The 23rd CAF Conference was held over September 4 and 5, 2019 at the Willard InterContinental in Washington, DC. Discussions focused on trade in the region, the relationship between China and Latin America, social media and disinformation campaigns, the crisis in Venezuela, and the political trends and elections across the hemisphere.
On April 26, 2019, the Inter-American Dialogue and CAF – Development Bank of Latin America hosted “Institutions for Productivity: Towards a Better Business Environment in Latin America” to present and discuss the underlying challenges and policy recommendations found in CAF’s flagship report.
On September 9, 10, and 11, 2020, over 6,000 participants from around the world convened virtually for the 24th Annual CAF Conference to discuss the most pressing issues facing the Western Hemisphere.
The 26th Annual CAF Conference kicked off with a fireside chat between Dr. Rebecca Bill Chavez, President & CEO, Inter-American Dialogue and Ambassador Nina Hachigian, US Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy, to discuss the inaugural Cities Summit of the Americas, which was held in Denver, Colorado, in April.
Expert panelists explored the question of Latin America and the Caribbean’s preparedness in the face of a future pandemic. Despite making up less than 10 percent of the world’s population, the region accounted for more than 25 percent of worldwide deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic. The panel focused on the ways in which healthcare policy in LAC shifted during and after the pandemic, as well as the outcomes from pandemic policy implementations.
Gabriela Frías, business anchor for CNN en Español and Juan Gonzalez, senior advisor and special assistant to the President of the United States as well as senior director for the Western Hemisphere at the National Security Council convened for a keynote dialogue with insights into the White House’s perspective on a number of current trends across the Western Hemisphere.
Experts discussed the call for reforming multilateral development banks (MDBs) to adjust their incentives and operating models to address the climate crisis and how green finance and other innovative methods can help drive the energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean.
President Laura Chinchilla, co-chair of the Inter-American Dialogue and former president of Costa Rica and Frank Mora, US ambassador to the Organization of American States, came together for a conversation on the future of the inter-American system, especially important in the face of the multiple challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, including migration, insecurity, and democratic decline.
Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, Kelly Gallego Massaro, president of ABRACAM-Associação Brasileira de Câmbio, and Sergio Sagastume, CEO of Amigo Paisano joined Manuel Orozco, director of the Migration and Remittances Program at the Inter-American Dialogue for this important panel.
“Women’s Economic Empowerment – Fostering an Equitable and Inclusive Digital Economy,” focused on women’s inclusion in the digital transformation, discussing methods to bridge the digital divide between men and women by investing in digital upskilling, online financial management services and social services, and entrepreneurship programs.
Dr. Rebecca Bill Chavez, president and CEO of the Inter-American Dialogue and Antonia Urrejola, former foreign minister of Chile came together for an exchange titled, “Bolstering Democratic Governance Through Foreign Policy.”
En una entrevista para infobae, Rebecca Bill Chavez, presidenta y CEO de Diálogo Interamericano, conversó con Román Lejtman sobre la 27° edición de la Conferencia Anual de CAF.