JUAN ANTONIO BLANCO

Areas of expertise

Constituency building and networking with civil society organizations in Latin America

  • Capacity building programs
  • Conflict management, negotiations, dialogue and consensus building processes
  • Political analyst of international relations specialized on Cuba – USA relations
  • Human rights

Professional skills

  • Political analyst
  • Professor of international relations
  • Strategic planning
  • Experience in executive and management functions
  • Fundraising
  • Communication and lobbying campaigns
  • Organizer of educational / skills training
  • Organizer of local / national/ international events (congresses, seminars, workshops, panels, lectures)
  • Bilingual. Fluent in English and Spanish

Professional experience

Creation and development of organizations and networks

  • Centro Félix Varela, Cuba 1993 – 1997
  • Citizen Digital Facilitation, Canada 2000 – 2010
  • Regional forum and network on Citizen Diplomacy 2001- 2005
  • Consenso Cubano, USA 2004-2010
  • Regional watch on racism, network of afro descendents of Latin America and the Caribbean 2007- 2010

Executive positions

    • Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives of Miami Dade College
    • Executive Director 2012 – 2015
    • Latin American and Caribbean Center of Florida International University, USA
    • Visiting Assistant Director of the Cuban Research Institute 2010 – 2012
    • Human Rights Internet, an international NGO based in Ottawa with consultative status with the UN and the OAS.
    • Director for International Cooperation 1997-2004
    • Executive Director 2004-2006
    • Citizen Digital Facilitation, Canada. Director of International Cooperation 2000-2010
    • Instituto de Estudios Cubanos, USA. Vice-president 2006-2010
    • Centro Felix Varela, Cuba. Founder and Executive Director 1993-1997
    • Ministry of Trade and Cooperation, Cuba
    • Director of Cuba’s trade and cooperation offices at La Paz, Bolivia 1983-1984
    • Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cuba Director of the Department for the Non Aligned Movement 1975-1979

Organizer of local, national and international events

  • Organizer of the seminar human rights and reconciliation of FIU with the Foundation Cuba XXI In the Ayuntamiento of Madrid 2012
  • Organizer of four seminars of FIU on The Cuban Diaspora in the XXI Century at the Inter American Dialogue (Washington), Ermita de la Caridad (Miami), CIDE (Mexico DF) and Casa de América (Madrid) 2012
  • Organizer of the seminar History and Politics between FIU and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos In Madrid 2010

Organizer of hundreds of local, national and international events in various countries, such as:

  • Annual Workshops on Cuba, Miami Dade College & Instituto de Estudios Cubanos, Miami 2006-2009
  • Annual Workshops and Seminars, Central Unitaria de Trabajadores Cubanos – Solidaridad de Trabajadores Cubanos, CUTC-STC 2004-2010
  • Regional Congresses on Racism and Discrimination, Santiago de Chile and Sao Paolo 2005- 2006
  • Regional Forum on Citizen Diplomacy, Mexico and Buenos Aires 2001, 2003, 2004
  • Regional UN Consultation on Racism and Discrimination, Quito 1999
  • World International Congress Vienna Plus Five, Ottawa 1998
  • International Congress on the Ethics and Culture of Sustainable Development, Havana, Cuba 1997
  • Workshops on tolerance, civil society and sustainable development, Cuba 1994 – 1996
  • Assistant to the Secretary General of the VI Summit of Non Aligned Countries in Havana 1979

Independent Consultant as Latin-American expert

  • Santo Domingo Motors Company, Dominican Republic. Historical Institutional Research 2009-2010
  • Instituto Real Elcano, Madrid, Spain. Cuba issues 2008-2009
  • Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL), Ottawa, Canada. Cuba & conflict prevention 2000-2008
  • Regional watch network of afro descendents in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2007-2010
  • Christopher Reynolds Foundation, New York, USA. Cuba issues 2008-2010
  • Secretary General of the Organization of American States
  • Pro bono adviser to the Liaison office with regional civil society and organizer of seminars for the office of the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States on issues related to quiet diplomacy. 2005 -2006
  • American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia, USA. Latin American issues 2004- 2007
  • Oxfam Netherland, to assess the impact of their Latin American programs 1999
  • NCOS, an NGO in Belgium. Latin American issues 1996-97

Conflict and crisis management, solution and prevention

  • Institutional management of a financial crisis at Human Rights Internet in Canada 2005-2006
  • Chairperson and organizer of the dialogue between the Mexican Government, the Interamerican commission for Human Rights and the Mexican human rights NGO community 2003
  • Participant and capacity building trainer in conflict analysis for Consenso Cubano, an umbrella of two dozen Cuban American organizations 2004-2010
  • OAS / ACS Seminars on Regional Conflict Prevention, D. Republic and Trinidad & Tobago 2007
  • Advisor to the Cuban Conflict program at the Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL) 2007-2008

Political Analyst

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cuba
  • Political and international analyst 1972-1974
  • Department of International Relations of the CC of the CCP
  • Senior political analyst on US- Latin America relations 1985-1992

Professor

  • Higher Institute of International Relations, Havana, Cuba
  • Decision making processes in international relations 1994- 1996
  • University of Havana, Cuba
  • Philosophy 1967 – 1971
  • Technological School
  • History 1965 -1966

Author, editor, lecturer and public presentations

  • Latin American member of the Editorial Board of Human Rights Tribune in Canada 1996-2001
  • Senior Editor of Revista Futuros, a Hispanic magazine on sustainable democratic development (www.revistafuturos.info and www.futuros21.info ) 2003-2008
  • Author of books, essays and articles on Latin American issues and on democratic sustainable development published in mainstream magazines and newspapers in North America, Europe and Latin American journals and newspapers
  • Lecturer at think tanks on international affairs (such as the Council of Foreign Relations of New York the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Interamerican Dialogue) and various universities in Canada, the United States and Latin America.
  • Interviewee by the international media and guest at talk shows (such as CNN, Radio Netherlands, Mega Vision, CBS, BBC)

Membership in citizen and academic organizations

  • Member of the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS)
  • Member of the working group on Latin America and the Caribbean of the Canadian Conflict Prevention Coalition (CCPC)
  • Member of the Steering Committee of the Plataforma Latinoamericana para la Prevención de Conflictos for Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales and Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict
  • Member of the Group of Experts on Latin American & Caribbean Affairs at the Canadian International Council
  • Member of CIVICUS

Academic Qualifications

  • Doctor in History Sciences, University of La Habana. (Equivalent to the US degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History earned at a regionally accredited institution of higher education in the United States according to the assessment made by Josef Silny & Associates, Inc)
  • Post graduate studies on conflict transformation with the Transcend Group associated to the University of Peace of the United Nations.
  • Member of the National Scientific Panel for the Evaluation of Doctorate Degrees in History
Scroll al inicio