Foundation Journal

In 2007, I participated in a "Media and Democracy" Reality Tour to Venezuela organized by Global Exchange. The research tour included 12 North Americans and 1 South African with backgrounds in teaching and media -- one person worked for Free Speech TV channel and another for an alternative weekly Milwaukee newspaper. Others in the group were community activists and artists. Many in the group had traveled to various parts of Latin America - Chiapas, Oaxaca, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Nicaragua and Cuba. The combination of professional backgrounds and Latin American experience generated thoughtful discussions at each of the meetings we had with 15 different community groups, media outlets or individuals. Crowd listening to ceremonies commemorating Simon Bolivar's birthday in Caracas, Venezuela. July 24, 2007 - The group struck out today in hopes of watching ceremonies honoring the birth of Simon Bolivar, a revered person in Venezuelan history, as well as

I am taking the time here to share with you some background on my upcoming trip to Venezuela. The trip runs from July 21-31 with most of the tour taking place in and around Caracas, the large capital. There is at least one trip to nearby Barlovento, a city where the tour group will visit a women's sewing collective, primary school and learn about the African heritage of Venezuela through a small village famous for it's historic haven for slaves. Global Exchange has organized these "Reality Tours" for about 20 years that "positively influence international affairs." Reality Tours provide individuals the opportunity to understand issues beyond what is communicated by the mass media and gain a new vantage point from which to view and affect US foreign policy. Reality Tours was founded on the principles of eyewitness education and are intended to educate people about how we, both individually and collectively, contribute to global problems. Global Exchange then