Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
In November 2004, Dr. Cleve Fraser and Dr. Ken Peterson
(Economics Department) traveled with seven students (Political Science and Economics
majors) to Santiago Chile , for the VOICES program that runs concurrently with
the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Conference, an international
diplomatic summit on trade issues.
As participants of the VOICES program, we took on many diverse roles. We
spent parts of our days interviewing leaders of member economies who play
an important role in either the political or business sector of their nations.
We met with leaders in the Chilean government, including the ministers of
finance and trade. We also were given the opportunity to speak with leaders
from the U.S. State Department.
As an entire group, comprised of students from each of the 21 member economies,
we were given the opportunity to participate in a joint press conference with
Chilean Foreign Minister Ignacio Walker and U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powell, both of whom provided us with insight into the similarities and differences
between the U.S. and Chilean governments. As students from the United States
, having the opportunity to meet one-on-one with our country's most senior
diplomat was an amazing opportunity.
One of our greatest roles as members of the VOICES program was as a citizen
diplomat, in which we were given the chance to meet and interact with people
from other parts of the world. As the only college-age group from the United
States , we were prepared to answer questions from other nations that dealt
with our foreign policy, our views of the situation in Iraq , and our vision
for a better world. However, it was during the times that we weren't speaking
about politics that we truly gained a wealth of knowledge.
Our experience in Chile taught us that the world is constantly changing and
evolving. The lasting friendships, the engaging discussions and the experience
of being a college student in a foreign land have transformed our expectations
of diversity and convinced us of its necessity in our schools, our work environments,
and in our communities.
-Article by Cindy Youssef
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