No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveA message from the U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica

A message from the U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica

This 4th of July, the 235th anniversary of the launch of our great country, we celebrate the creative spirit of our forefathers who came together to form a nation that valued freedom, democracy and innovation.

Our founding fathers, many of them inventors in their own right like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, understood that innovation was a key to the pursuit of happiness and the economic success of a fledgling America. These forefathers envisioned the hope and opportunity that democracy could deliver to all its citizens, and also had the pragmatic foresight to adopt the laws that made those visions a reality – like adopting a patent protection act in 1790 that, just two months after it was passed, Thomas Jefferson remarked had “given a spring of invention beyond [his] conception.”

Anne Slaughter Andrew

Anne Slaughter Andrew, U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica.

That “spring of invention” has changed the world in ways our founding fathers could never have imagined: from Ben Franklin’s bifocals to NASA’s Hubble telescope; from Thomas Jefferson’s advocacy of the first U.S. patent system to the Internet – a quintessential example of American innovation.

Yet the framework of a government that valued life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has endured, and indeed its people have been enriched by the innovations it has fostered.

For in the U.S., those innovations are not only inventing and marketing the latest high-tech gadgets. Innovation has created the opportunity to serve the greater good: to feed our families, to protect the health of our children and to provide more meaningful lives for our elderly.

President Obama, continuing the U.S. tradition of visionary leaders, on his recent trip to Latin America recognized the common heritage and expanding connections between the U.S. and Latin America and emphasized that innovation plays a key role in advancing the shared prosperity of all Americans in this hemisphere.

I am delighted that this spirit of innovation invigorates our partnership with Costa Rica.

In promoting clean, renewable energy to power economic growth, we are working with EARTH University and INBio – two centers of innovation in Costa Rica – to develop smart grid technology. We have partnered with the University of Costa Rica and the Ministry of Science and Technology to open an Energy Efficiency Center where we will share best practices and sponsor training to help Costa Rica reach its goal of carbon-neutral growth by 2021.

To fulfill President Obama’s vision of increased science exchanges, we are sending Costa Rican high school science students to the U.S. National Science Foundation’s summer camp and, in just a few months, we will collaborate with Costa Rican innovator Roberto Sasso and his TEDx event for students by bringing 17-year-old Caroline Moore from the U.S. to speak to her Costa Rican peers with her story of being the youngest person to find a supernova, using good math skills and a backyard telescope.

Innovation is spreading the benefits of new technology to populations that haven’t benefited from it yet. In this 50th anniversary year of the Peace Corps, we find Peace Corps volunteers in Costa Rica helping rural communities install solar panels, using biogas collectors as an extra source of energy, and training senior citizens how to use the Internet for lifelong learning.

Another innovative step forward for the U.S. Embassy: We invite everyone to join us for the first broadcast via Livestream of the embassy’s Independence Day Reception. Log on to www.livestream.com/usembassy on July 1 from 2 to 4 p.m., see the ceremony, and share your comments and stories via the live chat. Be a part of our innovation history as we expand Ben Franklin’s town square, where neighbors gathered to exchange news and chat with friends, to the global village of virtual communities, and celebrate the 4th of July with friends around the world.

Happy 4th of July!

Anne Slaughter Andrew

U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica

Trending Now

Tourist Numbers Dropped in Costa Rica During 2025’s First Seven Months

Costa Rica's tourism took a hit in the first seven months of 2025, with visitor numbers dropping compared to the previous year. By the...

How to Grow Broccoli Successfully in Costa Rica’s Highlands

In Costa Rica's cooler highland regions, home gardeners harvest fresh broccoli that brings a distinct flavor to everyday meals. This vegetable packs vitamins A,...

Bolivia Elects Center-Right Leader Amid Crisis

Bolivians on Sunday elected a pro-business center-right senator as their new president, ending two decades of socialist rule that have left the South American...

JetBlue Flash Sale: Fort Lauderdale to Liberia Flights Ends Today

Those looking for a deal on airfare and eyeing a trip between Florida and Costa Rica now have a chance to get one with...

From Costa Rica to the US an Expat Longing For Home

There are close to 200,000 people of Tico origin presently living in the US. I have spent the past month in an area where...

Costa Rica Presidential Candidate Fernández Reports Spy Device

Laura Fernández, the presidential candidate for the Pueblo Soberano party, revealed on Tuesday that she discovered a concealed microphone in her personal office, raising...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica