Embassy of Cuba in New Zealand

Newsletter No.17. 23rd June 2013

Havana hosts international forum on industrial design

June 17th

The 7th International Forum on Industrial Design “Forma 2013” opens doors in Havana, in which nearly 400 Cuban and foreign experts will debate actions and initiatives to make design available to all.

The forum includes round table discussions by representatives of agencies and companies in the design sector, who will exchange experiences on the latest advancements, said the president of the event’s organizing committee Sergio Peña Martinez.

Major issues on the agenda include cultural and social identity, sustainable development and professional training, along with what is known as the creative industry, said the official.

Renowned personalities in the design and communication sectors at the world level will lecture participants at the forum, which focuses on economical, environment-friendly and socially-oriented design strategies.

Forma 2013 will run till June 20, sponsored by the Cuban Higher Institute of Industrial Design, the Cuban Association of Social Communicators, the Cuban Fund of Cultural Values, the Caguayo Foundation and the Havana Historian’s Office.

Visit the website

Cohiba voted the best Cuban cigar

June 17th

A five-member international expert panel based in France ratified the Cohiba Behike-52 as the best Cuban Habano cigars.

The expert group, from the Amateur de Cigare magazine, participated in an annual tasting session of 700 cigars from 130 countries, which are being marketed in France, said Habanos S.A. company executive Marcelino Ben Mustelier in statements to the Cuban news agency.

Ben Mustelier said that the specialists consider a thorough evaluation of the cigars, including strength, scent, flavor, draw before releasing the list of the best cigars from all nations of the world.

In the case of Cuba, the Cohiba Behike-52 is followed by Partagas’ Lusitanias 3 and Romeo and Juliet’s Churchill’s reserve, all of which enjoy large demand by cigar lovers.

The executive said that this is not the first time that the magazine stressed the high quality of Cuban cigars. He said that many representatives of that publication participate at the annual International Habano Festival and they later carry out extensive follow-up work on the subject.

During their visit last year, the experts considered local characteristics of western Pinar del Rio plantations and of other Cuban territories, which may constitute ideal areas for high-quality tobacco-leaf production.

The Cohiba Behike-52 cigars were launched into the domestic market, at the Havana-based Melia Habana Hotel’s Habano cigar shop, in October 2010 on limited amounts.

The marketing in Cuba of these cigars stood for a 33 percent growth in sales with respect to 2011 since its short shape meets the demands of those who prefer a brief smoke.

Local development projects benefit Cuban rural sector

June 18th

More than twenty local development projects, applied in conjunction with foreign NGOs, benefit Cienfuegos´ rural sector and will increase food production in that region.

José Luis Santana, an official of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP by its Spanish acronym) in the area, said this cooperation allows improving infrastructure of about fifty agricultural cooperatives in this territory and the communities where they are located.

It has also enabled the electrification of agricultural areas, introduction of new technologies such as high precision irrigation systems, construction of protected farming houses, accelerated fruit breeding centers, among others.

He noted they have worked with groups from Italy, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Spain, Holland and England, as well as with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Santana called for an adequate planning for the implementation of these projects and their fulfillment in time and added that several of the agreements are aimed at developing agro-ecology and promoting the role of rural women.

Armando Andrade, peasant from Pedro Cruz agricultural cooperative, told they are working on natural resource conservation in the mountain settlement of El Nicho in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

These bilateral agreements have permitted application of best agro-ecological alternatives and encouraging mini agro industries, which products are sold to the community and tourism facilities, Andrade said.

Human Rights Council adopts Cuba-sponsored resolutions

June 18th

The UN Human Rights Council adopted four Cuba-sponsored resolutions during its 23rd session, held May 27 to June 14 in Geneva.

The documents, which found large co-sponsoring support, focus on the promotion of cultural rights and diversity; human rights and international solidarity; the negative impact by the foreign debt on the enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights; and the promotion of the right to peace, the Cuban Foreign Ministry reported.

The resolution on the right to peace was presented by Cuba on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a significant event, given the fact that this is the first time that the regional integration bloc presents a joint resolution at the United Nations.

Despite is observer status at the Council, Cuba continues to be a main actor in the works of the UN entity and has been largely acknowledged for its active participation. The Caribbean nation expects to become a full member of the Council in the 2014-2016 period, following the 2013 summer elections that are expected to take place during the 68th session of the UN General Assembly.

