I Meeting of National Leaders was held in Ecuador

CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, held the I Meeting of National Leaders in the coastal city of Manta, Ecuador, which included the participation of 22 young people for the political, entrepreneurial, social, and cultural sectors from different cities in the country, with the purpose of supporting the training of new leaders, and coordinating efforts and actions to promote the region's development.

The opening of the meeting was in charge of Bernardo Requena, CAF's Director Representative in Ecuador, and Christian Asinelli, CAF's Director of Institutional Development, both of whom welcomed the young leaders. 

Bernardo Requena, CAF's Director Representative in Ecuador, provided information on the actions of the financial institution in Ecuador, as well as the comprehensive development agenda, programs, and projects. He stated, "This meeting is an opportunity for dialogue and knowledge regarding the criteria of today's leaders who, at present, are decision makers, and for others who will be leaders in the near future". 

At the same time, Christian Asinelli stated that CAF intends to actively support the development of a new leadership in the region, by means of a shared agenda with mutual interest topics that contributes to coordinate the different efforts and actions that are being developed in each member country. "This initiative intends to create discussions and knowledge to generate a network of young leaders at a regional and world level".  

The new proposals for Ecuador in the XXI century were analyzed by Carlos Iván Rivera, coordinator of ESPOL's Governance and Leadership programs; Camilo Pinzón, President of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Corporation; Cristian Castillo, Government Advisor; and Orazio Belletine, Director of Grupo Faro. The proposals were later discussed by the assistants to the meeting. The role of new communications technologies in politics was addressed through a videoconference by  Diego Bassante, Manager for Politics and Government for Facebook Latin America. 

Among the challenges stated by the national leaders are the following: need to generate an institutional framework in the country, change in the development model starting at a local level that allows for the generation of entrepreneurship and innovation, need to connect public policies to citizen needs, strengthening of local capacities, change in the paradigm regarding subjects such as enterprise, democracy, and equity, among others.