Late last month in Panama, the Executive Committee of IARU Region 2 held its annual meeting. According to IARU Region 2 President Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AMH, the importance of having active and inclusive IARU Member-Societies is the "only way to ensure the future of Amateur Radio." Leandro said this theme was "underlined" throughout the meeting. The United States is a member of Region 2.

At the meeting, the Executive Committee called on the Region 2 Area Directors to establish links at the area and country level to work with an Emergency Communications and Monitoring System. Once those links are established, the Area Directors will work with recently designated Coordinators in the Region.

The Committee heard reports regarding the IARU's participation in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU). The CTU is aware of the importance of radio amateurs in emergency situations and has requested the IARU's support to have active Member-Societies in its region. CTU countries include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Turks and Caicos, and Trinidad and Tobago; the IARU is an Associate Member of CTU.

Other actions by the Executive Committee included:

• The Executive Committee initiated preparations to participate in Telecom Américas 2010, to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in March 2010.

• The Committee requested the support of the Region 2 Member-Societies in order get more countries in the region to sign on to the International Amateur Radio Permit (IARP). Countries that currently accept the IARP are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, El Salvador, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

• The Committee announced that an introductory study guide for all those interested in becoming new radio amateurs will be made available in Spanish within the next few months. This guide will be published in a digital format, allowing for easy distribution.

• Emergency Communications Coordinator César Pío Santos, HR2P, advised the Executive Committee that he is compiling an inventory of emergency networks in Region 2. The Committee decided that the listing should be completed "as soon as possible" and underlined its importance to the region.

The next Region 2 Executive Committee meeting will be in September 2009 in Lima, Peru.

The meeting was attended by President Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AMH; Vice President Darío Jurado, HP1DJ; Secretary Ramón Santoyo V., XE1KK; Treasurer and Area E Director Noel E. Donawa, 9Y4NED; Area A Director Daniel A. Lamoureux, VE2KA; Area B Director Rod Stafford, W6ROD; Area C Director Pedro Rodríguez, CO2RP; Area D Director Marco Tulio Gudiel, TG9AGD, and Area G Director Reinaldo Szama, LU2AH. IARU President Larry Price, W4RA was also present, representing the IARU International Secretariat.