Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2015

Proclamation 9254 of April 10, 2015

Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2015

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

One hundred and twenty-five years ago, delegates from
countries throughout the Western Hemisphere came
together to establish the International Union of
American Republics, the forerunner to what is today the
oldest regional international organization in the
world: the Organization of American States. In the
years since, our nations have collaborated to address
regional challenges and improve the lives of people
across the Americas. On Pan American Day and during Pan
American Week, we reaffirm our hemisphere's enduring
friendship, and we recommit to working as equal
partners to support robust civil societies and expand
opportunity.

The United States and our regional neighbors are bound
by our mutual desire for peace and stability, and the
common yearning of all our peoples--to build a better
life for themselves and their families. We share
vibrant people-to-people connections and extensive
economic links. These ties are vital to our security
and prosperity, and when we work together to strengthen
them, we help ensure a brighter future for the next
generation.

My Administration is dedicated to joining with our Pan
American partners to promote and protect human rights,
open markets, expand fair trade, and advance the values
of democracy and freedom. Last December, we began a new
chapter in this commitment. In the most significant
changes to our policy in more than 50 years, the United
States is beginning to normalize our relations with
Cuba. As we extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban
people, we have the potential to lift up a nation and
end a legacy of mistrust in our hemisphere.

We continue to expand trade among the nations of the
Americas because we know when we allow businesses to
grow their markets it extends opportunity to a wider
circle of people. We are fostering small business
connections throughout the Americas and bolstering
women-owned and managed enterprises. Through the
100,000 Strong in the Americas initiative, the United
States is striving to increase educational exchanges
that open doors to new markets, innovative research,
and region-wide prosperity. And as our nations face
common energy and environmental concerns, my
Administration is working with leaders and experts from
the region to ensure every person in the Western
Hemisphere will have access to the electricity they
need at a price they can afford--in a manner that is
socially responsible and environmentally beneficial.

As we head into this week, I will attend the Summit of
the Americas in Panama. As leaders from across the Pan
American community come together, we will continue our
work to address the shared challenges our countries
face today. When our people--our leaders, our civil
society members, and all the sons and daughters of the
Americas--join in a spirit of mutual interest and
mutual respect, we can build a future of greater peace,
security, and possibility for every person who calls
the Americas home.

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, 2015,

as Pan American Day and April 12 through April 18,
2015, as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the
50 States, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, and the officials of the 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
tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.