Panamanian Youths meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

January 27, 2011

Secretary Clinton and Youth Ambassadors

Five Panamanian youths from Santiago de Veraguas met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as participants in the “Youth Ambassadors 2012” program.

Ana María Ortega, Tamara Zurdo, Marianela González, Ana Gabriela Alvarez and Eduardo Javilla traveled to the United States along with other students from other Central American countries and the Dominican Republic to participate in leadership, business and entrepreneurship workshops. In addition to this important personal growth learning experience, the youths will attend workshops and seminars and will visit historic sites.

The “Youth Ambassadors 2012” program is sponsored by the Department of State and is organized, on a local level, by the Gabriel Lewis Galindo Foundation. This Foundation also manages the Access program, which the Youth Ambassadors are part of. Access is a two-year afterschool English learning and improvement program for students aged 16 to 18 from underserved communities.

When the Youth Ambassadors that met with the Secretary of State return to Panama next February, they will develop a project to apply their new skills and share their experience with other youths in the country.