MIAMI, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- PODER Magazine, the premier publication for the business elite focusing on U.S. Hispanic and Latin American policymaking and corporate strategy, together with its partners -- the City of Miami, Synergos.org, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, Univision, Impremedia, the Miami Herald Publishing Company, Foreign Policy magazine, Georgetown University, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Miami Dade College -- today announced that it will host a Philanthropy Forum, dedicated to the Americas, on March 12, 2008 in Miami, Florida.
Keynote addresses on the importance of philanthropic programs as a means of social change will be delivered by:
-- Bangladeshi banker, economist and microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus,
winner of the Nobel Prize in 2006 for his work with the Grameen Bank,
will be joined by Alberto Ibarguen, the President and CEO of the John
S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami, Florida, in a conversation
about innovation in philanthropy.
-- Medical doctor, epidemiologist, technologist, author and philanthropist
Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Brilliant, the director of Google's philanthropic
arm Google.org.
-- American computer scientist Nicholas Negroponte, Founder and Chairman
of the One Laptop per Child non-profit association and Founder and
Chairman Emeritus of the MIT Media Laboratory.
This unprecedented event aims to demystify the complex issues that hinder private and corporate philanthropy today in Latin America, and will gather together top business leaders, politicians, entertainers, academics and others from Latin America and the U.S. who recognize the importance of philanthropy and are committed to changing the perception and dynamic of charitable giving in Latin America.
The Forum will be chaired by Emilio Azcarraga, Chairman and CEO of Grupo Televisa, and Bill Emmott, the former long-time Editor-in-Chief of The Economist magazine, will preside over the forum. Participants of this invitation-only event, including Moises Naim, Editor-in-Chief, Foreign Policy; Justin Rockefeller, Co-founder of Generation Engage; Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank; Jorge Ramos, Univision news anchor; Cesar Gaviria, Former President of Colombia; Monica Lozano, Chairman of Impremedia; Jorge Perez, Chairman and CEO, The Related Group; Manuel Arango, Founder Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI); singer Ricky Martin; Haim Saban, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Saban Capital Group; Gustavo Cisneros, Chairman, Cisneros Group of Companies; Mario Kreutzberger "Don Francisco", founder of Chile's Telethon fundraiser and host of Univision; and Donna Blackwell, Executive Director, The Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, will explore such subjects as philanthropy for educational causes, philanthropic entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, the role of the immigrant community in giving back to their native countries and the successful use of media, communications, and celebrity to encourage charitable giving. Concluding the Forum will be the awarding of the fifth annual PODER - Boston Consulting Group Business Awards, introduced by John C. Clarkeson, Chairman Emeritus of The Boston Consulting Group.
The event will be opened with a fundraising concert by Latin America's most renowned Grammy-winning artist, Juan Luis Guerra, which will take place on the evening of March 11. Proceeds from concert tickets will benefit "Ya es hora," a historic, nonpartisan Latino civic campaign that represents the largest and most comprehensive effort to incorporate Latinos as full participants in the American political process.
Emilio Azcarraga said, "This forum will bring together individuals and organizations from Latin America and the U.S. that have demonstrated philanthropic leadership and initiative and understand that giving is good business. We are privileged to be joined by the likes of Muhammad Yunus, Dr. Larry Brilliant and Nicholas Negroponte amongst a long list of other renowned leaders, as they have demonstrated clearly the kind of effort we are looking to instill and achievement we so desperately need to this region."
Isaac Lee, PODER Magazine's Editor-In-Chief said, "This event is the first-ever of its kind and will break the taboo surrounding philanthropy in Latin America. We are striving not only to raise awareness, but also to provide the opportunity for like-minded people and organizations to discuss the challenges to providing Latin America with much needed assistance from charitable giving."
The PODER Philanthropy Forum is one of a series of events organized by PODER magazine. PODER magazine is a monthly magazine that targets the business elite of the U.S. Hispanic market. PODER also has editions in Colombia, Mexico and Chile, with articles that contain unique and relevant business content. Under an exclusive content distribution agreement, PODER also publishes a selection of articles from The Economist, the world's leading weekly magazine.
For further information contact Juan Miguel Mora at (786) 351-0123 or juan@page1media.com.
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