CAF Conference: Europe - Latin America and the Caribbean relations

Sergio Díaz-Granados

Executive President, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-

Sergio Díaz-Granados has extensive experience in public and private service, both nationally and internationally, with special emphasis on regional development and integration issues. Before assuming the presidency of CAF, he served as Executive Director for Colombia at the Inter-American Development Bank. He previously held the positions of Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, Vice Minister of Business Development and President of the Boards of Directors of Bancóldex and ProColombia. He also has been a congressman and chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Colombia’s House of Representatives.

Antonio Pulido

Chairman of the Cajasol Foundation

He holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration and a PhD in Economics from the University of Seville, Spain. He is currently chairman of the Cajasol Foundation, chairman of the Andalusian Associations and Foundations (AFA) and chairman of the Cajasol Studies Institute. He has been Chairman of the International Association of Pledge and Social Credit (PIGNUS) and a member of the Board of Criteria Caixa Holding.

He has been recognized with the medal of honor awarded by the World Jurist Association, in 2019, is a member of the Royal European Academy of Doctors, honorary member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Seville, the Royal Provincial Academy of Fine Arts of Cadiz, the Royal Spanish-American Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters and the Royal Academy of Sciences, Fine Arts and Noble Arts of Cordoba.

Susana Sumelzo

Secretary of State for Ibero-America, the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Government of Spain

She is a lawyer graduated from the University of Zaragoza and is currently Secretary of State for Latin America and the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, in the Council of Ministers of the Government of Spain. She has served as a senator in the IX Legislature, where she was spokesperson of the Constitutional Commission, deputy in the X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV and XV legislatures and member of the Spanish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. She has also been secretary of Public Administrations for the PSOE party and secretary of Municipal Policy.

Jordi Martí Grau

Secretary of State for Culture, Government of Spain

He holds a degree in Education Sciences and currently serves as Secretary of State for Culture, Government of Spain. He worked at the Institute of Culture of Barcelona (ICUB) as manager for more than ten years and has held various positions such as, deputy mayor responsible for the Department of Culture, Education, Science and Community of the Barcelona City Council, deputy director of the Center for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona and has directed the department of promotion and management of the School of Music of Catalonia.

José Luis Sanz Ruiz

Mayor of Seville

He is a militant politician of the Popular Party and the current mayor of the city of Seville, Spain. He has also been mayor in Tomares, in the province of Seville, senator in the Cortes Generales de España and secretary general of the Partido Popular de Andalucía.

Gustavo Santos

Regional Director for the Americas, UN Tourism

Bachelor of Arts from the National University of Córdoba, Argentina, he currently serves as regional director for the Americas at the World Tourism Organization and president of the Fundación Pensar Córdoba.

He was Minister and Government Secretary of Tourism of the Republic of Argentina (2015-2019), president of the Córdoba Tourism Agency and national deputy where he was chairman of the Tourism Committee and was part of the Commissions of Economy, Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Transport, Culture and MERCOSUR.

Bruno Soares Reis

Mayor of Salvador de Bahia

The current Mayor of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, holds a degree in Law from the Catholic University of Salvador (UCSal), studies in Management at the Fundação Getulio Vargas and a master's degree in Development and Social Management from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA).

He has been Secretary of Social Promotion, Sports and Fight against Poverty of Salvador, State Deputy for Bahia and Deputy Mayor of Salvador until 2021, when he assumes his current position. He is a militant of the Union Brasil party.

Blanca Parejo

Director Alalá Sevilla Foundation

She is the director of the Alalá Foundation in Seville, Spain, whose mission is to achieve the social integration of young people through art, culture, sports and a sewing workshop for adults.

Gunna Chaparro

Arhuaca leaderess

She is a member and leader of the Arhuaca Indigenous community of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia and directs the Danilo Villafañe Foundation. She is a fifth semester student of the Law Program and liaison for indigenous communities at the University of Magdalena, in Santa Marta.

She has worked with CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean- to promote the participation of indigenous communities in the region and has participated in international forums such as COP27 and COP28.

