The new internet portal "Citizenship 2.0-transforming Latin America", was launched on Monday, May 30. Its aim is to encourage participation of citizens, especially young people, in the preparatory discussions of the XXI Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, whose central theme will be "State Transformation and Development" which will be held in Asuncion, Paraguay, on 28 and October 29, 2011.
 
This project is an initiative of the General Iberoamerican Secretary, Enrique V. Iglesias, who aims to encourage citizen participation in the issues being discussed at the Summit, as well as boosting the use of new information technologies and social networks. The portal is part of a plan of joint activities of the General Iberoamerican Secretariat and the Institute for Latin America at the University of Salamanca.
 
On Monday 30th also were launched two other priority activities within the project. The first is a Young Researchers Seminar about "Transforming the state and development." The second is an essay contest whose theme is "New strategies to strengthen the state and improve the conditions for development in Latin America." Both activities will have a specialized jury that will choose the best best paper. The award will be an invitation to attend the next Summit of Heads of State and Government.
 
During the coming months, workshops of Debate 2.0 will be held in four Latin American cities (Quito, Cordoba, Mexico and São Paulo), from which further discussions will also be presented to the Summit. They will complement the "Recommendation Document" prepared by the participants of the first Workshop Salamanca 2.0, held in the Latin American Institute at the University of Salamanca on 23 May 2011. To access: http://www.ciudadania20.org/

(Source: SEGIB)