GCL Program's Tenth Anniversary
From October 27 to 29, 2016, Georgetown University's Latin American Board (LAB) celebrated the tenth anniversary of its Global Competitiveness Leadership Program (GCL) with a GCL Alumni reunion on campus.
The celebrations were accompanied by three full days of activities for more than 100 GCL alumni who attended the event. The tenth anniversary of the GCL program opened with remarks by Georgetown University’s President, John J. DeGioia followed by a keynote address by the former rresident of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla. There were also three panel discussions on innovation for development, priorities for prosperity and the opportunities and challenges of the peace process in Colombia. Each panel featured local and regional leaders such as Alberto Beeck, Latin American Board member and founder of Georgetown’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation; Frances Colon, deputy science and technology adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State; Patrice D’Eramo, vice president of the Americas Field Marketing Organization at Cisco, and Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka. As well as, Pedro Burelli, managing partner of B+V Consulting; Mateo Samper, director of growth strategy and development for the Americas at Teach For All; Peter Schecter, director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council, and Juan Carlos Pinzón, ambassador of Colombia to the United States.
Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States, delivered a keynote address to the GCL alumni during a cocktail celebration at the Meridian International Center in Washington, DC.
GCL alumni also had the opportunity to re-live their experience at Georgetown by listening to presentations from former professors such as Juan Rivera and Paul Almeida. Other activities included visits to the Inter-American Development Bank, 1776 Startup Incubator, and Ashoka. On their last day at Georgetown, GCL alumni gathered to discuss the future of the GCL Network.