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Bolivia: The Centro Boliviano Americano in La Paz; its mandate and activities, whether they include English language training for members of the security forces, and whether it has any connections with the United States embassy (1994-December 2004)

In a 3 December 2004 telephone interview, the administrative director of the Centro Boliviano Americano (CBA) provided the following information: The CBA is a cultural foundation that has been providing English and Spanish language training for over 50 years in Bolivia. The CBA in La Paz operates from four different locations and provides a wide variety of language courses to some 3,500 students during each 2-month semester. Moreover, the CBA in La Paz provides the only computer centre in the country for international exams for tests such as TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language).

With regard to whether the CBA provides English language training for members of the security forces, the director stated that the CBA is open to anyone, including young people, businessmen, and members of the police and army. The CBA does not discriminate on who may apply for courses and programs.

As to whether the CBA has any links to the United States embassy, the director stated that the embassy does provide some support for cultural events such as bringing in speakers and other professionals for seminars. The director further noted that the US embassy provides assistance to the CBA educational advising centre.

The information provided by the CBA's administrative director during the telephone interview was partially corroborated by the following sources.

According to the CBA Website for the Santa Cruz de la Sierra chapter, the CBA is a non-profit binational cultural institution whose mission is to increase friendly relations between the people of Bolivia and the United States via cultural activities and language training in English, Spanish and some native languages (CBA Santa Cruz n.d.).

The CBA La Paz Website provides information about a wide variety of language training and testing programmes offered by the organization, including, but not limited to, an outreach program that offers businesses, institutions and private individuals the opportunity to book customized English or Spanish language instruction (CBA La Paz 5 Aug. 2004), and a United States Department of State-sponsored educational advising (Asesoria Educativa) centre called EducationUSA that provides services for those wishing to study in the US and includes access to exam preparation, and reference books and CDs about US universities and financial support (ibid. 10 Sept. 2004).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Centro Boliviano Americano (CBA), La Paz. 3 December 2004. Telephone interview with the administrative director.
_____. 10 September 2004. "Asesoria Educativa." <http://www.cba.com.bo> [Accessed 3 Dec. 2004]
_____. 5 August 2004. "Programa Outreach." <http://www.cba.com.bo> [Accessed 3 Dec. 2004]

Centro Boliviano Americano (CBA), Santa Cruz de la Sierra. n.d. "¿Quienes Somos?" <http://www.cba.com.bo/quienes_somos.htm> [Accessed 3 Dec. 2004]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: Jornada [La Paz], United States Embassy in Bolivia, World News Connection (WNC).

Topics: Security forces,