Appreciation

WHEREAS our Host Committee, chaired by Gerardo García Gamboa, Novedades de Mérida, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, and made up of Andrés García Gamboa, Novedades de Quintana Roo, Mexico, and Alis García de Ortiz, Milenio Novedades, Merida Mexico, offered an atmosphere of hospitality and cordiality conducive to professional and social activities; and WHEREAS the General Assembly received the generous support of the following organizations that sponsored hospitality events, offered services and provided useful and informative material and equipment, particularly the government of Yucatan, as well as the city of Merida, the Department of Tourism of Yucatan, TV Azteca, Soma Comercializadora, S.A. de C.V, and the Lebanese Community of Yucatan; and WHEREAS the government of the state of Yucatan sponsored the welcoming dinner of the 66th General Assembly at the Quinta Casa Fáller in Merida; and WHEREAS the honorable president of the United States of Mexico, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa and the distinguished governor of the Mexican state of Yucatan, Ivonne Ortega Pacheco, honored us with their presence and words at the inaugural ceremony of the 66th General Assembly on Monday, November 8; and WHEREAS the honorable president of the Republic of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, honored us with his presence and his interesting talk during lunch on Sunday, November 7, and was introduced by the president of the IAPA, Alejandro J. Aguirre. WHEREAS Gerardo García Gamboa, Novedades de Mérida, Merida, Mexico, gave a welcoming message on behalf of the Host Committed before the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information; and WHEREAS Francisco Vásquez, of E&P Research, Atlanta, U.S.A. and Rafael Bonelly, director of Digital Strategy and Social Marketing, NCA & Associados, Madrid, Spain, gave a valuable seminar on Friday, November 5 titled “Options for Online Newspaper Advertising” in which Gustavo Mohme of the Grupo La República, Lima, Peru, offered words of welcome and served as moderator of the session; and WHEREAS Rodrigo Stockebrand of Insite, Miami, U.S.A., offered an instructive presentation on “Positioning and Marketing on Search Engines (SEO/SEM) for Newspaper Web Sites” with the collaboration of the president of the IAPA, Alejandro J. Aguirre, who served as moderator; and WHEREAS Gustavo Salas Chávez, special prosecutor of Mexico for crimes against freedom of expression, along with Roberto Rock, El Universal, Mexico, D.F. and María Idalia Gómez of the Rapid Response Unit of the IAPA, Mexico, constituted a valuable panel at the seminar “Protection, Freedom, and Safety ” and the moderator of the session was the president of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information of the IAPA, Robert Rivard, San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, Texas; and WHEREAS Toni Cases, Cases i Associats, Barcelona, Spain, spoke on “New Opportunities Offered by the iPad and Other Tablets ” in a seminar moderated by Fabricio Altamirano, El Diario de Hoy, San Salvador, El Salvador; and WHEREAS at the first panel of the General Assembly, Alberto Hagar, Archeology-Astronomy Researcher, Merida, Mexico gave an interesting cultural presentation on “The Mayan Legacy” in which Héctor Dávalos, Novedades of Quintana Roo, Cancún, Mexico served as moderator; and WHEREAS a distinguished panel made up of Renato Sales Heredia, General Prosecutor of Justice for the Mexican state of Campeche, and Héctor José Cabrera Rivero, General Prosecutor of Justice for the Mexican state of Yucatán delivered a presentation on “Violence, Impunity, Drug-Trafficking” on Saturday, November 6. WHEREAS the third panel of the Assembly General titled “Journalists Under Attack: Combatilng a New Menace, was presented by Raúl Plasencia Villanueva, president of the National Committee on Human Rights of Mexico, Patricia Mercado Sánchez, Imagen de Zacatecas, Mexico; Alex Flores Bonilla, El Heraldo, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Diana Carolina Durán, El Espectador, Bogotá, Colombia; moderator of the session was Gonzalo Marroquín, Prensa Libre, Guatemala, who is the first Vice President of the IAPA; and WHEREAS Earl Maucker, Maucker Media, Fort Lauderdale, U. S.A. and Gonzalo Marroquin, Prensa Libre, Guatemala, presented a panel titled “The Integrated Newsroom in 2010: Advances and Challenges for Latin American Newspapers,” with Jaime Mantilla, Diario Hoy, Quito, Ecuador, as moderator; and WHEREAS the Lebanese Community of Yucatán offered a breakfast with a beautiful fashion show as part of the program of activities for spouses/companions; and WHEREAS the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra of Yucatan offered an enjoyable presentation during the welcoming reception at the Teatro Peón Contreras of Merida; and WHEREAS the Children’s Folkloric Ballet of the City of Merida and the Official Folkloric Ballet of the same city offered a colorful presentation to participants in the General Assembly on Sunday, November 7 at the Cathedral of Merida; and WHEREAS during the lunch of Monday, November 8, sponsored by the Department of Tourism of Yucatan, the Vice President of News for Televisa, Mexico, D.F., Leopoldo Gómez, was the main speaker and was introduced by Andrés García Gamboa, Novedades de Quintana Roo, Merida, Mexico. THE IAPA GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to express on behalf of its officers, directors, and members, its most deeply felt thanks and appreciation to the persons and companies that contributed and supported this successful General Assembly.