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17, 2007 Bill Gates confirms he’s coming to Cartagena |
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Dear members and friends of the IAPA,
It is now a fact – Bill Gates has confirmed he will be attending our Midyear Meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, and his aides are now preparing his trip and participation in the program on Monday, March 19 at midday.
In addition, the Host Committee, chaired by Enrique Santos of El Tiempo and made up of all the Colombian newspapers belonging to ANDIARIOS, announced another great piece of news – the participation also of award-winning Chilean writer Jorge Edwards (author of numerous novels and stories, among them Persona Non Grata, El Seno de la familia, El museo de cera, Los convivados de piedra, El origen del mundo, El peso de la noche, Adios Poeta).
For reasons beyond their control Mexican author Carlos Fuentes and Inter-American Development Bank President Luis A. Moreno have had to cancel their attendance.
The program remains a very solid and enjoyable one featuring interesting presentations and cultural activities. Colombian first-time attendees are offered a special registration fee of $300 per person for non-members – and this includes a one-year membership in the IAPA.
As we have reported previously, there are three hotels reserved for those attending the Midyear Meeting. The conference hotel, Las Américas, has only a limited number of rooms set aside for IAPA officers (members of the Executive Committee, Advisory Council and Board of Directors). But if a member who does not belong to any of those groups wishes to stay at this hotel, his or her name will be added to a waiting list. There are, however, sufficient rooms available at the hotels Capilla del Mar and Charleston, located only 10 and 15 minutes away, respectively, by bus, and there will be a shuttle service for delegates requiring it.
The firm deadline for hotel reservations is February 1. After that date, as always, reservations will be on a first-come, first-served basis, so we urge you to register today and send your hotel reservation request right away. The respective forms are posted on the IAPA Web site, www.sipiapa.org, but if you would like us to send you one we will do so as soon as you request it.
PROGRAM
As well as the already-mentioned renowned personalities (Bill Gates and Jorge Edwards), also having confirmed their participation are Nobel Literature Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez and Argentine journalist and literary figure Tomás Eloy Martínez. The latter will take part in a roundtable on journalistic narrative, along with famed expert John Lee Anderson, a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of The Lion's Grave: Dispatches From Afghanistan and other books. There are two panel discussions on reporting and armed conflicts featuring Spanish journalist José María Callejas and Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation President David L. Grange. Another will examine the issue of ethics in the press, to be conducted by Javier Dario Restrepo and other experts in the subject.
The meeting’s official opening ceremony will be on Sunday, March 18, with the presence of Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe Vélez and his Peruvian counterpart, Alan García. Replies to invitations to attend are awaited from former United States Vice President Al Gore and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.
Also scheduled is a roundtable on investigative reporting and a cultural presentation on the cities of Cartagena and Santo Domingo by historians Rodolfo Segovia from Colombia and Eugenio Pérez Montás from the Dominican Republic.
As is customary at IAPA meetings, the seminars will cover a wide range of major issues, among them “How Is Online Journalism Doing in Latin America?” (to examine a survey on online journalism in the region carried out by journalists Guillermo Franco and Julio César Guzmán, who are now preparing a second version that includes examples of success in this genre in the region); “The New Labor Force of the Future” (to be conducted by Mike Smith, executive director of the Media Management Center at Northwestern University, Illinois, and consultant Cristian Oliver of Innovation); “New Technology Trends in Online Communication,” and a specially-designed program for journalists working with online publications.
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Be sure to arrive in Cartagena by Friday, March 16. At 7:00 p.m. that evening the welcoming reception will be held on Chiringuito beach at the Las Américas hotel. Also scheduled for that day are seminars, roundtables and the cultural presentation, in addition to committee meetings and a workshop on investigative reporting.
On Saturday, March 17 an attractive program is planned for spouses and companions, to include a visit to the city’s leading boutiques, where local handicrafts can be purchased.
There will be a luncheon with the participation of Jorge Edwards and an interesting evening event that will begin at the Heredia Theatre, Cartagena’s leading cultural venue, inaugurated in 1911, where at 6:00 p.m. a special ceremony of presentation of the keys to the city will be held, together with a homage to the Bogotá daily newspaper El Espectador. There will follow a banquet and party at the San Ignacio Bastion overlooking Animas Bay, constructed in 1630.
On Sunday, March 18 spouses and companions can tour Religious Cartagena, with a walk through the city’s historic district, visiting various convents, monasteries and churches. Attending the luncheon that day as special guests will be the presidents of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, and Peru, Alan García, while in the evening there will be a banquet and party at the San Felipe Castle. To make the climb up to there easier, the organizers recommend you wear comfortable shoes.
For Monday, March 19 there is scheduled a four-hour tour for all meeting attendees, following the closing luncheon at 1:30 p.m. Please look over the additional information posted on the IAPA Web site, www.sipiapa.org.
Cartagena is a two-hour flight from Miami, one hour from Panama City and one hour from Caracas. Its international airport is just five minutes from the conference hotel, Las Américas, a typically Caribbean-style resort standing beside modern convention center where the plenary sessions will be held. The Charleston Cartagena hotel is located inside the walled city in what used to be a Carmelite nuns convent known as the Santa Teresa cloisters, constructed in the early 17th century. And the Capilla del Mar hotel is attractively located looking out over the Caribbean Sea.
The Host Committee suggests that in all the meeting activities attendees wear casual clothing and male delegates leave their jackets and ties at home, asking that they take to Cartagena only sports shirts and, those so wishing, guayaberas. The month of March comes during the dry season and temperatures average 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28ºC), with what the hosts promise is a pleasant breeze at that time of the year.
Please check with your local Colombian consulate on visa requirements. The Host Committee is working with the Colombian security department to speed up any application process required for those attending the IAPA meeting.
The Avianca airline is the official conference air carrier, so it is recommended that you contact its representative or ask your travel agent to use the special code for the IAPA, GN013.
We look forward to greeting you at one of the most beautiful cities in the Americas, full of history, legends and architecture and which in 1984 was declared by UNESCO to be a World Cultural and Historical Heritage Site.
It will be a great pleasure to see you there in Colombia’s leading tourist destination.
Sincerely,
Julio E. Muñoz, Ph.D
Executive Director