Tourism and journalism on the agenda of international forum

June 18th

The potential of the Cuban tourist sector, its current trends and its link to the Cuban media are on the spotlight of an international seminar on Journalism and Tourism, underway since Monday in Havana.

The forum, which is being held for the ninth time, is being attended by Journalists from Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Cuba, according to PL news agency.

Antonio Molto, director of the Jose Marti International Journalism Institute, which is hosting the event, stressed the significance of the annual forum, given the scope of its debates that also include specific offers like the cultural heritage of the Cuban capital city.

Carlos Alberto Masvida, an expert with the Havana Historian’s Office, explained about the local cultural tours offered to visitors and local vacationers through museums and other sites of interest. He said that initiative was implemented in the year 2000 and it found large demand among the population due to its low cost and great attractions, marked by the promotion of cultural knowledge and values.

The international seminar also includes discussions on issues such as the link between the tourist industry to the Internet, economy and tourism, the Cuba destination, and the gastronomic offer.

Participants will visit major tourist sites, such as the Old Section of Havana, the Rum Museum, the Revolution Square and Varadero tourist resort.

U.S. scholar prevented from attending event in Cuba

June 18th

Victor Margolin, professor at the University of Illinois, USA, couldn’t fulfill his wish to attend the Seventh International Design Conference FORMA 2013, after receiving no response from the Treasury Department to his request for permission to travel to Cuba.

Eviel Ramos, member of the Organizing Committee of FORMA, which opened today in the capital, told ACN news agency that the outstanding professional, co-editor of Design Issues, the first American academic journal to examine design history, theory, and criticism, asked for his travelling permit three months ago and didn’t receive any response from the US entity.

According to the event’s program, Margolin should offer a lecture on design and risk of changes, on the final day, Thursday, to the more than 300 participants from 12 nations who already share their experiences in workshops, committees and panels, with the goal of making this specialty more accessible to all.

In the inauguration Venezuelan, Brazilian and Bolivian diplomatic corps accredited in Havana participated, as well as academic authorities and from the Cuban economic sectors.

Under the central theme Design for All, participants reflect on the social function of this specialty and its practitioners, and the contributions they can make to the world.

Sao Tome and Principe thanks Cuba for training of physicians

June 18th

Manuel Pinto da Costa, President of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, thanked Cuba on Tuesday for training youngsters from his country as physicians, with high professional, ethical and human quality.

While visiting the Latin American Medical School (ELAM) in this capital, where youngsters from 98 countries from all parts of the world are studying, the head of state highlighted Cubans’ contribution in the training of human resources of Sao Tome and Principe in other areas.

Rafael Gonzalez, rector of the ELAM, gave the visitor details of the work of the institution, founded in 1999 by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro.

Jorge Lopes Bon Jesus, Minister of Education, Culture and Training of Sao Tome and Principe, expressed his government’s interest in expanding bilateral cooperation, so youngsters from his country study clinical and surgical specialties in Cuba.

The dignitary arrived in Havana on Saturday on an official visit, which ends on Wednesday.

Cuban delegation issues press release on talks with US Postal Service

June 18th

Representatives from Cuba and the United States resumed talks on direct postal services between both countries. The Cuban delegation was presided over by José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez, head of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, and the U.S. delegation was headed by Lea Emerson, Executive Director for International Postal Affairs of the U.S. Postal Service.

The Cuban delegation made an evaluation of the current situation of universal postal services between Cuba and the United States and submitted proposals to solve the existing difficulties in this area. Likewise, it reiterated the aspects that are to be taken into account to resume direct postal services between the two countries.

The Cuban delegation welcomed the celebration of these talks and described as fruitful the exchange held between the officials of the postal administrations of Cuba and the United States, which was aimed at identifying the ways to eliminate the difficulties that affect the normalization of postal exchange between both countries.

During the talks, the Cuban delegation emphasized the fact that it would not be possible to implement a stable, quality and safe postal service based on the principles and standards established by the Universal Postal Union both countries are members of, as long as the obstacles resulting from the blockade policy imposed by the United States Government against Cuba are not removed.

Both delegations agreed to follow up on the talks in the course of the coming months.

Cuba advances in installing transmitters for digital television

June 19th

The installation of transmitters to guarantee digital television signal advances in the province of Sancti Spiritus, Jorge Félix Madrigal, chief of the Division of Cuba’s Radio communication and Broadcasting (RadioCuba) in the territory said.

