Selection Committee includes distinguished Latin American and Caribbean leaders
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will hold a press conference to announce the winners of the second edition of the Juscelino Kubitschek Award of Merit, on Wednesday, September 7, at 11:30 a.m. in the IDB Cultural Center, 1300 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. This award, the most important of its kind in the region, recognizes the efforts of regional organizations to promote economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The selection committee received a record number of 337 nominations for organizations from 26 IDB-member countries for the award, which recognizes distinguished contributions to social and economic development of communities in the region in two fields: economics and finance; and the social, cultural, and scientific areas. Winning institutions in each field will receive $100,000 in prizes.
The Juscelino Kubitschek Award of Merit was created in 2008 to commemorate the IDB's 50th anniversary and to underscore the Bank’s commitment to support efforts to reduce poverty and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean. It pays homage to Juscelino Kubitschek, the Brazilian visionary politician who envisaged the creation of a multilateral institution to forge North-South ties in the Hemisphere, in order to further development in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1959, his vision became reality with the creation of the Inter-American Development Bank, which today is the largest source of development lending in the region.
IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno will chair the award selection committee, with Enrique V. Iglesias, Secretary-General of the Ibero-American Secretariat, serving as Secretary.
The members of the selection committee are:
- José Octavio Bordón, former Ambassador of Argentina to the United States
- Michel Camdessus, former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
- Osvaldo Hurtado, former President of Ecuador
- Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile
- Ricardo Maduro Joest, former President of Honduras
- Ángeles Mastretta, Mexican author and journalist
- Billie Antoinette Miller, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Barbados
- Paulo Paiva, President of the board of the Minas Gerais Development Bank
- Bill Richardson, former Governor of New Mexico, United States
- Hiroshi Watanabe, President and CEO of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)
The winners of the first award, granted in 2009, were ACCION Internacional, an organization specialized in microfinance, in the category of Economics and Finance. For Social, Cultural and Scientific contributions, the award was shared by Vaga Lume, which promotes culture and education in the Amazon region, and Fe y Alegria, which specialized in formal, alternative and informal education.
Members of the media who wish to cover the event should arrive 15 minutes ahead of time. Please confirm your attendance with Mildred Rivera at mildredr@iadb.org or (202) 623-2319.