Briefings and Tours

OAS briefings are offered to diplomats, government officials, military officers, university faculty, policy analysts and students, as well as to the general public. The briefings are given by the Director of the Department of External Relations, Irene Klinger, and senior specialists from the various departments of the organization. Briefings are tailored to the specific interests of the visiting groups, covering political, social, legal and economic issues in the Americas as well as the work of the organization. These briefings include tours of the facilities and an historical overview of the organization. For more information on OAS briefings, please contact Irene Klinger, Director, Department of External Relations at (202) 458-6072 or iklinger@oas.org

Tour Information

List of Briefings - March-April 2008

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APRIL 23, 2008	On April 23, 28 military officers from the Mexican Naval War College spent the afternoon at OAS headquarters.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Irene Klinger, Director, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, welcomed the officers and gave them an overview of the Organization.  Dante Caputo, Secretary, Secretariat for Political Affairs, spoke on the importance of democracy for the Hemisphere. Mario Lopez, Senior Specialist, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, discussed human rights in the Americas.  Ambassador Alexandra Addor-Neto, Secretary, Secretary for Multidimensional Security, continued with a briefing on multidimensional security.  Minister Luis Javier Campuzano Piña, Alternate Representative, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the OAS, provided closing remarks for the officers.
APRIL 23, 2008	On April 23, 14 high school students from the Holton-Arms School visited the historic OAS headquarters.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building and an overview of the OAS.  Nelly Robinson, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, discussed the Model OAS with the students and invited their school to participate.  The visit ended with a tour of the Art Museum of the Americas led by Adriana Ospina, Docent, Art Museum of the Americas.
APRIL 21, 2008	On April 21, 40 military officers from the Colombian War College spent the afternoon at the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Irene Klinger, Director, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, welcomed the officers and gave them an overview of the Organization.  Katherine McAleer, Specialist, Department of Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions, Secretariat for Political Affairs, spoke on democracy.  Dr. Veronica Gomez, Specialist, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, stressed the importance of human rights at the OAS.  Ambassador Alexandre Addor-Neto, Secretary, Secretariat for Multidimensional Security, discussed multidimensional security with the officers.  Ambassador Camilo Ospina, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the OAS, provided closing remarks for the group.
APRIL 18, 2008	On April 18, 8 interns from the Pan American Health Organization visited the historic OAS headquarters.  Aline Homes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Irene Klinger, Director, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, presented the interns with an overview of the Organization.  The visitors finalized their visit with a tour of the Art Museum of the Americas led by Maria Leyva, Curator, Art Museum of the Americas.
APRIL 16, 2008	On April 16, 14 upperclassmen from the John Glen School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, led a tour of the historic building.  Sherry Stephenson, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, presented an overview of the OAS.
APRIL 15, 2008	On April 15, 13 students from the University of Chile visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Irene Klinger, Director, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, presented an overview of the OAS.  Pablo Zuñiga, Senior Specialist, Department of State Modernization and Good Governance, Secretariat for Political Affairs; discussed democracy and democratic values.  Their visit ended with a tour of the Art Museum of the Americas led by Adriana Ospina, Docent, Art Museum of the Americas.
APRIL 14, 2008	On April 14, 30 high school students from Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua participating in the Ambassador’s Program Partners of the Americas visited the historic OAS headquarters. Their visit began with a tour of the historic building led by Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations. Sherry Stephenson, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, presented an overview of the Organization.  Pablo Zuñiga, Senior Specialist, Department of State Modernization and Good Governance, Secretariat for Political Affairs, led an interactive and lively discussion on democracy and democratic values with the students. Nelly Robinson, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, discussed the Model OAS and invited all the students to participate.
APRIL 11, 2008	On April 11, 30 graduate and undergraduate students from Morgan State University visited the OAS. The students toured the historic building with Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations.  Jane Thery, OAS – USA Relations, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, gave an overview of the Organization.  Jean Ricot Dormeus, Advisor, Executive Office of the Assistant Secretary General and Nadine Khoury, Intern for the ASG discussed Haiti with the students. The students ended their visit with a tour of the Art Museum of the Americas led by Adriana Ospina, Docent, Art Museum of the Americas.
APRIL 11, 2008	On April 11, the Chief of the National Defense Armed Forces of Guatemala and 4 members of the Guatemalan military visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Jane Thery, OAS – USA Relations, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, welcomed the Officers and presented an overview of the Organization.
APRIL 10, 2008	On April 10, 11 Model OAS participants from Hadley-Luzerne High School visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building and an overview of the Organization.  Nelly Robinson, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, spoke with the students about their planned participation in the Model OAS.
APRIL 8, 2008	On April 8, 20 officers from the Canadian Forces College spent the morning at the historic OAS headquarters.  The officers toured the historic building with Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations. Irene Klinger, Director, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, presented an overview of the Organization.  Maria Fernanda Trigo, Senior Specialist, Department of Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions, Secretariat for Democratic Affairs spoke on democracy in the Western Hemisphere.  Mario Lopez, Senior Human Rights Specialist, Secretariat for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, discussed the importance of human rights at the OAS. Abraham Stein, Director, Department of Coordination of Politics and Programs of Multidimensional Security, Secretariat for Multidimensional Security, continued with a briefing on Hemispheric Security. Admiral Elis Öberg, Chairman, Inter-American Defense Board, addressed the officers.  Ambassador Graeme Clarke, Permanent Representative of Canada to the OAS, provided closing remarks for the group.