Óscar Rueda

Director of Sustainable Tourism, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-

A lawyer with a degree from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, he has a master's degree in Latin American Literature from the University of Barcelona and currently holds the position of Director of Sustainable Tourism at CAF. He has been President of the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (ANATO), of the World Federation of Travel Agency Associations; Deputy Minister of Tourism, member of the Executive Committee of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), Ambassador to China and legal and tourism consultant.

Arturo Bernal

Councilor of Tourism, Culture and Sports of Andalusia

He is currently Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports for the Junta de la Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Malaga, with a Masters in Business Administration from the Instituto de Empresa-IE Business School in Madrid, the Instituto Internacional de Empresa and Harvard Kennedy School. He has been CEO of Extenda (Andalusian Agency for Foreign Promotion), as well as director of tourism and head of the tax department of the City of Malaga, among others.

He has been honorary professor at the University of Malaga in the Chair of Public Finance and the Chair of Economics and Business Administration and has collaborated in the Master of Tourism Management and Planning. He has also been a speaker at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) seasonal adjustment programs for mature destinations.

Niels Olsen

Minister of Tourism of Ecuador

A graduate of Louisiana State University, USA, with a degree in Business Administration and Marketing, he holds a Master's degree in Sustainable Tourism from Monash University, Australia. He currently serves as Minister of Tourism for the government of Ecuador and is the owner of Hacienda La Danesa. He is a former Marketing Director of Sweet & Coffee and a member of the Society of Latin American Entrepreneurs at Stanford University, USA.

Norma Bustamante

Mayor of Mexicali

She is currently mayor of Mexicali in the municipality of Baja California, Mexico. She has a degree in Literature and Linguistics with a diploma in journalism from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, she is also a teacher in preschool and elementary education, actress, writer and communicator.

She has been director of the Municipal Institute of Art and Culture of the Mexicali City Hall, director of Social Communication in the XVIII City Hall of Mexicali, as well as director of the State Center for the Arts of the Institute of Culture of Baja California. She has received the journalistic trajectory award from the Senate of the Republic of Mexico and the award for Best Actress in Nicaragua.

Narciso Casado Martín

General Director CEOE International and permanent secretary general of CEIB

With 28 years of experience in the CEOE, he has held, among others, the positions of Advisor to the President, Deputy Director to the General Secretary and Counselor of the Economic and Social Council (CES). Currently, he is a director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Board of Directors and member of the Strategic Orientation Council of ICEX España, Exportación e Inversiones (Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade). He is also in charge of the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Ibero-American Entrepreneurs (CEIB), a member of the Ibero-American Center for Arbitration (CIAR). He has a degree in Information Sciences with a specialization in International Relations from the Complutense University of Madrid.

Luis Ybarra Ramírez

Director of the Flamenco Biennial of Seville

Graduated in Journalism from Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Spain, with a Master's degree in Cultural Management from Unir. He is the director of the Bienal de Flamenco in Seville. He has been a journalist and co-director of the Aula de Cultura of ABC de Sevilla as a flamenco critic and contributor to the Culture section. He has been a flamenco critic in ONDA JEREZ RTV, also worked in Cadena SER and Euromedia Comunicación.

Almudena Maíllo

Secretary General UCCI

She is Secretary General of the Union of Ibero-American Cities and Capitals and Councillor for Tourism and the District of Moratalaz. She has a degree in Business Administration and Management from the Complutense University of Madrid, and has taken courses at Harvard Law School and the IESE Business School of the University of Navarra. She has been Councilwoman President of the District of San Blas Canillejas, General Director of Early Childhood and Primary Education, General Director of Tourism Madrid, among others.

Ángel Cárdenas

General manager of urban development, water and creative economies, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-

Manager of urban development and creative economies for CAF- Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-. He previously served as a director for the energy projects for the South Region at CAF. Angel Cardenas is an Eisenhower Fellow at Eisenhower Fellowships, a forum that brings leaders from around the world to spend several weeks meeting with experts in their fields of interest throughout the US in the spirit of making the world more peaceful, prosperous, and just. Cardenas has worked for the World Bank, Universidad Central de Venezuela, and the University of Toronto.

Juan de la Rosa

Councilman of Urbanism and Heritage, Seville City Council

He is Councilman of Urbanism and Heritage, of the Seville City Council, and Fourth Deputy Mayor exercising in the Area of Urbanism, Heritage, Housing, Urban Identity and Municipal Buildings and North District. He has a degree in Law and is the current President of the Municipal Board of the North District.

