Institute of the Americas

For 25 years, the Institute of the Americas has been at the forefront of U.S.-Latin America cooperation, working with the public and private sectors to improve the economic, political and social well-being of people throughout the Americas. Led by
Jeffrey Davidow, a former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and Venezuela, the Institute brings together industry leaders, policy makers and academics for frank and open discussions about challenges and opportunities in the Western Hemisphere. As an impartial and independent non-profit organization, the Institute hosts roundtables and professional workshops from its sweeping complex on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. The strategic location 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border allows the Institute to draw on Latin America’s vast array of experts for high-level conferences, as well as providing a unique showcase for the rich flavors, vibrant colors and rhythmic sounds of the Americas to a
multinational community.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Art & Culture: Photos and Textiles from the Altiplano of Bolivia and Peru
Thursday, June 5, 2008
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m
Institute of the Americas
Weaver Conference Center
The event is free to the public
REGISTER

Come and see the intricate, vibrant work of the Quechua Indians of Bolivia and Peru.  We’ll exhibit festival costumes, traditional clothing and the handmade textiles created in artisan villages and talk with Andean textile expert Cynthia LeCount Samake. We’ll also display more than 40 striking images of photographer Jeffrey Roth, who captures the stark beauty of life in the high plains of the Andes.

Photo by Jeffrey Roth

Public Policy and Migration
June 23-27, 2008
Institute of the Americas
Weaver Conference Center
REGISTER in Spanish


Photo by Luis J. Jiménez

What are Republican and Democratic presidential candidates saying about immigration and how is that going to affect U.S. policy? How significantly will the U.S. economic recession reduce the money migrants working in the U.S. send home to their families? What protections are in place for migrant children who are crossing the border without their parents?

We’ll examine those issues as we meet with the experts and with migrants during our summer conference. These provocative sessions will take us to the U.S.-Mexico border, where thousands of migrants cross into the U.S. each year.

Fifth Annual Jack F. Ealy Workshop on Science Journalism
July 9-18, 2008
Institute of the Americas
Weaver Conference Center
MORE INFO  | BECA EALY  (in Spanish)

Now in its fifth year, the Jack F. Ealy Workshop on Science Journalism will award more than a dozen full scholarships this summer to print, radio and TV journalists from throughout the hemisphere. And this year, for the first time since our science journalism program began, we’ll be awarding an Excellence in Journalism Award and a cash prize to six journalists in our program for outstanding coverage of health and the environment. 

The themes of these workshops are critical to the region’s future: Environmental conservation, alternative energy, biosciences, climate change, stem cell research and biodiversity and marine medicine.

Drawing on the expertise of San Diego’s renowned scientific complex, we visit the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Pfizer La Jolla Research Facility, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the University of California, San Diego Bee Communication Research Facility and the Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias.

 Why Poverty Persists and What we Can do About It
August 17-23, 2008
Institute of the Americas
Weaver Conference Center
REGISTER in Spanish
















Photo by Luis J. Jiménez

We all agree that poverty plagues our region, that the gap between rich and poor is widening despite globalization. What can be done to improve the lives of millions in Latin America and the Caribbean?

We’ll meet experts, government officials, business leaders and representatives of NGOs who have built successful anti-poverty programs. They’ll help us come up with new ideas for developing realistic community-level programs to create jobs and reduce poverty. We’ll talk with specialists about micro-credits and training programs.  We’ll also have sessions with the leaders who can explain how they’ve helped people in their communities take control of their economic lives.

Latinos, who now number 46 million or roughly 15 percent of the U.S. population,  account for 9 percent of this country’s eligible voters. That’s why political analysts say Latinos could be the “swing vote” in the fiercely fought presidential election.

We’ll turn our attention in this timely session to this pivotal block of voters who will help choose the next U.S president. We’ll get the latest polls, commentary and research from our panel of experts, who are taking the political pulse of the nation’s Latino communities.

Some 57 percent of registered Latino voters call themselves Democrats or identify with the Democratic Party. Roughly 23 percent say they favor the Republican Party.

How will they vote on Election Day? Will they help send presumptive Republican candidate John McCain to the White House? Or will Latinos choose the Democratic candidate for president?

Come and hear what political analysts, reporters, pollsters and academics have to say in these final weeks before the election.