Washington, D.C.- The atrium located in the headquarters of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) hosted the new photo showcase for the book “GLORIES: Going for the Gold” and “The Inclusion Games,” as formal commencement of the 25th Dominican Week in the US (SemDomUSA), an initiative led by the American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AmCham).
The showcase is based on the most recent publications by INICIA in December 2016, which render tribute to the Olympic, PanAmerican and Paralympic national athletes. Both publications were edited on occasion of the 70th anniversary since the foundation of the Dominican Olympic Committee.
During the activity, the managing partner of INICIA, Felipe A. Vicini, referred to the showcase as “our effort to distinguish those heroes that make our nation proud in every competition that they represent their country. Because it is them, our OLYMPIC GLORIES, who are the true protagonists of this story.” Vicini also explained to all attendees how the CRESO program works, investing directly in 78 high-performance athletes, all of them Dominican-born, and the reason why a meeting was held between the IDB and Georgetown University, with hopes to expand said program.
During the event, Olympic medalist Gabriel Mercedes thanked on behalf of all Dominican athletes for this recognition abroad. “WE FEEL PROUD TO BE PART OF CRESO, and see how our stories are being told by way of this showcase in Washington; this should serve as motivation for all athletes headed towards greatness, so they continue to strive to achieve their Olympic dream”, Mercedes said during his speech.
Roberto Herrera, Head of the SemDomUSA Committee, thanked INICIA one more time for its annual efforts to include a cultural component in the agenda, to the IDB, for embracing the showcase, and the Dominican Embassy for working on the setup and organization of the activity. Ambassador José Tomás Pérez also congratulated CRESO for this initiative in rendering tribute to the success of these athletes, their sacrifice and passion dedicated to representing our nation in these sports.
Present at the inaugural act were Ing. Miguel Vargas Maldonado, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic; José Tomás Pérez, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Dominican Republic in the U.S.; Gedeón Santos, Ambassador to the Dominican Republic before the OAS; Carlos Pared Vidal, Altering Executive Director to Mexico and the Dominican Republic of the IDB; David Collado, Mayor of the National District; José del Castillo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL); Gabriel Mercedes, Olympic Medalist, Beijing 2008.
Also, the members of the SemDomUSA delegation headed by David Fernández, chairman of AMCHAMDR, the organization which leads this initiative, aiming to increase the image and reputation of the D.R. in the U.S.A. and strengthen ties between both nations.
The expo will remain open to the public until May 19th. “This will allow hundreds of people from different countries and nationalities, including the Dominican diaspora in D.C, to learn more in depth about our GLORIES, their history, and to appreciate the fine work that everyone involved in this book achieved as result,” Vicini concluded.
Source: tusolcaribe.net
