Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will be at the Organization of American States (OAS) headquarters next Tuesday, January 25, to keynote the inaugural Lecture Series of the Americas, and will share his perspectives on “The Promise and Peril of Democracy.” The one-hour Lecture begins at 3:00 p.m. Washington Time.

The newly-created monthly hemispheric conference stems from a Summit of the Americas mandate in which the hemisphere’s heads of state and government called for “effective, practical and compassionate solutions for the problems that confront our societies.”

Enshrined in both the OAS Charter and the Inter-American Democratic Charter, democracy features prominently on the inter-American agenda as a priority issue for the hemispheric organization. This first Lecture is part of a series of programs and activities called for in the Inter-American Democratic Charter “to promote democratic principles and practices and strengthen a democratic culture in the Hemisphere.”

Based on an initiative of Peru’s Permanent Mission to the OAS, the Organization’s Permanent Council established the Lecture Series as part of activities “designed to provide the peoples of the Americas with the best options for solving the problems that beset them. The OAS and the San Martín de Porres University of Peru signed the agreement establishing the Lecture Series of the Americas, at OAS headquarters last December 15.

Irene Klinger, Director of the OAS Department of Communications and External Relations and Coordinator of the Lecture Series of the Americas program, explained that a total of 12 conferences will be held this year, covering major topics besides democracy—such as human rights, hemispheric security and combating poverty.

Other speakers slated to keynote subsequent Lectures include Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Enrique Iglesias; International Criminal Court President Phillipe Kirsch; and 1992 Nobel Laureate for Literature Derek Walcott of Saint Lucia.

The inaugural Lecture, which Jimmy Carter will keynote, will be transmitted live by radio, television and Internet throughout the Americas.


LECTURE SERIES OF THE AMERICAS

Reference: E-011/05