Strengthening the Public Sector in Latin America with Fundacion Botin
From October 27-31, 2019, as part of its custom program offerings, LALP organized a 4-day workshop to open the 10th edition of Fundacion Botin's Program on Strengthening the Public Sector in Latin America that took place over six weeks spanning the U.S., Colombia, and Spain.
The 32 Latin American students participating in the 10th edition of the Botín Foundation's Program for Strengthening the Public Function in Latin America began their training in Santander. It is a pioneering initiative that consists of an intense six-week program, divided between the United States, Spain, and Colombia, in which they are instructed as highly trained public servants to lead change in their countries. Thus, 65% of the participants in the nine previous editions already work in the public sector, including several mayors, officials of the judiciary, officials in international organizations, regional or diplomatic ministers, among others.
The six-week training began on October 27, 2019, at Georgetown University (Washington DC). As of November 4, the program moved to Santander, Santiago de Compostela, and Salamanca (Spain). And the final weeks were held in Madrid, before concluding in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), from December 3 to 7, on the occasion of the celebration of the 10 years of the Program.
6,512 applications from 450 universities in Latin America attended this 10th edition. The selected students come from Argentina (5), Mexico (4), Brazil (4), Colombia (3), Ecuador (2), Chile (2), and Venezuela (2), as well as one participant from each of the following countries: Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay.
The Botín Foundation launched this initiative in 2010, convinced that the first condition for the social and economic development of a country is the proper functioning of its public institutions. The entity intends to contribute through this initiative to the specialized training of young people committed to the public sector in Latin America, providing them with leadership, communication, and conflict resolution skills. In addition, the program has a Network made up of 326 graduates, through which both information and knowledge are shared, and serves as a framework to enhance support and collaboration in specific projects to improve different social realities in Latin America.