Inter-American Dialogue

The Inter-American Dialogue engages our network of global leaders to foster democratic governance, prosperity, and social equity in Latin America and the Caribbean. Together, they work to shape policy debate, devise solutions, and enhance cooperation within the Western Hemisphere. The Western Hemisphere faces crucial, difficult, and shared challenges that call for a fresh mindset, great imagination, creativity, and firm resolve. For more than three decades, the Dialogue has convened global leaders with different perspectives and provided a forum for the generation of innovative policy ideas and practical proposals for action. Through successive Republic and Democratic administrations and many changes of leadership elsewhere in the hemisphere, the Dialogue has helped shape the agenda of issues and choices in inter-American relations. Their most valued asset is their select membership of more than 100 distinguished citizens from the United States, Canada, and 21 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Members actively participate in their work, informing and advancing their vigorous debate. As the face of the organization, they confer credibility on their policy outputs and ensure that they reflect a wide-range of opinions across the ideological spectrum. Seventeen Dialogue members served as presidents of their countries, over three dozen have served at the cabinet level, and seventeen have held seats in national legislatures. Twenty-seven per cent are in the business or finance sectors and seven members are associated with the media. The Dialogue sets itself apart not only by the reach of its influence or the quality of its analysis, but also by their unique identity as a truly hemispheric organization. Based in Washington, they conduct their work throughout the Americas and in partnership with leading institutions from around the world. A majority of their Board of Directors are from Latin American and Caribbean nations, as are more than half of the Dialogue’s members and participants in their other leadership networks and task forces. The Dialogue’s standing as the preeminent, independent Hemispheric forum is supported by their ranking as a leading think-tank. For six consecutive years, the University of Pennsylvania has ranked the Dialogue among the top US and foreign policy think tanks and, in 2014, London’s Prospect Magazine named the Dialogue “US Think Tank of the Year.” The Dialogue, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is funded by contributions from individuals, corporations, governments and foundations that help support its programs and provide essential operating revenue.