They introduced a network of Latin American public policy students in the United States that seeks to strengthen the connection with the region

There omnia red is a platform made up of Latin American postgraduate students in public policy in the United States and which functions as a meeting point for those pursuing a master’s degree in the North American country. It has two main objectives: to promote the future networking of the region and to serve as a vehicle for the Latin American study centers of each university.

This project grew out of the Omnia Conferences, which started in 2016 in Washington and where students of public policy met once a year to meet and work on designing a more prosperous region. Due to the pandemic, these conferences have been interrupted. Until Georgetown University’s Latin American and Caribbean Public Policy Association (LAPA) recently took the initiative to relaunch them, but with a different format. Thus, the Omnia network was created, which allows its members to connect, interact, learn, discuss and support each other.

The launch took place in mid-January at the Argentine Embassy in the United States and was attended by universities like American University, Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Yale and other universities that have expressed an interest in being part of the network in the future, among which are University of Chicago, Cornell and Princeton.

Among the nationalities present at the Omnia 2023 conference were graduate students from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador , Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Guatemala.

“All the representatives of the different universities agree that this network has a vision of more than 40 years in which we seek that all the universities of the United States strengthen the Latin American community and weave deep links between the future public decision-makers everywhere. the region. We are interested in thinking about how to create a more equitable, peaceful and inclusive region, with opportunities for all”, commented Bernarda Jarrín, one of the co-founders of the project.

During the first day, students were able to visit the offices of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and learn about the activities of the IDB Group, IDB Invest and IDB Lab, as well as job opportunities within the organization. , and a tour of its offices.

They then visited the United States Congress and, at the end of the visit, were welcomed by a panel organized by jeyben castroDeputy Director of the House of Representatives Office of Diversity and Inclusion, working with LAPA.

In the conversation participated Jaqueline Serranodeputy chief of staff of the deputy Tony Cardenas; Patricia OrdazCHSA President and Senator’s Outreach Director Amy Klobuchar; Caitlin SotoSenior Advisor to the Senate HELP Committee; Karen Navarrodeputy chief of staff Monica DeLaCruz; there Sesha Joi MoonU.S. House of Representatives Diversity Officer.

Then they went to the reception of the Argentine Embassy, ​​where there was an act. “Omnia can be translated as ‘everything,’ and I think that’s what this network should be, a platform for all of us to talk about everything,” said LAPA President, David Guzman Fonsecawho delivered a keynote address alongside the Dean of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, Maria Cancianbefore signing the document that led to the creation of the Omnia network.

The second day of the conference was held at the McCourt School of Public Policy building at Georgetown University, where three different panels were offered. The first, entitled “Policy making in Think Tanks: Democracy and Governance”, included the participation of Benjamin Gedandirector of the Latin America program at the Wilson Center; Michael Shifter, former president of the Inter-American Dialogue; And Ryan C.Berg, Director of the Americas Program at the Center for International Studies and Strategies (CSIS). The panel was also moderated by Diego Marroquinof the Brookings Institute, former student of Georgetown and former member of LAPA.

The second panel, entitled “Policy making and Cooperation: Social Challenges & Opportunities”, was composed of Gabriela Cuevas of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and Deborah Ullmer of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) with Soledad Planes of the IDB, a former Georgetown student and former member of LAPA, as moderator.

The last panel was a conversation between Marcela EscobariRegional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the USAID Agency for International Development, and Maricarmen Barroninternational development expert and also a former Georgetown student and former member of LAPA.

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