Update

2008 IDB Annual Meeting

19 February 2008

Information and resources for civil society.

This update provides the most recent information regarding the 2008 Annual Meetings of the Inter-American Development Bank held in Miami (April 4-8). It also includes activities of civil society organizations taking place during the meetings. Feel free to share this information with any interested parties.

Inter-American Development Bank Program of Activities
Calendar of activities for Civil Society in Miami
IDB Watch Daily and other documents
Be a guest blogger at the IDB Annual Meetings!
Press
Press Releases
Useful Websites
Who's in Town?

1. Inter-American Development Bank Program of Activities

Inter-American Development Bank Annual Meeting 2008 Program of Activities (IDB website)

2. Calendar of activities for Civil Society in Miami

Event	Date/Time/Location	Contacts
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Civil Society Planning Meeting	Time: 9:00am -- 6:00pm Location: TBA	Contact: Andrew Miller, Amazon Watch , ; Andrea Verdasco, Bank Information Center 202-256-4008,
Friday, April 4, 2008
Civil Society Press Briefing: Non-governmental groups working for the reform of the IDB to present their agenda and concerns	Time: 2:00pm Location: Civil Society Room	Contact: Simeon Tegel, Amazon Watch
Civil Society Meeting with IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno: Civil society representatives to lay out their demands for the Bank	Time: 6:15pm Location: TBA	Contact: Vince McElhinny, Bank Information Center
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Civil Society Meeting with U.S. Executive Director’s office and U.S. Treasury	Time: 8:30am Location: TBA	Contact: Vince McElhinny, Bank Information Center
Bio-fuels Press Conference: Friends of the Earth to launch a new issue brief about the impacts of bio-fuels expansion in Brazil.	Time: 9:00am Location: Civil Society Room	Contact: Kate Horner, Friends of the Earth
Public Rally Against Bio-fuels and Dirty Energy: Various organizations to publicly demonstrate against support for fossil fuels and non-sustainable “alternative” energies	Time: 11:30am Location: the west entrance to the Miami Convention Center	Contact: Jodie Van Horn, Rainforest Action Network View flyer (Acrobat pdf, 79 KB)
Civil Society Meeting with Brazil Executive Director’s office	Time: 2:30pm Location: TBA	Contact: Vince McElhinny, Bank Information Center
Community Forum: “Finding Common Ground – How Climate Change, Community Displacement, and Inequality Compromise the Future of our Hemisphere”	Time: 6:00pm Location: Miami Dade College, Wolfson / Downtown Campus 300 N.E. 2nd Ave. (Batten Room, Building Two, Room 2106)	Contact: Tanya Dawkins, Global Local Links Project View flyer (Acrobat pdf, 660 KB)

3. IDB Watch Daily and other articles and documents

IDB Watch Issue #2 April 5, 2008 (Acrobat pdf, 1593 KB)

IDB Watch Issue #1 April 4, 2008 (Acrobat pdf, 1658 KB)

Indigenous peoples neglected by realigned IDB, Bank Information Center, April 3, 2008 (BIC website)
Los Pueblos Indígenas relegados en el Realineamiento del BID, Bank Information Center, April 1, 2008 (BIC website)

Banco del Sur by Vince McElhinny, November 14, 2007 (Acrobat pdf, 551 KB)

Bank of the South by Vince McElhinny, November 14, 2007 (Acrobat pdf, 519 KB)

Descontento, Confusión, Falta de Transparencia: Cómo ser relevante en América Latina July 19, 2007 (Acrobat pdf, 622 KB)

Discontent, Confusion, Non-Transparency: How to Become Relevant in Latin America 25 Jul 2007 (Acrobat pdf, 495 KB)

4. IFIwatchnet featured blog!

IFiwatchnet is running an exciting blog on events and breaking news on the IFIs, written by guest bloggers from civil society. Check it out, and share your own views on the IDB Annual Meeting!

The blog is certainly a great way to fuel and advance many of the conversations taking place in the meeting and promote civil society perspectives.

If you need a password to access the IFIwatchnet website please write to Inés Campanella at or register here. Posting information in the site is very easy but please don't hesitate to contact Inés if you encounter any problem. Contribute your own thoughts! Please feel free to write either in English or Spanish.

And don't forget to check IFIwatchnet for the latest news and analysis from the various IFI meetings taking place this spring!

5. Press

Development Bank gathers under 'big tent' in Miami by Jane Bussey, Miami Herald, April 14, 2008 (Miami Herald website)
IDB must listen to hard-working immigrants by Óscar A. Chacón, Miami Herald, April 14, 2008 (Miami Herald website)
AMÉRICA LATINA: El BID y las remesas by Óscar Chacón, La Opinion, April 8, 2008 (La Opinion website) - en Español
IDB criticized for some energy projects by Jane Bussy and Jim Wyss, Miami Herald, April 5, 2008 (Miami Herald website)
Environmentalists urge Latam bank to end biofuel loans by Michael Christie, Reuters, April 5, 2008 (Reuters website)
Exhortan migrantes al BID a beneficiar a la población, La Jornada, April 5, 2008 (La Jornada website) - en Español
Development meeting in Miami likely to push Latin America biofuels, International Herald Tribune, April 3, 2008 (International Herald Tribune website)
Fla. Bank Meeting to Focus on Biofuels by Laura Wides-Muñoz, Houston Chronicle, April 3, 2008 (Houston Chronicle website)
BRAZIL: Growing Foreign Appetite for Land by Mario Osava, March 24, 2008, Inter Press Service (IPS website)