Interview to Guillermo Abaracon, Founder and President of the Forum

What is the “Agenda of the Americas 2020”?

G.A: "As you know, the FORUM wants to transcend debate taking its own outcomes and conclusions into action, through innovative initiatives with a direct impact on the modernization of society. Therefore, we decided to undertake the creation of the Agenda of the Americas 2020, an endeavor that will pose an unprecedented intergenerational challenge in our societies. This agenda will offer young people who want to exercise a new leadership, the opportunity to do so. We are very well aware, though, that this effort takes great determination, so that by October 2006, we will have a consensual work among the [three?] generations involved, which will introduce the ‘New Agenda of the Americas’ to the region. It is here, where the ‘Contract of the Generations’ takes on the responsibility of guiding the task [the works], in order that this ‘Agenda 2020’ will become a reality."



Why is the young the generation so vital for tomorrow’s society?

GA: There is no doubt that the direct participation of the new generation is a key factor in achieving a profound and long-lasting modernization of modern institutions. I believe that with a mayor engagement in societal task, they have everything to win and not much to lose. Hence, we all know that we live in one society, therefore the form and ability in which we work towards one shared vision is distinctive and irreplaceable in each case and certainly determinant for its long-term success.  

Which are the institutions’ or organizations involved in the projects?

GA:  Well an institution goes far beyond an organization.  Organizationsare the structures and mechanisms of social order and cooperation that coordinate societal behavior. The institutions transcend human lives and intentions, and it is granted with a renewed social purpose which guides and rules social conduct through the design and implementation of its norms and laws. This way, the Americas Agenda 2020 aim at influencing the advent of new institutions. Hence, young leaders would not have to rely, like in past years, on informal settings to carry out their commitment towards social justice, or the debates on shaping public policies or what prevent them from becoming successful entrepreneurs.  

Chile and Colombia are the next National Agenda 2020.  Is it possible to encompass the entire region?

G.A: Our wish is that all the countries in the region participate in this endeavor, but it would be a utopia to believe that we can achieve this overnight. Here is where the National Agendas 2020 play a preponderant role. Countries like Chile and Colombia, have already expressed theirdesire to actively participate in the Agenda Americas 2020. In fact, we have the support, not only of their respective governments but also of numerous institutions the academic and business sectors, which want to secure the success of their national agendas for the year 2020.

So which will be the next Agenda 2020 at the national level?

GA: We have had the opportunity to meet with the President of Colombia, who kindly offered to host the Agenda of the Americas 2020 in his country and launch their own Contract of the Generations which intend to support the creation of their National Agenda 2020. Hence, the main subject of a possible meeting in Bogotá, will be focus on forward-looking social leadership. Organizations, such as Venture Colombia, for example, have been rewarding business leaders who support social progress through projects that are based on productivity outcomes. These projects provide the marginalized sector with the capacity to self-generate means to improve their existing income. This is the type of leadership that the Forum would like to make known and recognize as model to be followed.

	Meeting with President Uribe from Colombia. “We find that similar type societal leadership is well established in Colombia and it is evident in Peru and lately more and more in other countries in the region”.

So which will be the next Agenda 2020 at the national level?

GA: "Regarding the execution of the work program, I have no doubts that my generation is the one to revert a historical debt to the young generation, offering our commitment in a consistent manner and facilitating not only the means, but the institutional support they may need.

“We have come to a standstill in our history, where we must leave behind the habit of making others accountable for our own mistakes, acknowledge our accomplishments and finally, assume new responsibilities, which by their own nature, are to be shared by the two generations. Within the Agenda 2020, principles and codes are going to be identified and created, that will respond to the needs of the young people.

Which were the questions posed during the Santiago Conference?

GA: "During the first meeting, in which the new initiatives were launched, we identified the general guidelines, themes certainly the issues that are more relevant, regarding the construction of the Agenda 2020. The definition of each one of these guidelines will become a part of the exercise that we shall carry out during the next year. These topics, though, that motivate all the generations must continue to gather us as a generation as a continent, aimed at answering the following questions: ‘What themes must be included in the Agenda of the Americas 2020?’ and above all: ‘What kind of society do we want to build?’

