GIRA A ESTADOS UNIDOS 2006

WASHINGTON, DC – NEW YORK

WASHINGTON, DC PROGRAM

MONDAY, OCTOBER 23

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Office of International Visitors
Ms. Pat Kowall
Program Officer, Voluntary Visitors Division
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The U.S. Department of State helps to shape a freer, more secure and more prosperous world through formulating, representing, and implementing the President’s foreign policy.The Secretary of State is the President’s principal adviser on foreign policy and the person chiefly responsible for U.S. representation abroad.

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) fosters mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through international educational, professional, and cultural exchanges. The Bureau promotes personal, professional, and institutional ties between private citizens and organizations in the United States and abroad, and presents U.S. history, society, art and culture in all of its diversity to overseas audiences.

The Office of International Visitors manages and funds the International Visitor Leaders Program (IVLP).Launched in 1940, the IVLP seeks to build mutual understanding between the United States and other nations through carefully designed professional visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders.These visits reflect the visitors’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the U.S. government.Each year over 4,500 IVP participants from all over the world are selected by U.S. embassies to travel to the U.S. to meet and confer with their professional counterparts.Through these encounters, they gain a greater understanding of the cultural and political influences in U.S. society and enjoy a firsthand experience of the U.S., its people and its culture.Visitors represent government, politics, the media, education,

non-governmental organizations, the arts, public health, international security, business and trade, and other fields.
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VOICE OF AMERICA

Mr. George MacKenzie
Writer/Editor, Office of Public Affairs
Topic:Mr. MacKenzie will take you on a tour of VOA

The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people.
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Ms. Deborah McCarthy
Special Coordinator for Venezuela
Office of Andean Affairs

Ms. Darnall Steuart
Deputy Director
Office of Andean Affairs
Topic:U.S. – Venezuela Bilateral Relations

Ms. Nancy Smith-Nissler
Senior Advisor for Business Outreach
Office of Corporate and Business Affairs
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
Topic: Department programs to promote public-private partnerships in the area of corporate social responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility

EMBASSY OF THE BOLIVARIANREPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Mr. Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez
Topic: Ambassador Bernando Alvarez celebrated a dinner to the winning journalists of the Frank Amador Prize.


TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Mr. David Jones, Foreign Editor
Mr.Fran Coombs, Managing Editor
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The Washington Times is a full-service, general interest daily newspaper in the nation's capital. Founded in 1982, The Washington Times is one of the most-often-quoted newspapers in the U.S. It has gained a reputation for hard-hitting investigative reporting and thorough coverage of politics and policy. Published by News World Communications, Inc
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24


UNITED STATES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Mr. Mark Smith
Managing Director
Western Hemisphere Affairs International Division
Topic:The role of the Chamber in the U.S. economy and partnerships with Venezuela

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a federation of individuals, firms, corporations, trade and professional associations, and local, state, and regional chambers of commerce.It represents business community's views on business, the economy, and other issues and sponsors programs on business confidence, small business, consumer affairs, economic policy, minority business, and tax policy; maintains a business forecast and survey center and a trade negotiation information service.The division of Economic Policy represents business community's views on economic policy, including government spending, the federal budget, and tax issues.It forecasts the economy of the United States and other industrialized nations; projects the impact of major policy changes; and studies economic trends and analyzes their effect on the business community.

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25


UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Ms. Maria Cameron
International Trade Specialist
Desk Officer for Peru & Venezuela
Market Access and Compliance
International Trade Administration.
Topic:U.S.-Venezuela economic issues
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The Department of Commerce serves and promotes the nation's international trade, economic growth, and technological advancement.Within this framework, it offers assistance to increase exports, administers programs to prevent unfair foreign trade competition, provides research for business and government planners, and assists in the growth of minority businesses.It also grants patents and registers trademarks.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) of the Department of Commerce serves as the focal point of operational responsibilities in nonagricultural world trade.The Administration assists in the formulation of international trade policy and implements programs to promote world trade and strengthens the international trade and investment position of the United States.Its mission is to create prosperity by strengthening the competitiveness of U.S. industry, promoting trade and investment, and ensuring fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements.

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PAN AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

Mr. John Sanbrailo
Executive Director
Topic: Corporate social responsibility
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The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Organization of American States, assists low-income people and disaster victims in Latin America and the Caribbean. It does this by developing partnerships with international agencies, corporations, and private donors, as well as with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and municipal governments in the region, to carry out projects for employment generation, agriculture and small business development, health services, community development, and skills training. PADF also manages a large in-kind donation program of medical equipment, vocational training tools, and other items that are provided to NGOs and municipalities throughout the region, and it provides emergency relief to victims of natural disasters and humanitarian crises.
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ABOUT WASHINGTON, DC

City Population:607,000
Metropolitan Area:3,924,000

Washington, DC is the capital of the United States. The presence of the federal government accounts for much of Washington's character. Washington, DC has a worldwide reputation as a cosmopolitan city with international flair and a rich cultural life.

Washington's major business is politics, both national and international.Government is by far Washington's biggest industry, and the federal government dominates both the economic and social life of the city.Washington is also home to many business and professional organizations and non-profit agencies that work for the government or try to influence its decisions.Tourism is the second largest industry.

