Summit of the Americas Center

LACC established the Summit of the Americas Center (SOAC) with State of Florida backing to monitor the initiatives of the 1994 Miami Summit. Its primary mission is to provide independent analysis of the impact on Florida of free trade and other elements of hemispheric integration for students, faculty, researchers and the community at large.

SOAC has participated in all Summits of the Americas since the original Miami Summit and has forged collaborative agreements with universities and partner institutions in Chile and Canada, the 1998 and the 2001 Summit host countries. The center's leadership has also participated in official State of Florida trade missions to enhance the state's commercial and cultural ties to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Approaching 50,000 visits since late 2000, SOAC's website, AmericasNet, closely covers developments related to the Summit process, providing frequent updates, expert commentaries and analysis, and breaking news sections. Carefully selected links allow in-depth coverage of Western Hemisphere social and economic issues, and the extensive AmericasNet archive holds official and unofficial Summit documents and publications. AmericasNet has swiftly become a key portal to information on Western Hemispheric integration for students and researchers worldwide.

Trade issues are a central SOAC concentration and the center closely follows progress toward the 2005 launching of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). SOAC's intensive International Trade Negotiation Skills Course, held in Miami and selected Latin American venues, uses case studies and role-playing exercises to train public and private sector representatives in the development of practical negotiating skills.

SOAC conferences and seminars focus on political, economic and social trends in the Americas, including an ongoing State of Democracy in the Americas series. Upcoming events and other SOAC activities are covered in the quarterly Monitor newsletter, available on-line via the AmericasNet website.

For more information about the Summit of Americas Center, call 305-348-2894.