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FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2009 CITIZEN OF THE AMERICAS AWARD

The Trust for the Americas, an affiliate of the Organization of American States (OAS), has announced the finalists for the 2009 Corporate Citizen of the Americas Award, which seeks to encourage the private sector’s role in developing solutions to overcome poverty in communities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean by recognizing companies that have implemented innovative programs that benefit their communities.

This year’s CCA Award finalists are, in alphabetical order: AES, House of Culture and Citizenship, located in socially vulnerable areas is both urban and rural Brazil; Banco Compartamos, a leading microfinancial institution in Latin America; Diageo’s Learning for Life program, designed to transform the lives of underprivileged people that is active in 19 Latin America and Caribbean countries; Ernst and Young’s Corporate Responsibility Fellows Program, in which fellows help high-impact entrepreneurs in Chile and Uruguay to strengthen their businesses; Freeport McMoRan’s IluMINA tu Vida program, which has given free Internet access to local communities in Chile; Itaú Unibanco’s Writing the Future program, which trains teachers from the Brazilian formal public school system; MetLife Mexico’s Con Lazos Descubro lo Bueno program, which promotes improvement of basic education and values for Mexican youth; Scotiabank México’s Red de Sucursales Incluyentes, which seeks to make its branches accessible to clients and employees with visual and motor disabilities; Telefónica Internacional USA’s Proniño Program, which aims to transform the lives of the most vulnerable children in Latin America through protection of minors and quality education; and Western Union’s Our World, Our Family program, which seeks to provide skills, knowledge and resources to the global migrant population.

The Trust for the Americas and the OAS will announce one winner and two honorable mentions for the award at a reception recognizing the finalists on December 9, 2009, at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Trust for the Americas is a nonprofit organization established in 1997 to promote private and public sector participation in projects that reflect the principal goals of the OAS. This year’s Award Selection Committee is comprised of Albert Ramdin, OAS Assistant Secretary General; Susan Segal, President and CEO of the Americas Society-Council of the Americas; Steven Puig, the Vice President for the Private Sector and Non-Sovereign Guaranteed Operations at the Inter-American Development Bank; Basil Khalil, Managing IT Director of FedEx Latin America; and Marcia Teixeira, Community Affairs and Internet Safety Lead for Microsoft Latin America.

For more information, please contact Eleni Fischer, Award Coordinator, at 202-458-3261.

Reference: E-375/09