Media Center

Press Advisory

OAS Celebrates House of the Americas One Hundredth Anniversary

The Organization of American States (OAS) will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the House of the Americas, the organization’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., this Thursday, April 29, beginning at 18:00 EDT (22:00 GMT) with a ceremony to which the Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, has invited important figures of the world of politics, academia and the arts.

Among those whose attendance to the event has been confirmed are former secretary generals of the OAS César Gaviria and Luigi R. Einaudi; the former prime minister of Jamaica P.J. Patterson; the United States Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solís; the governor of the State of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto; the US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Arturo Valenzuela; the United Nations Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena; and other representatives of international organizations.

The House of the Americas, originally the Building of the Pan American Union, has during its one hundred years of existence been the setting for several of the most important political and economic events in the region. It has served as the center of operations and planning of conferences, seminars and meetings of member states in the last fifty years. Many presidents and prime ministers of the continent have delivered speeches in the Hall of the Americas before representatives of other nations; and it has also been the place where agreements and declarations that have impacted the lives of millions of citizens have been signed.

Registration

Media organizations interested in covering the event must write beginning today, Tuesday, until Thursday, to [email protected] with the following information:

- Full name
- Nationality
- Passport number or other official identification
- Media organization name
- E-mail
- Contact telephone numbers
- Type of media organization (Daily, Weekly, Magazine, Radio, TV, Online, Agency)

Access

Press access to the building will be through the C Street entrance, on the north side of the Main Building. Credentials may be picked up by showing an official personal identification document and one identifying the media organization.

Press registration will be open between 16.30 EDT and 20.00 EDT (20.30-0.00 GMT) on Thursday the 29th.

Coverage of the event

Print journalists, photojournalists and cameramen will have access to the hall of ceremonies during the speeches. Movement in the hall will be limited to the areas designated for the press.

Members of the press will have a room in the building at their disposal for those times when they are not allowed access to the events.

WHAT: Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the House of the Americas, headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS)

WHEN: Thursday, April 29, 2010, 18.00 EDT (22.00 GMT)

WHERE: Organization of American States (OAS)
17th Street & Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, D.C 20006

Reference: AVI-126/10