On February 28, fourteen participants of the Phelps Stokes Fund on Anti-Corruption and Accountability were given a tour of the OAS Historic Building by Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations. Irene Klinger, Director, Department of External Relations briefed the group on the OAS. Enrique Martinez, Legal Officer, Office of Legal Cooperation covered Anti-Corruption and Transparency, and Rafael Franzini of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) spoke to the group about money laundering.  

On February 27, twenty members of the Fundación Universitaria del Rio de la Plata (FURP) from Argentina were briefed and given a tour of the OAS by Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations. The Young Americans Business Trust, a group affiliated with the OAS that promotes the development of young entrepreneurs in the Americas, briefed the group.  

On February 26, the Institutional Relations section of External Relations organized a briefing for students from Washington College of Law. Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations led the group on a tour of the OAS Historic Building, The briefing included an OAS Overview by Jane Thery, Chief of Institutional Relations, human rights issues were discussed by Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Senior Specialist on Women’s Human Rights, and OAS legal issues with Lou Ferrand, Legal Advisor to the Secretary General and Director of Legal Services of the Organization.    

On February 20th, the Institutional Relations section of the Department of External Relations briefed a group of students from Montgomery College. The students were given a tour of the OAS Historic Building led by Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, and an Overview on the Organization. The group was also briefed by Richard Huber, Chief of Conservation, Department of Sustainable Development.  

On February 15, interns from various departments of the OAS headquarters in Washington, DC were given an overview of the organization and tour of the Historic Main Building on February 15 by Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations. The group included 70 interns from throughout the Americas. The interns also visited the Art Museum where Fabian Goncalves gave a tour of the new exposition “Meringue,” and the OAS Library, where they were given an overview by Estella Villagran.  

On February 13, the Institutional Relations section of the Department of External Relations organized a briefing for 8 members of Multilingual Solutions, which provides foreign language services to government, corporate, and individual clients throughout the United States.  The group received a tour of the OAS Historic Main Building by Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations. The group was also briefed by Minister Ricardo Navarrete of the Mexican Mission to the OAS.

On February 12, the Institutional Relations section of the Department of External Relations organized a briefing for The Washington Center for Internships.  This group included 38 interns from the Americas and Puerto Rico. The students received a tour of the OAS Historic Main Building by Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations. The group was also briefed by Kevin Isaac, Advisor to the Assistant Secretary General and Rosana Martinelli, Specialist, Department of Social Development & Employment.

On February 2, the Institutional Relations Section of the Department of External Relations organized a briefing for the Philadelphia Delegation to HACIA Democracy’s Summit of the Americas 2007 Meeting. This group included 28 students, teachers and advisors from 6 high schools in the Philadelphia area. The students received a tour of the OAS Historic Main Building by Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, an OAS Overview briefing by Jane Thery, Chief of Institutional Relations and a briefing on Democracy by Pablo Zuniga, Principal Specialist, Department for the Promotion of Governance, Secretariat for Political Affairs. Also invited to the briefing was Cathy Russell, External Affairs, Latin American and the Caribbean, The World Bank who gave an Overview on the work of the World Bank in Latin America.

On February 1st, Class 46 with Eighty military officers from the member countries of the Hemisphere enrolled at the Inter-American Defense College received a briefing at the Organization of American States on Thursday, February 1st. Irene Klinger, Director, Department of External Relations welcomed the Students and Advisors and gave them an Overview on the Organization. Steven Griner, Principal Specialist of The Department for the Promotion of Democracy, explained the work of the Secretariat for Political Affairs. Human Rights was covered by Maria Claudia Pulido, Principal Specialist of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights, and Carol Fuller, Secretary, Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE), covered the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security and finalized the briefing with emphasis on CICAD, CICTE and the Department for the Prevention of Threats against Public Security. The Briefing was moderated by Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations.