Ibero-American Summit of Young Leaders
The Dominican Republic hosted last Friday the first Ibero-American Summit of Young Leaders, an event that analyzes the situation of youth in the region and discusses solutions to issues such as access to education, employability and entrepreneurship, among others. The Summit also provided a space for leaders to learn first-hand about the concerns of the youth towards their own growth and that of the next generations.
Young people present had the opportunity to participate in dialogue sessions with the Heads of State and government officials of different countries such as Chile, Uruguay, Panama and Honduras, and take part in work sessions to develop project proposals on innovation and entrepreneurship, which were awarded at the end of the activity.
This forum was held within the framework of the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit, which was inaugurated last Friday.
Santo Domingo. – The Dominican capital hosted the celebration of the first Ibero-American Summit of Young Leaders, Cumbre Iberoamericana de Jóvenes Líderes a joint initiative of the multinational Nestlé, through its Youth Initiative, and the International Youth Organization for Ibero-America (OIJ), within the framework of the Conference of Ministers and Responsible for Youth, Conferencia de Ministros y Responsables de la Juventud that took place in March.
The event was led by the Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Raquel Peña, who highlighted the Government’s vision of supporting initiatives that allow the socialization of proposals to empower young people and support them to lead the changes and transformations demanded by Dominican society.
“Sharing with you today motivates and commits me. Being among young people, learning from them and with them, has been part of my role as a teacher and businesswoman. And since I assumed the service in the public administration, I have the opportunity to frequently verify their great capacity to generate social changes, contributing with creativity and courage in their environments,” affirmed the Vice President of the Dominican Republic.
Peña expressed that as a teacher and Vice President of the Republic, she feels proud of the young people for representing their contemporaries in Latin America with dignity. She congratulated them for their leadership and encouraged them to cultivate that network of contacts and take advantage of the diversity of spaces to discuss their ventures.
“I firmly believe that any society that wishes to take the lead in its growth and resolve its most complex situations must assign a leading role to education. And in that line, you are protagonists that promote progress and development,” Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Raquel Peña.
The Summit brought together more than 300 people, including 150 young Dominicans, 35 young Latin Americans, 17 speakers, and different authorities responsible for managing policies for this segment of the population, so that the latter could learn first-hand about the concerns of the youth towards their own growth and that of the next generations.
The panelists included the Dominican-Cuban comedian Marcello Hernández with his conference “Entrepreneurship through laughter,” and the artistic entrepreneur Saymon Díaz, with the presentation entitled “Entrepreneurship in the Music Industry.” In addition, there were important talks by the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Víctor Bisonó, and the Minister of Youth, Rafael J. Félix García.
Similarly, the young people present had the opportunity to participate in dialogue sessions with the Heads of State and Governments of different countries such as Chile, Uruguay, Panama and Honduras, and take part in work sessions to develop project proposals on innovation and entrepreneurship, which were awarded at the end of the activity.
En el marco de la Cumbre Iberoamericana de Jóvenes Líderes, me tocó participar como miembro del Consejo Directivo de la @OIJ_DIGITAL en el conversatorio con el Rey de España, Felipe VI ??@CasaReal @SNJPy @mreparaguay @PresidenciaPy @MaritoAbdo pic.twitter.com/rPPNMAn2tW
— Edgar Colmán (@EColman11) March 24, 2023
About Nestle
In the Dominican Republic, Nestlé has been present for 104 years, with 2 factories, 820 direct employees and around 12,000 indirect employees. In accordance with its purposes, it seeks to be in tune with and respond to the social, environmental, economic and cultural aspirations of the Caribbean peoples.
Nestlé’s development agenda contemplates the consolidation of empowerment opportunities for young people. For this reason, since 2018 it established a close collaboration with the OIJ and at the same time launched the Youth Initiative platform from which it has been able to impact the development of this population in Latin America.
The company is part of the Ranking of Companies Committed to Youth of the OIJ and the International Organization of Human Capital Managers (DCH). This list recognizes private sector companies and entities whose agendas contemplate the search for strategies to guarantee the labor autonomy of the young population in the region.
The purpose of the Ibero-American Summit of Young Leaders has been to establish a space for exchange in which the diverse perspectives, concerns and aspirations of the youth of the region are discussed, in order to integrate their realities into the public agenda of their countries.
About OIJ
The Organismo Internacional de Juventud para Iberoamérica (OIJ) is an international organization made up of 21 Ibero-American countries, which articulates cooperation in youth matters. OIJ adds extensive experience with an innovative character to promote transformations from the power of young people and with the leadership of the official youth organizations of the Iberian countries.
Reporting on the Summit, Forbes Dominicana highlighted urgent themes related to youth in the region:
“The number of young people who neither study nor work, the so-called “nini,” which reaches 20% in Latin America and the Caribbean, is one of the main indicators to which attention must be paid, according to the manager for Europe, Asia and Middle East of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), Ignacio Corlazzoli.
Corlazzoli said that it is a situation that also occurs in Europe, while giving as an example that in Spain the nini represent 19.4% of young people and points out that the challenge is greater when looking at it from a gender perspective, since it is women who more vulnerable.”
President of the Republic Gabriel Boric Font participates in the Ibero-American Summit of Young Leaders
The President of the Republic, Gabriel Boric Font, participated in the Ibero-American Youth Summit, held at the Catalonia Hotel in Santo Dominga. Boric was greeted by the Secretary General of the International Youth Organization for Ibero-America (OIJ), Max Trejo Cervantes, along with the Undersecretary of the OIJ, Mrs. Amalia De Lizaur López.
AHORA | Presidente @GabrielBoric participa de la Cumbre Iberoamericana de Jóvenes, organizada por @OIJ_DIGITAL, en el marco de la #CumbreRD2023. https://t.co/ZgZBDieSbj
— Presidencia de Chile (@Presidencia_cl) March 24, 2023
The Chilean president participated in the discussion, “Gabriel Boric: The reality of a leadership forged in the search for equality and social justice,” (Gabriel Boric: la realidad de un liderazgo forjado en la búsqueda de la igualdad y la justicia social) organized by the International Youth Organization for Ibero-America, where participants had the opportunity to ask the President questions.
For his part, the President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, celebrated that young people from different countries embrace national causes and believe in political activity as a valid instrument.
He expressed support during his speech at the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit, where he highlighted the meeting of young leaders.
“The truth is that it is a bath of realism and optimism that young people from different countries come here to embrace the causes of their nations at such an early age and that they believe that political activity is the valid instrument,” Lacalle Pou pointed out.
Also Visit, Ibero-American Summit
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