#IdeasForTheFuture Student Essay Competition Winners Announced in Venezuela

Luis Gabriel Aparicio Gonzalez, of the Central University of Venezuela—in the Public Policy category —and Leander José Pérez González, of the Mariscal Sucre National Polytechnic University of Caracas—on the Integration category—are the winners of the #IdeasForTheFuture Student Essay Competition in Venezuela organized by CAF—development bank of Latin America—and the Central Bank of Venezuela.

In his essay “Building Modern Caracas as an Urban Integration Challenge in Latin America,” Luis Gabriel Aparicio highlights the need to prioritize inclusion and overcome inequality in short-, medium- and long-term public policies. The cities of the future must be able to ensure economic, productive, environmental and public service sustainability, the author stressed.

Meanwhile, Leander José Pérez’s “The New Silk Road: Opportunities and Challenges for Integration,” points to the obstacles facing the optimal use of the initiative, based on the lessons learned from Latin American History, as well as the need to advance infrastructure for regional integration and the development of a common market.

The winners were selected by a jury made up of CAF and Venezuela’s Central Bank representatives, and will be awarded a certificate, and will move on to the regional phase, where they will compete with peers from 19 CAF member countries. Regional winners in each category will present their essay at the CAF Conference in Quito, Ecuador in November 2019 and will receive a $2,000 prize each.