(3 October 2007) The Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE), Population Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), will hold an International Seminar on 10-11 October in Santiago, Chile to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
The seminar, which is being conducted in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Government of France, will gather international experts in demography to reflect on the evolution of population in Latin America and the Caribbean and its implications on the economic and social development of countries in the region.
The meeting will be inaugurated on Wednesday, 10 October at 9:00 a.m. by José Luis Machinea, Executive Secretary of ECLAC; Enrique Iglesias, Secretary-General of the Ibero-American Secretariat (SEGIB); Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA; José Antonio Viera-Gallo, Minister of the Secretariat of the Presidency of Chile; Álvaro Portillo, President of the ECLAC Special Committee on Population and Development; and Dora Celton, President of the Latin American Population Association (ALAP), and takes place in ECLAC headquarters (Celso Furtado Hall, Av. Dag Hammarskjöld 3477, Vitacura, Santiago).
The programme consists of six expert panels covering the following topics:
1. Demographic dynamics
2. Population and development
3. Information, methodologies and demographic analysis
4. Training and instruction in population issues
5. Trends and approaches to fertility and mortality
6. Population mobility and distribution
The seminar will also pay tribute to individuals whose vision and dedication have contributed to the CELADE's 50-year history, and especially its first director, Carmen Miró, who will be present at the event.
The seminar will close on Thursday, 11 October with a round-table discussion on future challenges and pending issues, with the participation of Marcela Suazo, UNFPA Director for Latin America and the Caribbean; José A. Carvalho, Dean of the Economics Faculty CEDEPLAR (Brazil); Andras Uthoff, Acting Director of ECLAC's Social Development Division; Rodolfo Tuiran, Deputy Secretary of Higher Education, Mexico; and André Quesnel, Researcher, IRD-France.
CELADE was founded on 13 August 1957 through a special agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Chile. With 50 years of productive work to its credit, CELADE is one of the principal centers in Latin America and the Caribbean for study, training and research on population issues.