FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2004
CONTACT: Kay Hendricks, ACCD Coordinator of Communication
210.208.8006
ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT, PARTNERS TO HOLD PUBLIC FORUM ON HEMISPHERE ISSUES
Members of the public will have the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns about key issues affecting North, South and Central America and the Caribbean at a public forum on Thursday, June 24, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon in Room 120 of the San Antonio College Visual Arts and Technology Center, located at the corner of Dewey and Lewis streets. The forum will focus on economic development, environmental issues and international education, with particular emphasis on topics such as water rights, NAFTA, maquiladoras, immigration and Toyota in San Antonio. The event, sponsored by the Alamo Community College District, Partners of the Americas and Texas Partners of the Americas, is free and open to the public.
Participating in the panel discussion that opens the forum will be Henry Sauvignet of the North American Development Bank, Gus Sanchez of the LBJ National Historical Park, Sandra O’Reilly, the Georgetown University coordinator for the Cooperative Association of States for Scholarship program in Mexico, and Nicole Spencer of Texas Partners of the Americas. The panel discussion will be followed by discussion and comments from members of the public and the panel members.
This forum is the first of five being sponsored by Partners of the Americas in cities across the country this summer. Partners of the Americas, with the support of the OSI Development Foundation and the other participating organizations, will provide an overview of the Summits of the Americas and engage forum participants in dialogue and deliberation about the regional and global issues addressed in the Summits. The public forums are being held to familiarize more people with the Summits of the Americas and to allow citizens to be part of the conversation that shapes U.S. participation in the Summit process. Partners of the Americas will compile the results from the forums and disseminate this information to policymakers.
Established in 1964, Partners of the Americas is an international organization with a people-to-people network of committed volunteers in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States. In pairing U.S. states with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, Partners works to build opportunity and address common concerns of social, economic and cultural development.
For more information on Thursday’s event, call 210/208-8010 or 210/733-2888.