Laura Alonso inaugurates the 2012 Political Opening Program (PAP)

The 2012 edition of the Political Opening Program, directed at young university students and graduates, began with the participation of guest speaker Laura Alonso, National Deputy for Buenos Aires. She spoke on “Transparency and Social Justice: a false dilema”.

The 2012 edition of the Political Opening Program, directed at young university students and graduates, began with the participation of guest speaker Laura Alonso, National Deputy for Buenos Aires. She spoke on “Transparency and Social Justice: a false dilema”.

PAP is a series of discussions presented by political party leaders and legislators, dedicated to the analysis of those themes most important to CADAL: strengthening of representative democracy, encouragement of the modernization of parties and competitive democracy, freedom of the press and the relationship between journalists and politicians, legislative consensuses in the formulation of public policy, active transparency in the public sector, meritocratic reform in the state, proposal of social-economic policies and international and regional promotion of civil and political liberties.

Laura Alonso is a national deputy for the city of Buenos Aires. She belongs to the parliamentary block PRO, and is a member of the commissions for Constitutional Affairs, International Relations and Impeachment, among others. She was elected in 2009 in the city of Buenos Aires after serving as executive director of Poder Ciudadano (Power of the Citizens), the Argentine branch of Transparency International. She studied political science at the University of Buenos Aires and gained a Masters in Public Policy and Administration at the London School of Economics. She received a scholarship from the University Foundation of Rio de la Plata (FURP), was a British Chevening Scholar in 2000 and an Eisenhower Fellow in 2008. That same year she was recognized by the US organization Vital Voices Global Partnership as a rising female leader. In 2012 she was selected as a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum. She was also chosen as a Fellow in the Draper Hills “Democracy and
Development” program at the University of Stanford.

She is co-founder and member of the Administrative Council of Vital Voices Argentina. She also belongs to the Administrative Council of ICANA (Argentine-North American Cultural Institute). She has taught at the University of Buenos Aires, among others, and served as a consultant to various international organizations. Her blog is www.lauraalonso.org she can be found on Twitter @lauritalonso.