated with the OAS, “has worked for more than ten years on the successful creation and implementation of programs focused on the generation of economic opportunities for vulnerable populations, as in its flagship program POETA – the Partnership in Opportunities for Employment through Technology in the Americas.” In addition, he said the POETA program has become “a powerful tool for social inclusion of the most vulnerable groups in the Americas, helping them to benefit from the economic progress in the region.”

Democratizing innovation in the Americas (DIA) is a regional initiative of The Trust for the Americas and the OAS launched in alliance with CAF and Microsoft Corporation, and is supported by AES Corporation and Seattle International Foundation, among others. The initiative includes not only the offer of training in labor skills and technologies, but also the possibility of activating the undiscovered innovation, creativity and talent of the young people of the region, and empower a new generation of innovators and micro-entrepreneurs who in turn amplify the opportunities for the development of their communities.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The B-Roll of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-123/15