The Fourth Summit of the Americas

Mar del Plata, Argentina
November 4-5, 2005

Theme

The IV Summit of the Americas will be held in Mar del Plata, Argentina this coming November. The theme of the Summit is "Creating Jobs to Confront Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance." This theme and the discussions on the approaching Summit recognize two important trends:

Poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy are social conditions that have implications on the economic and political well-being of all countries that they affect. Moreover, they jeopardize the autonomy and basic human rights of those individuals that they affect. For this reason, the nations of the Western Hemisphere, recognizing their commitment to democratic principles and governance, decided to concentrate on alleviating these three problems in the IV Summit.
A major focus on the debate surrounding possible solutions for these problems is to concentrate on solutions that extend beyond merely offering aid to affected countries. As the Summit Implementation Review Group announced, "Even though aid plans and programs are a necessary resource, we should avoid consolidating societies that are divided between those with jobs and those who receive aid. In this regard, employment should be given a central place in the hemispheric agenda, inseparable from liberty, justice, security, and protection, given that it is the principal vehicle for social integration." (XXX VI GRIC / SIRG, GRIC doc 3/04)

Schedule

Download the schedule in MS Word format.

Current Events

Check out current news on how Civil Society is preparing for the IV Summit of the Americas.

More information on the Summit Implementation Review Group meetings.