Resolution of the 71th General Assembly
Charleston, South Carolina
October 2 – 6, 2015
WHEREAS
the impeccable work of our Host Committee, made up of Pierre Manigault and Heidi Herrington, Evening Post Industries; P.J. Browning, Becky Baulch and Robie Scott, The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina; Elizabeth Ballantine, The Durango Herald, Colorado; Scott C. Schurz, Schurz Communications, Indiana, and Edward Seaton, Seaton Newspapers of Kansas, was a most important factor for the success of our General Assembly, which despite the city of Charleston being under a state of emergency fostered a cordial atmosphere and one of much camaraderie among the delegates from throughout the hemsiphere
WHEREAS
the meeting also received the generous support of these people, organizations and companies: Evening Post Industries, Protecmedia, Telefónica, Anita Zucker-The InterTech Group; Boeing South Carolina, Brainworks, Womble, Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP, Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, The South Carolina Ports Authority, Newscycle Solutions, Kruger Inc., Garden & Gun, Edward Seaton, Elizabeth Ballentine, Scott C. Schurz, The Associated Press, Scripps Howard Foundation, Newspaper Association of America, The Post and Courier, College of Charleston, Helen Hill – Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and El Informador
WHEREAS
on Friday afternoon, in the General Assembly's first activity, a panel discussion was held titled "Good Journalism From Bad News?" with extraordinary speakers headed by Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. and Police Chief Greg Mullen, and The Post and Courier publisher Glenn Smith, journalist Liza Gross of Solutions Journalism and civil rights activist and CNN commentator Bajari Sellers, and in addition the panel discussion included Mitch Pugh of The Post and Courier as moderator
WHEREAS
the second panel discussion in the afternoon dealt with the participation of women in journalism and how, despite the disparities regarding their male colleagues, outstanding is their valuable contribution in all news media, and this session had the participation of The Post and Courier Executive Editor P.J. Browning, CNN key presenter Patricia Janiot, Cali, Colombia, newspaper El País editor María Elvira Domínguez and, as moderator, Charleston businesswoman and civic activist Anita Zucker
WHEREAS
in the first panel discussion of Saturday morning Florencia Sabatini of Google, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Brad M. Boggs of The Post and Courier, together with Sergio Almallo of Telefónica, Lima, Peru, reviewed the growth of mobile communications systems and the transformation these represent for today's journalism, and in that same panel discussion José María León of Protecmedia, Madrid, Spain, served as moderator
WHEREAS
Nobel Literature Prize Winner Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the most prestigious figures in the Latin American intellectual sphere, held the full attention of a large public at midday on Saturday during his presentation titled "Democracy and Freedom of Expression" which had a format of conversation with renowned journalist Andrés Oppenheimer and in that session IAPA President Gustavo Mohme was in charge of introducing Vargas Llosa
WHEREAS
at the Saturday lunch, given by the company Brainworks Software, journalist Andrés Oppenheimer, renowned columnist of The Miami Herald and CNN commentator, spoke on the issue of innovation and its implications for the future of the hemisphere, as he explains in his latest book "Create Or Die: The Hope For Latin America and the Five Keys of Innovation," and the editor of the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, Roberto Pombo, was in charge of introducing Oppenheimer
WHEREAS
on Saturday afternoon Kathleen Carroll, executive of The Associated Press, the world's largest news agency, gave a dissertation on how to defend journalists from situations of risk that every day increase in the world and her introduction was by Roberto Rock, La Silla Rota, Mexico City, Mexico
WHEREAS
that same Saturday afternoon Marisa Jiménez of Google Inc. gave the presentation "Freedom of Expression on the Web: Recent Lessons Learned in Europe and Latin America" and Gonzalo Zegarra of Semana Económica of Peru served as moderator
WHEREAS
panelists Matt Lindsay of the company Mather Economics, Atlanta, Georgia, and Anders Gyllenhaal of McClatchy Newspapers, Washington, DC, and moderator Ernesto Kraiselburd, El Día, Argentina, spoke to those present on the interesting subject of digital tools to reinforce media content and audiences
WHEREAS
on Sunday the panel discussion "Transparency in the U.S. Government and the State of the First Amendment in the Digital Era" was addressed by South Carolina lawyer Charles Baker III and had the participation as moderator of Diana Daniels, former IAPA president, Washington, DC, and introductory remarks by Joselin Padron-Rasines of the University of Florida
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Xavier Bonilla, of El Universo, Ecuador, winner of the 2015 IAPA Grand Prize for Press Freedom, gave a pleasant presentation titled "The Cartoon Under Siege"
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South Carolina Republican Federal Senator Tim Scott spoke to those attending the General Assembly and underscored the importance of the press in a free society
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Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), spoke on the issue of media concentration and freedom of expression, diversity and plurality, a presentation moderated by former IAPA president Earl Maucker
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Jim Newsome, president of the South Carolina Ports Authority, referred during the lunch to the question of improvements needed due to the increase in traffic as a result of the new construction of the Panama Canal
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officers and members of the Inter American Press Association held a productive exchange of opinions about the media concentration issue, a debate that was moderated by Claudio Paolillo of Búsqueda, Montevideo, Uruguay
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Gonzalo Gallegos, former official of the United States Interests Section in Havana, was in charge of the presentation via Skype "The Future of Cuba and Its Impact in the Caribbean and Latin America", which was moderated by Edward Seaton of Seaton Newspapers, Manhattan, Kansas
WHEREAS
distinguished journalist Bob Cox, former IAPA president, honored with his presence the advanced showing of the documentary that summarizes his life. Cox's story was introduced by Edward Seaton and held within the framework of the ceremony of presentation of the 2015 IAPA Excellence in Journalism Awards
THE IAPA GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLVES
to express on behalf of the president, officers, directors and members their deepest gratitude and appreciation to the people and companies that contributed to and supported this successful 71st IAPA General Assembly in the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina.