He has been spokesman of the Popular Group in the City Council, Secretary General of the PP of Seville (between 2017 and 2022), Provincial Deputy (between 2011 and 2022) and Deputy Mayor and Delegate of Urbanism, Public Works and Housing of Mairena del Aljarafe (between 2011 and 2015).

Teresa Margarita Londoño

Secretary of Tourism for the Mayor's Office of Cartagena de Indias

She is an architect graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, with a master's degree in advanced architecture, smart cities and urban development with social impact from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. She is currently Secretary of Tourism for the Mayor's Office of Cartagena de Indias. She also has a specialization in Governance and Public Management from ESADE - Madrid.

She has worked in various organizations such as FINDETER, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fundación Metrópoli in Madrid and Fundación Santodomingo.

Sina del Rosario

Technical Director of the Municipality of Santo Domingo

She has more than 25 years of experience in public administration, graduated from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU) with honorable mention "Magna Cum Laude" in 1988 and a Master's degree from McGill University (Canada) in 1992 focused on Human Settlements and Low Cost Housing Programs. She is a member of Codia and a member of the Society of Architects SARD. She´s currently the Technical Director of the Municipality of Santo Domingo. 

She has been Vice Minister of Habitat and Local Development of the Ministry of the Presidency MINPRE, worked in the National Council of Urban Affairs (CONAU), in the City Council of the National District (ADN), was Technical Coordinator of the Office of the Strategic Plan and Director of the Office of the Urban Director of the ADN.

Pablo Guayasamin Madriñan

Project Coordinator in the Office of the Assistant Director-General for Culture at UNESCO

He is currently Project Coordinator in the Office of the Assistant Director-General for Culture at UNESCO.

Juan Esteban Constaín

Writer

He is a Colombian historian and writer, who has written multiple works such as "El naufragio del Imperio", "Calcio!", "El hombre que no fue jueves" and many others, also being awarded for several of them; he received the Espartaco Award for Historical Novel at the Semana Negra de Gijón and the Colombian Narrative Library Award, to name a few. He is a columnist for the newspaper El Tiempo and professor and researcher at the Faculty of International Relations of the Universidad del Rosario.

Elvira Roca

Writer

She is a writer and columnist with a degree in Classical Philology and Hispanic Philology from the University of Malaga and a PhD in Medieval Literature from the François-Rabelais University of Tours, France. She is the author of several articles published in magazines and newspapers such as El Mundo, El País or Abc. She has been a translator, paleographer and has taught Latin and Spanish language and literature in Spain and the United States.

She has been awarded the Medal of Andalusia and the Medal of Honor of San Telmo, the Los Libreros Recomiendan Award, granted by the Booksellers Guild of Spain, the Héroes Olvidados Award, granted by the Blas de Lezo Foundation, the 1812 Award granted by the Liberal Club of Cadiz, the Bernardo de Gálvez Award and the Espasa Award in 2019.

Carlos Granés

Writer

Social anthropologist, with a doctorate from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and scholarship studies at the University of Berkeley, USA, where he obtained the Extraordinary Doctorate Award for his thesis on the anthropology of art. He is assistant director of the Vargas Llosa Chair and a writer with multiple publications of essays, for which he has received awards such as the Isabel Polanco International Essay Prize.

Carlos Vives

Colombian singer

Colombian singer-songwriter and actor considered one of the most popular artists in Colombian music, known for fusing Colombian music such as cumbia and vallenato with pop and rock. He studied at the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogotá, Colombia, where he majored in television production. He has received the Anglo Grammy Award and the Latin Grammy Award and was the first Colombian to receive a Grammy Award. He has also received the Lo Nuestro Award for excellence on February 18, 2016. He has more than 20 albums and more than two decades of musical career.

Inés María Zabaraín Pinto

Journalist

She is a Social Communicator graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, and currently works as a journalist in the media Noticias RCN and newscast CM& and Seccion 1,2,3. She has received several awards in the category of Best News Anchor, such as the Simón Bolivar Award, the GES Award and the Orquídea Award. She has worked for different media outlets such as Canal Caracol, Canal Caracol International, Cambio Magazine, 20/20 Magazine in Spanish, among others.