Dear Friends and Colleagues:

We are excited to inform you that this year we will be sending our largest delegation ever of Latin American and Caribbean migrant leaders to participate in and present workshops at the World Social Forum and the II Jornada Hemisferico sobre Politicas Migratorios in Caracas, Venezuela, January 24-29, 2005 . We are especially pleased to announce that in addition to the 14 immigrant leaders representing Latin American and Caribbean communities throughout the U.S., we have secured support to bring an additional 10 Latin American migrant leaders residing in countries outside of the United States.

This delegation represents a strong and energetic group of migrant leaders who bring a deep commitment to their respective communities and a strong desire to build strategic alliances and improve social and economic well-being both in their adopted countries and in their countries of origin.

At the World Social Forum, Enlaces America will be collaborating with the National Alliance for Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC) to sponsor two workshops and a panel discussion on issues related to building building transnational political and economic power for a more sustainable future in the Americas. We will also be co-sponsoring with Action Aid a round-table discussion on plans for monitoring the recently ratified Central American Free Trade Agreement with various U.S.and Central American organizations/groups. The descriptions/times/locations of the events we are co-sponsoring are listed below

For those of you who may be attending the World Social Forum, we invite you attend our events and encourage you to send us information on any workshops that your organizations will be presenting during the week.

For those of you who will not be joining us, we thank you for your continued support and look forward to reporting back to you on our experiences and on the work of the delegation at the World Social Forum 2006.

CAFTA - Monitoring and Impacts: An exchange of ideas
An exchange of ideas, plans and perspectives by organizations that will carry out monitoring and other follow up work on the Free Trade Agreement between Central America, the United States and the Dominican Republic.

Making a New Home in a Foreign Country: Migrants' Perspectives on Integration
Migrants testimonies about their experiences of integration into their adoptive country - discussion and lessons learned

Building Political Power in Two Countries: Migrants' perspectives on transnational policy advocacy
Migrants from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador, etc. discuss their experiences working on issues and policies geared towards their countries of origin - including the Mexican and Ecuadorian campaigns for absetee voting, economic policy reform, and migration policy. The discussion will focus on lessons learned from varied experiences. Migrant leaders will also share their experiences and discuss their efforts to construct a national policy platform among Latino immigrant-led groups in the United States , and other efforts to increase political representation of immigrant communtities in the United States and in their countries of origin. Leaders will use their presentations to stimulate dialogue around the potential of transnational communities to play a leading role in the development of alternative political policies aimed at building a more stable, equitable, and sustainable future for the region of the Americas.

Open Planning Discussion: Toward the creation of a Hemispheric space for migrant organizations
Exchange of ideas and experiences for migrant leaders who are interested in the planning and/or participating in a hemispheric dialogue among groups of organized migrants.

Migration, Poverty, and Natural Desasters: How do we break the vicious cycle?
The links between poverty-environmental degradation- natural disasters and migration hit home in the United States when hurricane Katrina devastated the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, sending thousands of impoverished residents into shelters and ultimately to cities around the country. This pattern of magnified impacts of natural disasters on regions where poverty and environmental degradation have already taken a toll, is a familiar one in Latin America .Just a few weeks after Katrina hit the US, parts of Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador reeled from the blow of Hurricane Stan. Migrant organizations have an opportunity to draw public policy lessons from these experiences and use the shared experience with communities in the reeled from the blow of Hurricane Stan.Migrant organizations have an opportunity to draw public policy lessons from these experiences and use the shared experience with communities in the United States to form new alliances.