The Constitution called for a "federal district," separate from the states, to serve as the capital.For many years, residents were largely disenfranchised.Only since l964 have Washingtonians been able to vote in Presidential elections. Washington won the right to limited self-government in 1975.Now Washington is led by a mayor and 13 city council members.District voters also elect a non-voting representative to the U.S. Congress.

The city has several newspapers, among them The Washington Post and The Washington Times.Major educational institutions include GeorgetownUniversity, GeorgeWashingtonUniversity, HowardUniversity, The American University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Major attractions include the Smithsonian and its associated museums, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, Georgetown (the original Washington), the Capitol Building, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the Supreme Court and the National Cathedral.

History
The cornerstone of the Capitol building was laid in l793, after seven years of argument on the part of Congress as to where the "FederalTown" should be located.Pierre L'Enfant, French soldier and engineer, had Paris, France in mind when he laid out Washington in a series of broad avenues and spacious circles. The city was occupied by the British during the War of l8l2. The White House, CapitolBuilding, and other Federal buildings were destroyed. Washington had become a bustling city of 75,000 by the time of the Civil War.Major development began in the late 1800's and still continues today.


NEW YORK CITY PROGRAM

BLOOMBERG MEDIA
Bloomberg's media services include the global Bloomberg News service with more than 2,000 professionals in 125 bureaus worldwide; the Bloomberg Television 24-hour business and financial network produced and distributed worldwide on 10 separate channels in seven languages; Bloomberg Radio services which provide up-to-the-minute news on XM, Sirius and WorldSpace satellite radio around the world and on WBBR 1130AM in New York; and Bloomberg.com, a top-ranked financial news site. In addition, Bloomberg publishes award-winning Bloomberg Markets magazine and Bloomberg Press books for investment professionals.

ENERGY INTELLIGENCE
From the post-war US oil boom and the Suez crisis through to the Arab-Israeli wars, the discovery of North Sea Oil, not to mention two conflicts in Iraq, Energy Intelligence has reported on the international oil and gas business and the events that surround it for over 50 years.Starting with the flagship publications, Oil Daily (established 1951) and Petroleum Intelligence Weekly (1961), and now with market-leading energy data sources, research services, specialist periodicals and on-line services, Energy leads the market in the provision of top-class, internationally respected data and information for the global energy industry.

THE WOMEN’S NETWORK FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Its mission is to mobilize businesswomen to support social responsibility and advance sustainable development by giving women in the workplace a voice in the sustainability debate.WNSF believes that integrating responsible, sustainable practices throughout organizations is key to building sustainable enterprises and a sustainable future. That's why WNSF welcomes participation from women in all parts of business including marketing, communications, legal affairs, investor relations, human resources, finance, strategy, philanthropy, environment health and safety, and corporate citizenship.

COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS
In 1965, David Rockefeller and a group of like-minded business people founded the Council of the Americas based on the fundamental belief that free markets and private enterprise offer the most effective means to achieve regional economic growth and prosperity. Since that time, membership has grown to over 200 blue chip companies that represent the majority to the U.S. private investment in Latin America.Member firms include manufacturing, natural resources, technology, communications, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, banking and financial services. The Council’s broad-based membership provides it with a well respected, authoritative voice on public policy issues affecting the Americas.


THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Is an influential international daily newspaper with a worldwide average daily circulation of more than 2.6 million as of 2005. The Journal newspaper primarily covers U.S. and international business and financial news and issues.
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ABOUT NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

City Population:7,322,564
Metropolitan Area:8,054,000

New York City is America's largest and most diversified melting-pot.As evidenced by the Statue of Liberty, New York has for many years been the welcoming beacon to thousands of immigrants to this country.The demographic diversity created by this flood of humanity is seen in the social, economic, commercial and artistic make-up of New York, which even today continues to attract large numbers of individuals hoping to make their mark in this dynamic and complex city.

New York is considered the center of many disciplines, including finance, with the Stock Exchange, Wall Street, and a vast number of brokerage firms and financial institutions; commerce, with the largest and most active port in the U.S.; notably "New York" industries such as the garment industry; arts and culture, with a renowned assortment of theaters, museums, galleries, bookstores, restaurants and ethnic communities; and finally, communications, with the corporate decision-making offices of the major television, radio and print media organizations.With the presence of the United Nations and the influence of so many ethnic cultures, New York is also considered a center ofinternational importance.

New York is comprised of five boroughs - Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Richmond (Staten Island).The city is governed by a mayor, elected to a four-year term, and 37 City Council members. The major newspapers serving the city are The New York Times, The Daily News, and The Wall Street Journal.Major educational institutions include Columbia University, New York University, CityUniversity, the Union Theological Seminary, and the Juilliard School of Music.Attractions include Central Park, the Bronx Zoo, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the EmpireStateBuilding, RockefellerCenter, RadioCityMusic Hall, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Times Square, Greenwich Village, Harlem, and the New York Stock Exchange.

History
Henry Hudson discovered New York early in the l7th century and in l626, Dutch West India Company bought the entire island from the American Indians for the equivalent of about $24 in trinkets and beads.It was seized by the English in l664, and the name was changed from New Amsterdam to New York in honor of the Duke of York, brother of Charles II of England.The island changed hands twice more before finally becoming part of the United States. The city was briefly the capital of the country from l789 to l790.