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IDB sponsors dialogue on culture and development to advance equality and racial inclusion

The Inter-American Development Bank will sponsor a forum on culture and development to advance equality and racial inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean on December 10.

An October 2008 meeting of Ministers of Culture from the region in Cartagena, Colombia has provided a much-needed springboard for the exploration of African cultures in the Americas. Recognizing the need for increased knowledge gathering and dissemination by the IDB and its partners and stakeholders, the forum will focus on culture as a means to achieve social and economic inclusion of people of African descent in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The conference will feature distinguished representatives of academia, the media, the public and private sector and international organizations. These experts will discuss the role of governments, civil society and mass communications as agents of change, in order to find common ground on best practices in the promotion of cultural diversity and racial equality and to enhance future initiatives for inclusion in the region.

The Minister of Culture of Colombia, Paula Moreno Zapata, will be the opening speaker. Other speakers include Ambassador Larry Palmer, President of the Inter-American Foundation and Ambassador Albert Ramdin, Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States.

Among members of the media will be luncheon speaker ABC7 newscaster Maureen Bunyan, Manuel Roig-Franzia from the Washington Post, Michel Martin from National Public Radio, and Maria Teresa Velasco, from  Discovery Networks Latin America/ US Hispanic, as well as communication experts from Georgetown University, the Canadian Foundation of the Americas and the World Bank.

IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno will close the event.

The seminar will take place in the Andrés Bello 3 auditorium at IDB Headquarters, 1300 New York Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20577 from 9 to 5.30 p.m. A reception will be offered from 5.30 to 6.30 pm in the Terrace located on the 7th floor.

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