They are expected to complete the assembly of the first three transmitters by next September, Madrigal said, adding that they will be placed at elevations of the municipalities of Sancti Spiritus, Yaguajay and Trinidad, where there are currently analogical transmitters.

The implementation of digital television in Cuba responds to a program that will be applied in stages and according to the economic availability, as reported in the press.

This month began a test phase of signal transmission and reception in 45 000 households in different neighborhoods of Havana.

For the introduction of digital television in Cuba, its authorities chose the Chinese “Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcasting" format, which will be very beneficial to the country because it will offer services at a lower cost.

According to experts in this field, the new technology will enable expanding to eight the five existing national channels, and will increase the chances of creating programs , besides disseminating through the same means the radio audio with higher quality.

Another benefit is related to the efficient use of radio spectrum, by lightening the antenna system located on the transmission towers, which is vulnerable to natural events such as cyclones.

Radio Cuba specialists added to these advantages the reduction of energy consumption, not only for the own consumption of transmitters, but because the air conditioning system will require to evacuate less heat.

It also offers viewers uniformity in image and sound, and as the reception of channels is made from the same transmitter, it eliminates the need to reorient the antenna in search of better quality.

Cuba carries out bio lubricants research

June 19th

A lab for extracting bio-lubricants was installed in Las Tunas as part of a research by the Vladimir Ilich Lenin and Oriente universities from Las Tunas and Santiago de Cuba in that order.

The extraction of vegetable oils from wax and sugar cane molasses is the first phase of the project which implies making derivatives for import-substitution and reducing environmental pollution.

The research program aims to develop the production of biofuels from an ecological and sustainable approach, Daniel Rodriguez, one of the project’s authors, which has the support of the Hermanos Díaz oil refinery of Santiago de Cuba, he said.

There is a worldwide tendency of manufacturing bio products at the expense of food crops; however this proposal is based on using waste, which contributes to increase profitability, he added.

Las Tunas is a major sugar producing area in Cuba and has several facilities devoted to its derivatives, so it is an appropriate scenario for the development of this technology, Rodriguez said.

Cuban Lubricants Company (CUBALUB by its Spanish acronym) and the one of Stainless Steels (ACINOX by its Spanish acronym) have shown interest in the product, an oil that can be used as an additive to fuel for transportation equipment or in power generation.

According to a report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), most of the researches on biofuels are based on the use of cereals and oilseeds, which negatively impacts on food production.

Experts discuss Ernest Hemingway in Havana

June 19th

The 14th Ernest Hemingway International Colloquium opens doors in Havana, in an initiative called by the Museum Finca Vigia, the former residence of the US writer in Cuba.

The forum, which will run till June 23, pays homage to Hemingway’s first published work Three Stories and Ten Poems 90 years ago. The event also marks the 60th anniversary of his Pulitzer Prize for the novel The Old Man and the Sea.

More than 20 researchers from different countries will take part at the colloquium to share their visions on the author of For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Some of the activities at the forum include a key-note lecture on Ernest Hemingway by Cuban writer Enrique Cirules and the presentation of the Project Live Journal of Hemingway, by Finca Vigia director Ada Rosa Alfonso.

Cuba strongly rejects new US slanderous action

June 20th

Cuba strongly rejected new slanderous provocations by Washington, which included the island in an arbitrary and ill-natured report issued by the US Department of State on the trafficking of persons.

In a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry’s webpage, the director of the United States division at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Josefina Vidal, says that Cuba is acknowledged around the world for its exemplary protection of children, youths and women and it is not a source, transit or destination country for the trafficking of persons.

However, in a new action aimed at discrediting Cuba and justifying its hostile policy against the island, the US administration once again included Cuba, in an arbitrary and ill-natured manner, in the worst of the categories of the US Department’s report on the trafficking of persons.

It is the US blockade of Cuba that really harms the Cuban children, youths and women, Vidal says in her statement and points out that the government of Cuba strongly rejects this slander and demands the definitive end of this shameful designation.

Washington has no moral to single out Cuba, after US authorities have been forced to admit that the United States is a source, transit and destination country of US and foreign men, women and children, who are submitted to forced labor, slavery, servitude and sexual trafficking, concludes the statement by Josefina Vidal, director of the US division at the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

Read the statement in full

Back to top

Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in New Zealand

76 Messines Rd, Karori, Wellington 6012

www.cubadiplomatica.cu/nuevazelanda/EN/Home.aspx

ENDS

© Scoop Media