16 Facts About Inter-American Dialogue

Inter-American Dialogue, known as the Dialogue or IAD, is a U S -based think tank in the field of international affairs primarily related to the Western Hemisphere.

Inter-American Dialogue broached the idea to Galo Plaza, the former president of Ecuador and former secretary general of the Organization of American States.

Inter-American Dialogue's first meeting of members took place in 1982 under the auspices of the Aspen Institute.

At first the Inter-American Dialogue did not engage in extensive original research, having only one or two professional full-time staffers.

In 1993, the Inter-American Dialogue conducted a research into the role "external actors could play in consolidating, deepening and defending democracy in Western Hemisphere".

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In 2005, the Inter-American Dialogue released a report on Latin America entitled "A Break in the Clouds", exposing "the many daunting challenges still confronting the region".

In 2009, the Dialogue released "A Second Chance: US Policy in the Americas", the report prepared for U S policy makers in the wake of the 2008 global financial-economic crisis.

Inter-American Dialogue said that "partnerships in the region between China and certain countries that would in some form have been thought to provoke the U S in the past [are] no longer seemingly a major consideration".

Inter-American Dialogue has five programs that convene events and host initiatives with policy makers, business leaders, journalists, advocates and analysts.

The forum pays tribute to Ambassador Linowitz, the Inter-American Dialogue's founding chairman, and assembles Inter-American Dialogue members once every two years to address the most important issues affecting the Americas.

At the forum, Inter-American Dialogue members meet in plenary sessions and in smaller workshops, probe their differences, identify cooperative solutions to regional problems, and develop consensus proposals for action.

Inter-American Dialogue publishes a daily news service, the Latin American Advisor, that reports on major events and trends in the region.

Inter-American Dialogue's funding comes from a diverse group of corporations, governments, foundations and multilateral organizations.

Major private sector donors from around the world, including the BMW Corporation, Pearson, and Ladrillera Santafe financially support the Inter-American Dialogue, as do many individual donors from the United States and Latin America.

Inter-American Dialogue has 124 members from Latin America, the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Spain.

Inter-American Dialogue is currently chaired by former President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla and former U S Department of State Thomas A Shannon Jr.