IOM Deputy Director General Ndioro Ndiaye will travel to Colombia
this week at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture to take part
in the Ibero-American Summit on Afro Descendants in the Americas.

The event, taking place in the city of Cartagena de Indias on
Thursday 16 October, aims to create a forum for discussion on the
importance of Afro-ancestral culture in Latin American and the
Caribbean, and to generate input for the creation of public
policies aimed at recognizing this population’s cultural
diversity.

The Summit will bring together Colombian Vice President
Francisco Santos and 12 ministers of culture from Latin America and
the Caribbean, along with representatives of international
organizations including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
and UNESCO. 

Members of academia specializing in Afro-descendants from the
United States and Colombia will also take part.  Also
attending are foundations working in the field of Afro-ancestry,
along with US Congressman Gregory Meeks and Epsy Campbell of the
Costa Rican Congress.

Mrs. Ndiaye will participate in a forum on global trends of the
African Diaspora and the need for their inclusion.  Her
presentation will focus on the current outlook for Africa from a
gender perspective.

The Deputy Director General will inaugurate the school Paz sin
Fronteras (Peace without Borders) in the city of Cúcuta (on
the border with Venezuela) which is attended by internally
displaced boys and girls. She will visit IOM projects aimed at
helping demobilized combatants reintegrate into civilian life and
programmes for minors demobilized from illegal armed
groups. 

The Ibero-American Summit on Afro Descendants in the Americas is
being organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Organization of
Iberian American States, with support from IOM and the private
sector.

For more information, please contact:

Jorge Andres Gallo

IOM Bogota

Tel: 57.311 5619495 or 57.1.5946410 ext. 142

E-mail: "mailto:jgallo@oim.org.co">jgallo@oim.org.co