Guide: The VI Summit of the Americas

Updated April 16, 2012 - On April 14 and 15 over 30 leaders from around the hemisphere will converge in Cartagena, Colombia, for the Sixth Summit of the Americas. AS/COA Online offers coverage and analysis from AS/COA as well as web portals and social media links to keep up with the conference. The summit, this year titled “Connecting the Americas: Partners for Prosperity," is considered one of the most important gatherings in the region for bringing together all democratically elected leaders in the Hemisphere. The conference is slated to focus on improved integration, poverty reduction, preparation and response to natural disasters, security and transnational crime, and increased access to technology.

AS/COA Coverage:

• Access an AS/COA Summit of the Americas Private Sector Working Group report exploring initiatives to create the talent and skills necessary for job growth and economic development in the Americas. The report, titled The Private Sector’s Commitment to Job Creation: Recommendations to the Leaders, will be distributed to hemispheric leaders in anticipation of the Summit.
• An AS/COA Online Explainer breaks out the event’s origins, operations, challenges, and what past summits achieved.
• In an op-ed for The Miami Herald, AS/COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth spells out what should be the top three White House agenda items at the Summit. "By laying out a strategic vision for the region on democracy, energy, and trade, [President Obama] will reestablish the link with the United States as an indispensable nation in the Americas, in favorable contrast to others," says Farnsworth.
• Listen to a podcast of AS/COA Senior Director of Policy Christopher Sabatini speaking with NPR's On Point about the U.S.-Latin America realtionship and what topics are likely to be on the table at the upcoming Summit.
• Speaking on CNN International, Eric Farnsworth discusses the issues likely to be on the table during the Summit as well as how the United States can help support the region's strategic ambitions as an active partner.
• In an op-ed for Poder magazine, Eric Farnsworth argues that the Summit is the right time and place to address the state of regional democracy. "In Cartagena," says Farnsworth, "the agenda focuses on technological connectivity across the region, poverty reduction, personal security, and natural disaster mitigation. These are good and worthy items to address, but they ignore the elephant in the room: the state of regional democracy."
• U.S. regionalists need a reminder that development doesn't end politics and that contemporary Latin America has its own power dynamics, writes Christopher Sabatini in the February/March issue of Foreign Affairs. Watch a Foreign Affairs interview with Sabatini on how the U.S. should view Latin America and, in particular, how it should approach Brazil's newfound influence and economic might.
• While the United States remains the most influential country in the region, there was an expectation that it "would fundamentally change policy towards the region [since the last summit], but those expectations were unfounded and indeed many people in the region were disappointed that things did not change overnight," says Eric Farnsworth in a VOA News article.
• In an op-ed for Foreign Policy.com, Christopher Sabatini writes that the Western Hemisphere could claim the title for summit capital of the world, but events such as the Summit of the Americas repeatedly fall short of accomplishments.
• In context of the April 14-15 summit, AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini speaks to NY1 Noticias about the disparity between the diverse economic and political realities in Latin America and U.S. policy towards the region. (ES)
• AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini blogs for Americas Quarterly about how the disagreement over whether Cuba should be part of the summits and how it prevented signing of a summit declaration in Cartagena. "I don’t think Cuba should be a member of the Summit of the Americas process. Nor do I think it is worthwhile that divisions over Cuba should dominate a regional summit," he writes. "But I’ll take a genuine disagreement like we had in Cartagena, Colombia this weekend over the anodyne, empty, and ultimately ineffective statements that have come out of past summits."
• In Americas Quarterly, President of the Institute of the Americas Charles Shapiro writes that while the Summit in Cartagena most likely won’t break ground on any longstanding issues, the hemisphere’s “family affair” is still important. Read The Summit of the Americas: Why It Matters.
• Americas Quarterly blogger Jenny Manrique writes that the "question is that if ambition won't be sidelined by exhaustion and the assurances of Colombian Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín that the scope of the final declaration won't turn into flag waving can be real." (ES)

Get Direct Access to the Summit:

• Access the website of the Summit of the Americas, including the Sixth Summit portal covering Colombia’s role as the host.
• Follow the Summit and related forums through live webcast.
• View the Summit agenda.
• The Website of the Sixth Summit offers access to streaming video, related documents, and other relevant materials.
• Visit the website for the CEO Summit of the Americas for that forum’s agenda, press room, and more.
• The VI Summit website has a multimedia portal offers content broken down by videos, audio, photos, and documents.
• Access the U.S. State Department's Summit hub, featuring a backgrounder and related State Department content, and a Summit of the Americas document page.
• The United States' embassy in Bogota's website.

Social Media Coverage:

• On Twitter, follow @SummitAmericas and @americas_org for general updates, @americas_live for real-time coverage, @americas_now for media updates, and @americas_guide or @americas_guia to access updates for Summit participants. Also follow #VISummit and #VICubre to read tagged tweets about the Summit.
• The americasVIDEO channel on YouTube consists of relevant video clips covering a range of relevant issues and on-the-ground reports.
• Visit the Summit of the Americas and Summits of the Americas Secretariat Facebook pages with updates, links, and multimedia content direct from Cartagena.
• Follow a timeline developments during the Summit on its Storify page.
• Visit the VI Summit Flickr account to view the Summit photostream.
• The VI Summit’s Google+ page offers posts, photos, and videos about Summit activities.

News & Multimedia Coverage:

• Noticias Caracol features a Spanish-language hub of Summit-related content, including videos, articles, and analysis. Among the featured content is an interview with Colombian Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín broadcasted from Cartagena and about the Summit. (ES)
• Voice of Americas’ Cumbre de las Américas 2012 portal covering the Summit, with audio podcasts covering press conferences, relevant events, and the summit agenda. (ES)
• Bloggings by boz lays out eight "other issues" that leaders will likely discuss at the Summit, from U.S.-Caribbean issues to sideline bilateral meetings.
• Colombia's El Tiempo features a hub with content related to the conference.
• Reuters summarizes the major events, challenges, and news issues at the Summit.
• The Canadian Press has an article on Canada's redefined role in the Western Hemisphere: "New Canadian strategy for Americas expected."
• The Washington Post features an interview with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos about his country's role as Summit chair.