Panel I: Cuba today and tomorrow: what next in Cuba?
Commentator: Annabelle Rodriguez, President, Asociacion Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana
§ Jaime Suchlicki, Professor, University of Miami
§ Francisco de Armas, International Representative of the Christian Liberation Movement
§Jacek Hinz, Deputy Director of the Latin America Department, Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
§ Liduine Zumpolle, Director, Fundacion Cuba Futuro
§ Annabelle Rodríguez, President, Asociacion Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana
Panel II: Italy, Europe, and democratic change in Cuba
Commentator: Giani Riotta, Editor of TG1
§ Edward McMillan-Scott, Member of the European Parliament (EPP-ED, Conservative group)
§ Tomas Pojar, Vice-Minister of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
§ Gianni Vernetti, Deputy Secretary for Human Rights at the Italian Foreign Ministry (La Margherita, ALDE, Liberal Political Group)
§ Markus Meckel, Member of the German Parliament, Social Democratic Party
§ Umberto Ranieri, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Italian Chamber of Deputies, Democracia Sinistra (Democratic Left)
Panel III: What can Italians do to support a peaceful transition?
Commentator: § Maurizio Turco, Executive Member of the Transnational Radical Party, Member of the Italian Parliament and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP)
§ Sergio D’Elia, Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Secretary General of Hands Off Cain
§ Ricardo Carreras, President, Spanish Solidarity with Cuba
§ Erik Jennische, Program Director, Swedish International Liberal Centre
§ Oswaldo Alfonso, former President of the Liberal Party of Cuba, ex-prisoner of conscience condemned to 20 years in prison during the “Black Spring” of 2003
§ Kristina Prunerova, Secretary of the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba
Keynote Speaker: Raul Rivero, ex prisoner of conscience, poet, journalist
Closing remarks: Marco Pannella, Member of the European Parliament, Secretary General of the TRP
DISCUSSION TOPICS
Panel I: Cuba today and tomorrow: what next in Cuba?
Jaime Suchlicki, Professor, University of Miami .
Overview of the present situation and expectations for the near future.
Francisco de Armas, International Representative of the Christian Liberation Movement.
Perspective of the Christian Libertaion Movement and Oswaldo Paya on the succession period.
Jacek Hinz, Deputy Director of the Latin America Department, Polish Foreign Ministry
Mr. Hinz was a polish journalist in Cuba in the early 1990s, worked in the Polish Embassy in Havana in the late 1990s, and is currently Deputy Director of the Latin America Department at the MFA. He knows very well both the Cuban government and the democracy movement, and will provide insight as to how these two sectors might evolve during the succession period.
Liduine Zumpolle, Director, Fundacion Cuba Futuro.
The impact of foreign investments and European tourism on human rights in Cuba .
Annabelle Rodríguez, President, Asociacion Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana
Overview of the present situation and expectations for the near future.
Panel II: Italy, Europe, and democratic change in Cuba
Edward McMillan-Scott, EPP-ED, MEP.
Mr. McMillan-Scott is the MEP leading efforts in Brussels to create the European Fund for Democracy, the European Union’s version of the NED. He will present on the advantages of reforming the way the Eu promotes democracy in closed countries such as Cuba .
Tomas Pojar, Vice-Minister of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Czech perspective on the European Union’s policy towards Cuba .
Gianni Vernetti, Deputy Secretary for Human Rights and Asia at the Italian Foreign Ministry – La Margherita, ALDE Political Group.
Comparative commentary on assistance to promote democracy and human rights from both Italy and the EU.
Markus Meckel, Member of the German Parliament, Social Democratic Party.
The German perspective on the European Union’s policy towards Cuba , from a Social Democratic perspective.
Umberto Ranieri, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Italian Chamber of Deputies, Democracia Sinistra (Democratic Left).
Italian policy towards Cuba , from a Social Democratic perspective.
Panel III: What can Italians do to support a peaceful transition?
Sergio D’Elia, Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Secretary General of Hands Off Cain.
Hands Off Cain’s advocacy work on Cuban human rights.
Ricardo Carreras, President, Spanish Solidarity with Cuba.
The Solidarity Tourism model for European advocacy and awareness campaigns on Cuba.
Erik Jennische, Program Director, Swedish International Liberal Centre.
The Swedish experience of assistance to political parties and independent libraries.
Osvaldo Alfonso, former President of the Liberal Party of Cuba, ex-prisoner of conscience condemned to 20 years in prison during the “Black Spring” of 2003.
Why assistance to civil society is important, from a personal perspective.
Kristina Prunerova, Secretary of the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba (ICDC)
Building international networks of support: the ICDC model for advocacy on Cuba .
Matteo Mecacci
TRP UN Rep.
+1-646-2018820
+39-347-9682837
www.radicalparty.org
