IV CSC Recap: 5 Years and still Growing Strong

By Carlos Macias

The IV Colombian Student Conference (CSC) started for many of us a few months before April of 2010. For The George Washington University (GWU) chapter meant countless hours of defining logistics, securing attendance of panelists, and attracting sponsors. For PorColombia’s (PC) national executive board, it represented many teleconferences, designing our first promotional brochure, and the excitement to finally experience the fourth installment of our annual signature event. For our members living in the north as far as Toronto or in the south reaching Florida, it was the anticipation to finally meet in person their fellow PorColombians (some for the first time) and get impregnated with the “from passion to action” bug.

The day before the event, we all started our journey to Washington D.C. Some of us rented “church” vans and traveled in caravan, others drove almost 10 hours non-stop from Canada, many decided to hop on the express bus service serving the I-95 corridor, and a handful just took a plane to the Ronald Reagan Airport. Several photo albums have been posted in Facebook as a testament of these unforgettable road trips. But the real fun was awaiting for all of us in D.C. In the meantime, the conference staff was fine-tuning many last minute details to make the event a total success. And you know what? In all fairness, it was.

The weather on April 10 was without exaggerations just perfect. Clear skies, a slight breeze that accentuated many flowery spring aromas and the amazing array of pastel colors sprouting everywhere framed the conference. Around 8:30 a.m., the crowd started to trickle in, and laughter, hugs, and camaraderie filled the lobby of the Jack Morton auditorium. This state-of-the-art auditorium is a 244-seat stage with green rooms, make-up room, and a multimedia production set up that is used by CNN with frequency to do live broadcasts. The registration process started without delay by distributing personalized nametags and goodie bags to all participants. Before the event started, we were all directed by the staff to enjoy breakfast compliments from the PC @ Georgetown chapter and sumptuous coffee provided by Juan Valdez in the second-floor lobby.

By 9:30 a.m., the conference staff asked everyone to come back down and take a seat in the auditorium. The magnificent stage, the vibrant crowd, and professionalism how the event staff greeted and directed everyone set the mood for a great day. The event executive director and President of the PC at GWU chapter Natalie Abuchaibe took the stage and officially installed the IV Colombian Student Conference. The hymns of the United States and Colombia were played with solemnity. With brief words, as the master of ceremony, Natalie showed us a pre-recorded video of the Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Velez greeting the audience and congratulating PC’s drive to improve the image that Colombia has abroad. Uribe also highlighted some of the ripe business opportunities available for investors like business process outsourcing (BPO), health tourism, and biofuels among others.

Afterwards, Natalie introduced PC National President Marcela Sarmiento to give her welcoming remarks. Marcela delivered an emotional speech that touched the right cord in everyone’s heart. “The power of this conference, already a PC signature event, relies on the bonds forged, the ideas generated, the questions answered, and our everyday feats that identify us as Colombian and Latin American ambassadors abroad,” Marcela said. And looking in retrospective, what we learned about the current political climate approaching presidential elections, the state of affairs regarding human rights, and the promising film industry brewing in Colombia gave us also a competitive edge. In her speech, she announced that a new PC chapter had been officially created at Princeton University. In her final remarks, Marcela said: “I would like to thank all of you for being the beacon of this organization, the rabble-rousers, the heart and soul of everything we do and will continue to do as PorColombia for Colombia. Our future is bright, I know it because I can see it… it is sitting in front of me. I would like to leave you with a thought written by Gustavo Abello from Barranquilla who wrote the following about PorColombia: ‘The finest Colombian export is not coffee, it is the Colombian soul.’ ” (Read Marcela’s remarks by clicking here)

After her powerful speech, Natalie invited to the podium the keynote speaker of the event, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Colombia to the Organization of American States Luis Alfonso Hoyos Aristizábal. In his distinctive “paisa” accent, Aristizábal pondered with eloquence the fact many “Colombia” experts abroad still have a huge knowledge gap about our countries’ realities. As a government representative, he explained how advances in security, foreign investment, and social improvements have changed in a positive way the lives of all Colombians. Aristizábal also emphasized that Colombia has the conditions to become in 15 years from now, the third largest economy in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico. Following Uribe’s earlier remarks, he also enumerated all the business opportunities the Colombia offers to investors. After the ambassador’s speech, we saw another video greeting from an old friend. This time it was RCN News in English anchor Brian Andrews. He applauded our drive and wished us success with the event. A year ago, Andrews participated as a panelist at the III CSC held at Baruch College and New York University.

