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Second Annual High-Level Innovation Forum for Policymakers

In November 2014, the Mexico Institute and Fundación IDEA held the Second Annual High-Level Innovation Forum for Policymakers. The purpose of this forum was to increase understanding of the benefits and challenges of innovation and to aid in the development of policy recommendations that encourage innovation in Mexico.

Second Annual High-Level Innovation Forum for Policymakers

Mexicans are creative and entrepreneurial. Some of the world's most notable and widely-used technologies have their roots in Mexico. Mexico has a fine tradition of science and innovation, and it is the Mexican entrepreneur that has been and will continue to be the strength of the nation's economy and the driver of innovation.

To increase understanding of the benefits and challenges of innovation and to aid in the development of policy recommendations that encourage innovation in Mexico, the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Fundación IDEA held the Second Annual High-Level Innovation Forum for Policymakers in November 2014. This was a two-day forum on innovation policy for Mexican federal legislators held in Washington, DC. The forum covered several topics related to innovation, including: entrepreneurship, financing innovative business, regulation, spillovers between universities and companies, and the role of SMEs. In particular, a special emphasis was placed on innovation in the health sector and biotechnology in this year's forum.

Speakers included representatives from the Wilson Center, Google, General Electric (GE), Conacyt, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Amgen, MIT Media Lab, Grupo Editorial Expansión, Biotechnology Industry Organization, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, among others. For more information on the program, see the attached document below.

When addressing the floor of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies on the subject of the new reform of federal laws on science and technology, Mexican Federal Deputy Ruben Felix Hays, a participant in the Innovation Forum, said "I cannot fail to mention the 'High-Level Innovation Forum for Policymakers organized by Fundación IDEA and the Wilson Center for the last two years in Washington, DC. To all who participated in the organization of those forums, my deepest appreciation and gratitude. This reform is because of you. The science, technology and innovation reform will be for the benefit of our common goal that is Mexico."

Prior to this forum, the Mexico Institute released the publication Fostering Innovation in Mexico: Ideas from the High-Level Innovation Forum for Policymakers. The publication summarizes the main themes of the November 2013 Innovation Forum and highlights some lessons learned. The purpose of the publication, and the High-Level Innovation Forums, is to aid in the ongoing dialogue on the subject of innovation in Mexico.

To see photos from the Second Annual High-Level Innovation Forum for Policymakers, click here.

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Mexico Institute

The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute.   Read more