APRIL 4, 2008	On April 4, 13 cadets from the United States Military Academy visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relation gave a tour of the historic building.  Jane Thery, Principal Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, provided an overview of the Organization for the cadets.  Cristobal Dupouy, Ph.D., Specialist, Summits of the Americas Secretariat, discussed in detail the Summits of the Americas process.
APRIL 3, 2008	On April 3, 60 officers from the War College of Mexico spent the morning at the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat of External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Jane Thery, Principal Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat of External Relations, welcomed the officers and gave them an overview of the Organization.  Maria Fernanda Trigo, Specialist, Department of Sustainable Democracy and Special Missions, Secretariat for Political Affairs, discussed democracy with the officers.  Maris Claudia Pulido, Principle Specialist, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, spoke on the importance of human rights in the hemisphere.  Abraham Stein, Director, Department for the Coordination of Policies and Programs, Secretariat for Multidimensional Security, continued with a briefing on multidimensional security.  Luis Javier Campuzano Piña, Interim Representative of Mexico to the OAS offered closing remarks for the officers.
APRIL 1, 2008	On April 1, Ambassador Michael I. King, Permanent Representative from Barbados was the invited Guest Speaker for 260 international high school students with Presidential Classroom in the Hall of the Americas at the Organization of American States.  Ambassador King spoke about the importance of Youth and Democratic Values, the theme of the 38th upcoming General Assembly of the OAS that will be held in Medellin, Colombia on June 1-3, 2008.
MARCH 31, 2008	On March 31, 26 high school students from Presidential Classroom visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building and an overview of the Organization.  Pablo Zuñiga, Senior Specialist, Department of State Modernization and Good Governance, Secretariat of Political Affairs, discussed democracy and democratic values with the students.
MARCH 28, 2008	On March 28, 30 MOAS participants from Kenwood and Lake George High Schools visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, gave a tour of the historic building and presented an overview of the Organization.  Nelly Robinson, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, met with the students and discussed their planned participation of the high school MOAS in the fall.
MARCH 27, 2008	On March 27, 50 international high school students from the Rotary District 7430 Youth Exchange visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, Secretariat for External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building and presented an overview of the Organization.  Nelly Robinson, Specialist, Department of International Affairs, discussed the MOAS and invited the students to participate.
MARCH 24, 2008	On March 24, The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars requested a visit to the OAS for 54 young professionals from Mexico who are taking part in a governor’s program sponsored by the Federal Government of Mexico. Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building and an overview on the Organization. Rosa Maria Barreiro, Director, Department of Human Resources, gave an informative presentation on Communication and Negotiations.
MARCH 20, 2008	On March 20, 14 high school students from St. Paul’s Methodist College in the Bahamas visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Jane Thery, Chief, Institutional Relations, Department of External Relations, presented an overview of the organization.  Nelly Robinson, Specialist, Department of External Relations, discussed the MOAS and invited the students to participate.
MARCH 19, 2008	On March 19, 20 senior diplomats from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spent a morning at the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Suzanne Laporte, Secretary, Secretariat for External Relations, welcomed the group.  Irene Klinger, Director, Department of External Relations, presented an overview of the Organization.  Victor Rico, Director, Department of Sustainable Development and Special Missions, Secretariat for Political Affairs, discussed democracy and the resolution of the Special Session of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, adopted the night before by the Member States. Denneth Modeste, Senior Advisor, Secretariat for Multidimensional Security, and Christopher Hernandez-Roy, Director, Department of Public Security, spoke about the three areas of multidimensional security. Ambassador Paul Durand, Director, OAS Office, Dominican Republic, wrapped up the session with the Canadian diplomats.
MARCH 19, 2008	On March 19, 10 students involved in the Model OAS (MOAS) for Towson University visited the OAS. Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Steven Griner, Senior Specialist, Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation, Secretariat of Political Affairs, presented an overview of the OAS.  Nelly Robinson, Specialist, Department of External Relations, spoke to the students about the MOAS.
MARCH 10, 2008	On March 10, a Colombian student and an Estonian student, from the Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP) visited the OAS with their American host family. Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, gave them a tour of the Historic Building and information on the OAS.
MARCH 7, 2008	On March 7, 15 diplomats from the Foreign Service Institute visited the OAS. Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, gave a tour of the OAS Historic Building.  Jane Thery, Chief, Institutional Relations, Department of External Relations, gave an overview of the OAS and hemispheric issues.
MARCH 5, 2008	On March 5, 9 participants from the Foreign Visitors Program at the United States Department of Agriculture visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Jane Thery, Chief, Institutional Relations, Department of External Relations, presented an overview of the OAS. Rafael Franzini, Assistant Executive Secretary, Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission, discussed multidimensional security and drug issues.  Fernando Garcia, Coordinator, Anti-Trafficking of Persons Section, spoke on human trafficking.
MARCH 4, 2008	On March 4, 11 students from La Fundación Universitaria del Río de la Plata (FURP) through the Academy of Educational Development visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, gave a tour of the historic building.  Irene Klinger, Director, Department of External Relations, presented an overview of the OAS. Yeruti Mendez, Program Manager, discussed the Young Americas Business Trust.
MARCH 3, 2008	On March 3, 18 students from the Washington College of Law at American University visited the OAS.  Aline Hommes, Specialist, Department of External Relations, gave a tour of the OAS Historic Building.  Sherry Stephenson, Institutional Relations, Department of External Relations, presented an overview of the OAS.  John M. Wilson, Legal Advisor, Office of International Law, Department of International Legal Affairs, discussed legal and migrant issues.