Hillary Clinton at the “Open Digital Forum of the Americas” in FUNGLODE

The United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, led the “Open Digital Forum for the Americas” in the auditorium of the Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) last Friday. For approximately one hour, she shared her comments on topics linked to US foreign policy with about one hundred people at the FUNGLODE installations.

“We are all Americans no matter where we are from. Maybe we speak different languages, have different historical experiences and customs but we share this hemisphere and our future will be what we all determine it to be.”

Dominican President Leonel Fernández and the First Lady Margarita Cedeño were special guests at the activity which took place in English and Spanish and was transmitted on live television for the whole country and by Internet for the whole world through various platforms and social networks. Students, academics, international analysts, lawyers, businesspeople, salespeople as well as representatives from different levels of Dominican society were present.

On a stage that was converted into a television studio, Clinton appeared in an activity that is a normal occurrence in several of the countries but which, on this occasion, offered the general public and the Western hemisphere the possibility of having a dialogue and receive commentaries on topics linked to the agenda of the 5th Summit of the Americas, such as the promotion of human prosperity, energy security, sustainable environment and the situation in Haiti.

Clinton was enthusiastic about the idea of sharing the space with a culture with which she became close to during her term as US Senator from the state of New York. “We are all Americans no matter where we are from. Maybe we speak different languages, have different historical experiences and customs but we share this hemisphere and our future will be what we all determine it to be.”

Clinton stressed the mood for dialogue and listening that would be demonstrated by the US government at the summit in Trinidad and Tobago which began last Friday and ended on April 19th. “The United States is prepared to listen to the ideas and concerns of our friends and allies and we are committed to work with you so that we can increase the prosperity and security of our people. Instead of talking about progress toward economic profitability, we have to improve the quality of life of our citizens.”

Three Main Themes

In her opinion, it is these moments of crisis that the Obama administration should look outside its borders. “Our future is linked to the other countries in the hemisphere,” said Clinton who added that her government has made a commitment to increase its investment in Latin America and the Caribbean by 17%. “It is an investment for a future we can all build together in many areas.”

Her speech at FUNGLODE centered on three themes which the countries gathered in Trinidad dealt with together: education, food security and violence. In the first topic, Clinton recognized that every country has its individual needs “and we have to work on it but it is essential to invest in education which is the pillar of economic progress.” At this moment she referred to the $30 million dollars to be used for educational projects in the US zone. “We are looking all over the place for the best practices, observing how they function in each place and how not to do the same thing over and over again. We have to learn from each other, encourage each other’s good ideas.”

In terms of food security, Hillary Clinton said the recession has made it much more difficult and that the poor have seriously difficult survival problems. “It is about putting food on the table or nothing. Our hemisphere produces plenty of food but there is hunger in places where people live on less than one dollar per day. The consequences of this hunger is seen in our schools, workplaces, everywhere.” For that reason, she emphasized that the lack of “food security poses a direct threat to economic growth and world security.”

Referring to the Obama Administration’s commitment to double its food aid, Clinton said “our goal is to get to the root of the problem. We must sustain production and distribution and see what is to be done to make use of the advantages of agriculture to generate economic growth.”

She introduced the third theme as “possibly” the most important. “It is difficult to get out of poverty if there is no security and safety in one’s surroundings. People cannot make advances without improving public safety, without putting an end to all types of violence including violence in the home.” She cited violence generated by drug trafficking as a priority. She confirmed that the United States should deal with its own demand for drugs. “There are many young people in Latin America and the Caribbean who possess the incredible power to put an end to the drug trafficking that is threatening their safety and their people. The United States is going to support a summit for young people to combat violence.”

The former NY Senator defended the use of new technology “to unite the voices against drug traffickers, to intimidate them, with all the social groups united together.” She made it clear though that it is not just against the drug trafficker that technology can be used but “also against local crime, governmental corruption and domestic violence. We need to share information to work together, learn together…and act together.”

Ending her speech, she mentioned the request she’d made several hours earlier in a private meeting with President Leonel Fernández in which she asked him to become a bridge between leaders of Central America and the Caribbean “to help build a better future. But it is the people who decide the type of progress they want, if they are going to conform or become active, if they are going to be on the side of corruption or not. I would like to see a hemisphere where everyone is working together, where all boys and girls can fulfill their God-given potential. I hope I can count on you to achieve this.”

The event ended with a question and answer session which had been done previously through the webpage of the forum.

Hillary Clinton at the “Open Digital Forum of the Americas” in FUNGLODE .

Hillary Clinton at the “Open Digital Forum of the Americas” in FUNGLODE .

Hillary Clinton at the “Open Digital Forum of the Americas” in FUNGLODE .