The first Regional Assembly of the newly appointed President, Mr. José Villafañe and Vice President, Mr. Joubert Flores, of the UIC Latin American Region was held online last 15 November 2021.
After a welcome message from the President, the Assembly opened. The President highlighted the good relationship with the Vice President and the close contact they have to plan the future steps to develop the UIC regional activity as soon as the Covid-19 health restrictions make it possible. Mr. Flores also highlighted the good cooperation with the President and the challenges of being attractive to new members, as discussed in the meeting organised with Mr. Guigon during his last visit to Paris in October.
Mr. Guigon explained the importance of the LARA Terms of Reference due to the fact that they explain the internal rules, organisation and procedures of the Region. The LARA ToR was already approved in 2019 by the Regional Assembly so there is no need to submit it again unless the new members would like to make modifications. The new members were asked to endorse the Terms of Reference for the UIC Latin American Region. They agreed and no modification was asked for.
The LARA Action Plan 2022-2023 and a practical Road Map for UIC LARA Members was discussed. Mr. Flores highlighted that a strategic coordination with Mr. Villafañe will be necessary not only to identify but also to contact new members.
In the coming weeks, the President’s team and the Vice President will work on a new draft for the Region Action Plan for the short, medium and long term (2050). It was again highlighted the importance of enlarging the region by inviting new members. Mr. Villafañe stressed how important the personal contacts and meetings are to attract and to explain the UIC Activity which was more difficult during the last year. Mr. Guigon emphasized that he will try his best to visit the Region next year if the health situation derivating from Covid makes it possible.
Vanessa Perez explained the LARA Communication Plan draft to establish a series of activities with the aim of communicating the actions of the Region and to check at the end of the year what has been done and what is the coverage and impact.
It was highlighted to look for synergies among the ALAF and ANP Trihos international activities and the UIC ones.
Examples of these common activities are shown below:
The workshop organised online in July https://uic.org/com/enews/article/the-webinar-on-challenges-for-rail-integration-in-latin-america-organised-by
The international workshop organised 26 November https://uic.org/events/desafios-para-la-integracion-ferroviaria-en-america-latina-segunda-parte