We were all ready for the first panel to start. Natalie called to the stage the moderator Joseph Incalcaterra, a Georgetown University student who majors on international economics. After a brief introduction, he called to the stage his four panelists, all well-seasoned experts in foreign affairs. The conversation focused on the legacy of the Uribe era for the country and how the different presidential hopefuls were campaigning in the ongoing electoral season. The panelists also weighed in the stalled issue of the free trade agreement between Colombia and the United States. The Council of the Americas Vice President Eric Farnsworth said the ending FTA agreement is a win-win situation for the United States because most of the Colombian products already enter the United States duty-free. RCN Noticias interviewed Farnsworth after the event.

For the second panel, the chosen moderator was Federico Rivas, another student from Georgetown University majoring on economics, government, and international development. Rivas shared the stage with Adam Isacson form the Center of International Policy, Trina Tocco from the International Labor Rights Forum, Vicente Echandía from the Colombian Embassy in Washington D.C. and Anthony Dest from the Washington’s Office on Latin America. The conversation focused on the political fallout of the “false positives” scandal that tainted the reputation of the Colombian army and exposed the vulnerabilities of the “democratic security” doctrine of Uribe. In additions, Tocco expressed her concern for the lack of workers’ rights and low wages in flagship industries like banana and flower plantations.

After the second panel was greeted on its way out with goodie bags and the applause from the auditorium, it was time for the lunch break. We went back upstairs to the second-floor lobby where we were welcomed with a succulent arroz con pollo. It was time to recharge batteries and network. But it was also time for the producers of PCTV to roll out the camera and shoot a few segments for their upcoming second episode. Our national IT Director Andrés Castellanos and his dynamic team spearhead this project.

Natalie kicked off the afternoon portion of the conference with a delightful surprise: An almost 7-minutes video from Colombian comedian Andrés Lopez. As usual, Lopez managed to make everyone smile by evoking familiar scenarios from Colombian culture and calling the audience to excel and be Colombia’s everyday ambassadors abroad.

The third panel started with the participation of Colombian screenwriter and director Felipe Aljure, the moderator Mauricio Ardila, a student from GWU majoring on international business and information systems, and via Skype from Los Angeles, Colombian director Simon Brand. He joined the panel remotely given last-minute engagements that prevented him to travel to D.C. Aljure and Brand made a quick recap of how the Colombian film industry was reborn in the last decade. They also pointed out that pending legislation in the Colombian Senate that offers tax breaks and economic incentives to foreign productions remains key for a healthy and growing film industry.

To finalize the first day of the conference, Natalie introduced another greeting video, this time from veteran goalkeeper Oscar Córdoba. The message was brief but refreshing. At this point, the audience understood that technology is an invaluable tool to shorten distances and bring down barriers. In this aspect, the organizers of the event from the GWU chapter scored a big hit.

At this point, the first day of the conference was over but we were all energized, motivated, and grateful. Afterwards, we all met at a local club to celebrate the success of the IV CSC. The next day, we enjoyed a colorful afternoon full of Colombian food, music, and passion. To prove it, we created a flicker slideshow with the all official photos of our two-day event. As Marcela said in her speech: “The power of this conference, already a PC signature event, relies on the bonds forged, the ideas generated, the questions answered, and our everyday feats that identify us as Colombian and Latin American ambassadors abroad. Each new installment of the conference gives us a breath of fresh air, accelerates our beating heart, and allows us to turn the page and add a new chapter to our short but impressive story as PorColombia.”