cl podcast Chiriqui.Life Podcast #20 -- Impact of Immigration on the Future of Panama, the New Relationship with China, and Third World/First World Issues by Dr. Maria Ruiz

[Moderator_02]

After the usual announcements at the beginning of the weekly BCP Tuesday Morning Meetings on May 1^st, 2018, emcee Nikki Steele introduced Dr. Maria Ruiz for this well-attended presentation on the impact of immigration (North Americans, Venezuelans, Colombians, etc.) on the future of Panama, the upside and downside of the new relationship with China, and the struggle to move Panama from the third world to the first world, etc.

Here is the meeting announcement of this presentation as posted on CL:

 

Presentation Materials

Click Here to download a PDF version of the presentation materials used by Dr. Ruiz.

Click Here to download a PDF version of her talking notes and references.

 

The Podcast

To listen to this podcast, click below on the white, right-pointing triangle (arrow) on top of an orange circular background. If you see two options below, we recommend using the "Listen in browser" option as opposed to the "Play on SoundCloud" option.

This podcast is 1h 15m 5s duration.

 

Comments and Feedback

If you would like to provide feedback about this podcast, or discuss other matters related to this podcast series, please either reply to this posting, or send CL Staff a private message (@Moderator_02 is the correct display name to communicate with), or email to support@chiriqui.life.

If you would like to share this podcast with family and friends, simply provide them the following URL, but remember that CL membership is required to view this content:
        http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/9338-chiriqui-life-podcast-20-impact-of-immigration-on-the-future-of-panama-the-new-relationship-with-china-and-third-worldfirst-world-issues-by-dr-maria-ruiz/

Audio and recording services by Phil Bennett. Postproduction by Boquete Recording Studio. All rights reserved.

 

[Moderator_02]

Here are some pictures taken of Maria, first as she was getting ready to start her presentation (note the absence of empty chairs), and two images taken during the presentation.

 

 

 

[Moderator_02]

Here are some recollections and reflections on the information that Maria was discussing during this presentation.

1. Panama has experienced several stages, maybe about four or five waves, of immigration during its history.  The first was the indigenous probably at a time prior to the first eruption of Volcan Baru, and the most recent (fourth) wave starting about the year 2000 with the influx of expatriates principally from North America and  Europe. It is possible that a new stage is beginning in contemporary times with the influx of people from South American countries such as Venezuela and Colombia because of economic and political strife in their home countries.
2. Culture is our environment, and how people adapt or relate to their environment.
3. Education is extremely important in the role of moving Panama to a position of becoming a first world country.
4. We need to change how to think about gaining knowledge. Instead of building another school house which will probably need a new roof in a few years, we need to gain education by using the Internet. This means learning English because the predominant language on the Internet is English.
5. Education and knowledge are generally thought of as being the same concept, but they are different. Education is a precursor to knowledge.
6. The future depends on the composition of the population, and the quality of their knowledge.

These notes are not meant to be comprehensive or all inclusive, but simply some recollections from a data-rich presentation. Other audience members are encouraged to add their recollections by replying here in this topic.