June 27-29, SIF co-hosted a summit and related events around Central American development policy in Washington DC. Events included the following:

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2 June 27-29, SIF co-hosted a summit and related events around Central American development policy in Washington DC. Events included the following: 1. Working with the US State Department, USAID, and the OAS, on June 28 th, SIF co-hosted a highlevel summit to discuss crime prevention and youth development in Central America with over 200 participants in attendance, including SIF s delegation of just over 40 participants. 2. In collaboration with its grantee the Center for Global Development, on June 27 th SIF hosted a special briefing for think tanks from the region, US funders, and other partners to provide a briefing on a new study ( Competitiveness in Central America ) financed by SIF and prepared by CGD. 3. In partnership with the Embassy of El Salvador, SIF convened various US-based foundations working in Central America as well as Central American Ambassadors to the US and the OAS, for a special dinner on June 27 th at the Embassy of El Salvador. 4. Working in partnership with USAID, SIF hosted a private policy dialogue on June 29 th to discuss and provide input to USAID s gender and youth strategy for Central America. In attendance were representatives of leading NGOs working in the region, business leaders and prominent think tanks. This unique opportunity provided SIF and its grantees access to USAID s latest thinking on development in the region from senior strategy staff. 5. On June 27 th, SIF participated in a special meeting hosted by Inter-American Dialogue s Central American Working Group, which featured the work of SIF grantee LaRED (network of Central American think tanks) which presented their research on crime and citizen insecurity in the region.

3 A. Provide SIF grantees with leadership opportunities to participate in high level discussions with US government officials and policy makers B. Solidify relationships with USAID, State, the OAS, and other key stakeholders working in Central America C. Influence USAID policy in Central America, specifically on youth and gender development programs D. Help SIF grantees to expand contacts and partnerships to support their programs in Central America

4 SIF supported over 30 Central Americans to participate in key activities & policy sessions. Participants included representative from: Civil Society/NGOs Research Institutions Media Private Sector Funders Asaprosar (El Salvador) Asociación Gente Ayudando Gente de Costa Rica Ashoka (Mexico/El Salvador) Asociación Grupo Ceiba (Guatemala) Catholic Relief Services (El Salvador) Centro de Derechos de las Mujeres en Honduras FUSALMO (El Salvador) Mojomayas (Guatemala) Oxfam International (El Salvador) TeenSmart International (Nicaragua/Costa Rica) Brooking Institution CIDH (Costa Rica) FUNDE (El Salvador) FUNDESCA, Nicaragua) LaRED (Regional) Estrategia y Negocios (Regional) La Prensa Grafica (El Salvador) Central American Leadership Initiative (Regional) FUSADES (El Salvador) Hache Uve (Panama) INCAE Business School (Regional) Anne E. Casey Foundation Global Fund for Children Inter American Foundation Open Society Institute Strachan Foundation Tinker Foundation

5 SIF s work in Central America makes them a really important player and we are very pleased that not only are they our ally in this endeavor this morning, but we are thankful for their support in these events. I would also like to thank the numerous participants today who have joined us from throughout the region and I hope you will enrich our policy dialogue. I think it is extremely important that we hear from business leaders, NGOs and community leaders whenever we are developing new policy. And as many of you know, as USAID celebrates its 50 th year, we have been working to create a set of agency-wide policies that create an integrated approach to development. Douglas Ball Director, USAID Technical Office Latin America and the Caribbean

6 Thank you Doug, Chris, Greg-- and all of your colleagues at USAID. I would like to express our thanks to your team in the Latin America/Caribbean division, as well as your gender and youth strategy teams. It was a real pleasure for SIF to work with USAID to create this important opportunity to share best practices and discuss violence in Central America, one of the most important facing the region. I really appreciate the collaborative nature and your willingness to partner with us to engage with experts from Central America. Unique opportunities such as this, really allow us to take the best idea from the field and to help shape national and regional policies. Thank you again for convening this summit and dialogue session, and allowing SIF s grantees to engage with you [USAID]. Mauricio Vivero Executive Director Seattle International Foundation

7 As part of an effort to fill this vacuum [of attention on Central America], CGD and Seattle International Foundation recently hosted a roundtable to discuss the key economic development challenges facing Central America. I was pleased that we were able to welcome representatives of leading think tanks in the region These organizations are well known for their research in topics such as governance, development of government institutions, national defense and security, regional logistics, rural development, etc Hearing first-hand experiences of these experts helps to improve the quality of our research. In the future, I hope to maintain deeper ties with counterparts in the region, so that together we can find ways to address the region s challenges and foster economic development. Liliana Rojas-Suarez Senior Fellow Center for Global Development

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29 The summit hosted by the OAS on June 27 th, as well as SIF s related activities, attracted attention from various news sources: June 28, 2011: Se busca soluciones al problema de la violencia juvenil (Searching for solutions for the problem of youth violence). Univision, Washington DC. July 1, 2011: Debaten la seguridad regional en DC (Debating regional security in DC). Ana Cubías, El Tiempo Latino. July 5, 2011: Jóvenes de América Latina, objetivo de los criminales (Youth in Latin America, criminal objectives). NTN24, Bogota, Colombia. June 7, 2011: Conferencia abordará prevención violencia juvenil (Conference addresses youth violence prevention). Óscar Díaz, La Prensa Grafica, El Salvador.

30 Working with key stakeholders, grantees and other partners, SIF will continue to work to support a comprehensive, strategic vision to combat violence in Central America SIF will host a grantee/partner meeting (January 2012 in El Salvador) to continue the conversation around citizen insecurity (as well as other important issues) and to discuss best strategies to combat violence affecting civil society, particularly violence against women SIF will continue to reach out to funders and partners working in the region to create and share a process to continue collaboration

31 To view all the photos from the events in DC, June th, please click here. For information on SIF s work in Central America, please visit our Central America Network blog. Contacts: Mauricio Vivero at mvivero@seaif.org Michele Frix at mfrix@seaif.org