Vamos a Perú!

Well, we're thirteen days out, and preparations for APEC Perú 2008 are underway. We are all in the process of packing gifts, ironing shirts, and brushing up on our high school spanish, eagerly looking forward to our departure. We are extremely privileged to be accompanied by two educators: Dr. Cleve Fraser from Political Science, and Dr. Nathan Cook from Economics.

On Saturday, November 15th, we will depart for Lima, Perú to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leadership Week. Formed in 1989, APEC is a group of 21 countries from around the Pacific Rim. Member economies account for almost two thirds of world GDP and nearly half of world trade. APEC aims primarily to facilitate regional trade liberalization, although its portfolio also includes a broad range of issues like human security and climate change. APEC is a forum for consensus building, so its agreements are all non-binding. Leaders Week will be attended by heads of state, high-level ministers, and business leaders from across the globe.

Our trip is coordinated through Virtual Trade Mission’s Voices of the Future program. We’re fortunate to have the assistance of Furman grad and National VTM Fellow, Cindy Youseff.

Follow Leadership Week at APEC Peru's official website: http://www.apec2008.org.pe/home.aspx

We will be continually blogging and updating the Furman Community on our activities in Lima. Please feel free to comment on our posts. We are all tremendously excited and look forward to updating you on the experience.