Appreciation

WHEREAS our Host Committee, co-chaired by Aldo Zuccolillo, Diario ABC Color and Alejandro Dominguez, Diario La Nación, provided an atmosphere of hospitality and cordiality conducive to professional and social activities WHEREAS the midyear meeting received the generous support of the following organizations that sponsored hospitality events, offered services and provided useful and informative material and equipment: Diario ABC Color, Personal,Tigo, Petrobras Paraguay Distribución LTD, Datalab S.A., Parasur, J. Fleischman and Co., Sanatorio Migone, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Senatur, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), Hotel Resort Casino Yacht and Golf Club of Paraguay, the Convention Center and Municipal Theater WHEREAS the Zuccolillo family, with the exemplary leadership of Natalia, provided support and hospitality WHEREAS his Honor President Fernando A. Lugo Mendez honored us with his presence and speech at the IAPA Mid Year Meeting official opening ceremony and luncheon on Sunday, March 15 and was introduced by Host Committee co-chairman Alejandro Dominguez. Also, President Lugo Mendez graciously invited IAPA’s Executive Committee to a dinner at the Presidential Residence WHEREAS Aldo Zuccolillo and his family hosted a reception for participants at their home on Thursday, March 12, followed by a welcome reception at the Veranda complex on Friday, March 13 WHEREAS Aldo Zuccolillo, Diario ABC Color, Paraguay, presented opening remarks on behalf of the Host Committee WHEREAS Marcelo Franco, Clarin Global, Argentina, held a successful seminar on the Battle for New Online Audiences on Friday, March 13 WHEREAS Marco Chiaretti of the Grupo Estado, Brazil, held a successful seminar on the unexpected benefits of integration at the Estado Group on Friday, March 13 WHEREAS Carlos Villagra Marsal, writer and academic from the National University, Asunción, Paraguay, spoke to the audience on Friday, March 13, on Paraguayan Bilinguilism and was introduced by Aldo Zuccolillo WHEREAS the CLAEP program held a successful meeting in conjunction with local journalism schools, with support from journalism deans Silvia Pellegrini from Chile, María Helena Vivas from Colombia, João Brito from Brazil, and Aurelio Collado form Mexico WHEREAS Germán Rinaldi and Diego Banega of Google, Argentina, held a successful seminar on how newspapers can increase profits from their internet-driven traffic on Saturday, March 14 WHEREAS Santiago Cantón, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Washington D.C., Catalina Botero Marino, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Organization of American States, Washington D.C. and Frank La Rue, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Guatemala, held a successful roundtable on the experience of the Office of Special Rapporteur through 10 years of setting an agenda for freedom of expression on Saturday, March 14 WHEREAS Cesar Gaviria, Former President of Colombia, addressed assembly delegates following the Saturday, March 14 luncheon on strategies in the war on drugs and was introduced by Enrique Santos Calderón, El Tiempo, Bogotá, Colombia WHEREAS Nicolás Leoz, President of CONMEBOL, addressed delegates and invited guests at a dinner offered by the South American Football Confederation on Saturday, March 14 WHEREAS Symphonic Director Luis Szaran and One Hundred Harps offered a musical view of Paraguay in a concert on Saturday, March 15 WHEREAS Milton Coleman, The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Earl Maucker, Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Edward Seaton, The Manhattan Mercury, Manhattan, Kansas, Mark Fitzgerald, Editor and Publisher, New York, NY, and Liza Gross, Miami, Fl, held a very successful roundtable on the state of the United States Newspaper Industry and the lessons to be learned from the current crisis on Sunday, March 15 WHEREAS Danilo Arbilla moderated a panel discussion held by Alejo Miro Quesada, Cosas Internacional, Lima, Peru; German Rey, El Tiempo, Bogota, Colombia; and Marcelo Beraba, O Estado de S. Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil, based on the document IAPA Aspirations WHEREAS Roberto Rodrigues, former Minister of Agriculture of Brazil and Coordinator for Agro-Business of the Getulio Vargas Foundation spoke to the audience on Sunday, March 15 on Agro-Energy: A New Global Geo-Policy and was introduced by Juan Luis Correa, La Estrella and El Siglo, Panama WHEREAS Ricardo Stefanelli of Zero Hora, Porto Alegre, Brasil, presented a successful seminar on the challenges of keeping existing subscribers while still attracting new readers on Sunday, March 15 WHEREAS Patricia Bozzano, director of the Unidos por Cristo (United for Christ) Foundation, Asunción, Paraguay and Sister Regina Sían, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous, Asunción, Paraguay, shared their ideas and experiences for a successful social program during the breakfast meeting on Monday, March 16, moderated by Liza Gross, Miami, Fl. WHEREAS Ariel Tiferes, Diario La Nación, Buenos Aires, Argentina held a successful seminar on where print media stands in the surge of content and variety on the internet on Monday, March 16 THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to express on behalf of the president, its officers, directors and members its deepest gratitude and appreciation to the people and enterprises that contributed to and supported this Midyear Meeting.