     
            
Then, what were the answers to those questions and which principles and values should we re-think?

GA: "For the moment being, we can identify three large pillars that bind us together and that will be our support as a modern society toward our new agenda.

1 - The first pillar is the innovation, the training and the leadership of a new generation. For this, we need to invest in education that will generate a new modernizing knowledge. We also need to identify and offer incentives that will meet the basic conditions for new undertakings, so that the leaders will arise, who will carry them out.

2 - The second pillar is formed by the values every society proposes, such as: trust, commitment, respect for the truth, and solidarity, among others. These [values have, of course, their opposites, and this is what inspires us to strive daily: iniquity versus solidarity, corruption opposing trust. In order to prioritize the values that give life  to our society, we have recently created the ‘Trust Award’. The theme of ‘trust’ has been spoken of several times during our conference, and I have no doubts it will determinant for our success now and always.

3 - Finally, we have a third pillar, which is the formalization and carrying out of the Contract of the Generations, about which I spoke to you today, as well. As a concept, the contract consists of an idea for a societal endeavor as a project, though shared by more than one generation and their people. As you know, these themes are closely related. In particular, I am referring to the creation and access to knowledge, which is essential for this kind of shared effort and which is not a responsibility of the government alone, but also of the society in general. This is how the Contract of Generations becomes a vital instrument, and the reason for which we work toward a society, where trustworthiness is rewarded as one of the fundamental values in order to enable us to build the new contract of the generations with veracity. Therefore, our activities within the FORUM intend to enhance [increase?] the capacity to generate local knowledge and to increase the capacities of self-government with the purpose of elevating the conditions where everyone will be in front of opportunities each time more simile. "

What kind of sectors of a society should lead this process?

GA: "Given the historical juncture in which our societies are living, it is worth pointing out that public and public-private institutions are vital for these tasks; I’d even say preeminent, more so, than those leaded exclusively by the civil society. It became quite clear to us that our most urgent task is that of promoting and revitalizing, and even re-inventing our ethical values; this is the duty of a society. On one side, public administration ought to be dignified along with the changing role of the Civil Society. More noticeable as I said before, is the awareness process that concerns the society and the society alone, to recognize and stimulate the building of its social capital, which is, in essence, a society’s own capacity to exercise leadership. It is the responsibility of all generations to reunite their talents and their respective knowledge and expertise in order to consolidate the value of what implies a public good as a unique and irreplaceable social journey and latent legacy."

Who can participate and what do they need to do to join?

GA: "Well, I think that, generally, every challenge has its leaders already, if not, it will have to generate its new actors. Particularly, we discussed about who will integrate the Agenda 2020, and the answer of the three generations was unanimous: "the doors are open to those who would like to take these responsibilities, whether individually or collectively". We must get sure that all of those who feel the calling, have the possibility to present their vision, or their project already in execution. Fundamentally we need referential projects, which reflect that our societies are already changing in many parts of the region. It is for this, and based on what is already being done, that we want to stimulate the generation of new projects not only to support our work with the Agenda 2020, but also to demonstrate that we can, indeed, revert the processes, which preclude us from taking the qualitative leap our peoples need, toward societies ever more equitable with their own. The Forum wants to reward and point out  leaders, who, based on their projects, have already become true agents of change. For this reason, we have instituted the ‘Award for Political Excellence’."

How to put into practice the process for the construction of a common vision and how do we intend to insert ourselves in the global community of the advanced nations?

GA: "The construction of the Agenda 2020 begins with the agendas of each country, and these agendas will have to answer to the above questions. Later on, we shall generate common knowledge as a public good –which is a concept we have not yet fully developed- of each country and the region, and then replicate the experiences."

How can we involve the youth [the young people] of each country, in order to obtain the modernization of their societies?

GA: "I have no doubt that the new generations ought to be [need to be/must be] an essential part of the modernization of their contemporary societies, if a profound and lasting modernization is on target. Through the National Agendas 2020, the FORUM stimulates those young people who wish to participate, so that they feel they are already a part of society, and that they do not need to resort to informal channels to carry out their vision of social justice, to debate political issues affecting them directly, or to be [relevant entrepreneurial actors.