{"421711":{"#nid":"421711","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Royster in Cuba as U.S. Announces Renewed Diplomatic Relations","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn July 1, as President Obama announced the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, twenty Atlanta government, business, and academic leaders were convening in Havana. Ivan Allen College\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/royster\u0022\u003EDean Jacqueline Royster\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;was part of the group which was exploring the possibilities\u0026nbsp;for Atlanta-Cuba relations should the U.S economic embargo against Cuba be eased.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe five-day tour was organized by the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/wacatl.robinson.gsu.edu\/\u0022\u003EWorld Affairs Council of Atlanta\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(WAC) to facilitate understanding of the trade and investment climate under the Castro government. Royster was among the Council board members in attendance along with Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Ambassador Charles Shapiro, Jorge Fernandez of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. The group met with business, cultural, and religious groups, private business owners and European business executives, and Jeff DeLaurentis, who serves as the U.S. political\/economic section chief at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe group seeks to position Atlanta as a U.S. business gateway for Cuba, other Caribbean nations, Central America, and South America, a scenario similar to that envisioned under Royster\u2019s Africa Atlanta initiative.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs we observed with many nations across the Continent of Africa during the Africa Atlanta 2014 activities, Cuba seeks also to declare its own potential with eyes securely on the present and future, not just the past,\u201d said Royster. \u201cWithout a doubt, the horizon for success is complex, with a critical need for systemic transformations capable of supporting sustainable pathways for development and thoughtful change.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Cuban people, however, seem resilient, amazingly capable, and enthusiastic about what lies ahead,\u201d she said. \u201cMy sense is that in the City of Atlanta, with our own potential for multidimensional international impact and leadership, we need to think well about our capacities to form viable partnerships with Cuban counterparts and to engage robustly, in moving these remarkable opportunities forward.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn July 1, as President Obama announced the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, twenty Atlanta government, business, and academic leaders were convening in Havana. Ivan Allen College \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/royster\u0022\u003EDean Jacqueline Royster\u003C\/a\u003E was part of the group which was exploring the possibilities for Atlanta \u2013 Cuba relations should the U.S economic embargo against Cuba be eased.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"On July 1, while President Obama announced the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, twenty Atlanta government, business, and academic leaders convened in Havana..."}],"uid":"27498","created_gmt":"2015-07-07 10:54:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:18:52","author":"Rachel Miles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-07-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"421701":{"id":"421701","type":"image","title":"Royster with Ambassador DeLaurentis (left) and Metro Atlanta Chamber VP for Global Commerce Jorge Fernandez (right)","body":null,"created":"1449254306","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:38:26","changed":"1475895160","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:40","alt":"Royster with Ambassador DeLaurentis (left) and Metro Atlanta Chamber VP for Global Commerce Jorge Fernandez (right)","file":{"fid":"202686","name":"royster_in_cuba.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/royster_in_cuba_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/royster_in_cuba_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":943519,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/royster_in_cuba_0.jpg?itok=KzP7I-RB"}},"421721":{"id":"421721","type":"image","title":"Dean Royster in Cuba with World Affairs Council and Mayor Reed","body":null,"created":"1449254306","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:38:26","changed":"1475895160","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:40","alt":"Dean Royster in Cuba with World Affairs Council and Mayor Reed","file":{"fid":"202687","name":"cuba_june_27-july_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cuba_june_27-july_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cuba_june_27-july_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":719365,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/cuba_june_27-july_1_0.jpg?itok=sB_kUxKz"}}},"media_ids":["421701","421721"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2699","name":"cuba"},{"id":"129231","name":"Dean Jacqueline Royster"},{"id":"132241","name":"diplomatic relations"},{"id":"1616","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"42651","name":"wac"},{"id":"132231","name":"World Affairs Council of Atlanta"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERebecca Keane\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Erebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}