Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2010

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8495 of April 9, 2010

Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2010

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

More than 200 years of history and significant current
events have reinforced the strong bonds of friendship
and common purpose among the nations and people of the
Americas. The year 2010 marks the 80th anniversary of
the first Pan American Day Proclamation; the centennial
anniversary of the dedication of the Organization of
American States' headquarters, the Pan American Union
Building; and the bicentennials of four of our fellow
republics: Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Chile.

These milestones remind us of our shared histories of
independence and interdependence, and of our long and
arduous journeys toward the just, free, inclusive, and
prosperous nations our founders envisioned. My
Administration is committed to building strong
partnerships in the Americas. We are focused on
supporting social and economic opportunity, ensuring
the safety of our citizens, strengthening democratic
institutions and accountability, and building a secure
and clean energy future. This is the message members of
the Administration are carrying with them throughout
the Americas, and the United States will focus on these
principles as we partner with friends and neighbors
across the Americas.

Our combined response to this year's devastating
earthquakes in Haiti and Chile demonstrates the
enduring strength of Pan American solidarity. As we
mourn these tragic losses of life, hope prevails in our
hemisphere's extraordinary assistance to the Haitian
and Chilean peoples. The United States will continue to
support these reconstruction efforts.

As we commemorate this year's special anniversaries and
take note of our combined rescue and relief efforts,
let us reaffirm the vision President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt expressed at the 1936 Inter-American
Conference for the Maintenance of Peace: ``We took from
our ancestors a great dream. We here offer it back as a
great unified reality.'' Once again, we stand ready to
usher in a new era of cooperation to advance the
security, prosperity, and liberty of all our peoples.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim April 14, 2010, as
Pan American Day and April 11 through 17 as Pan
American Week. I urge the Governors of the 50 States,
the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and
the officials of other areas under the flag of the
United States of America to honor these observances
with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.