2. Give out the text.

3. Let 5 to 8 minutes go by.

4. The text is a letter of invitation sent by Simon Bolivar in 1826 requesting that all the Latin American ex-colonies unite into one federation.  The United States was not initially invited but finally the Mexican government extended the invitation.  The US was already considered a threat to the new countries emerging out of the ex-Spanish colonies and Spain naturally was also seen as a threat as it was expected to attempt a re-colonization campaign.  However, for Bolivar the UK was rather seen as an ally in what regards to commerce, given that at this time the UK had a very powerful commerce network.  This attempt is known as the Congress of Panama, it was modeled after the confederation in ancient Greece, but it failed.  There were several other attempts ever since, including more regional versions.  In the last point that Simon Bolivar makes in his call to the Latin American nations to join the congress of Panama, he unveils the very desire he is trying to institutionalize:  “7°- En la marcha de los siglos, podría encontrarse, quizá, una sola nación cubriendo al universo: la federal”  Bolivar uses the last point in his letter to project his deepest desire to put at work a mechanism, that over the centuries, would bring the world into one unified nation.  It does also bring memories of a certain song by John Lennon!

This is an simple exercise of continental imagination, it is a lot like an exercise of our virtual bodies.  It is a quick check to the stress points of this area of our body.  Please stick to the instructions, you may ask your own questions, and answer them yourself.

5. Present Scenario.

The scenario that I want to present you with takes its cue from this historical event, except we would now consider the recent, unimaginable changes in the alignment of the contemporary world, in our expectations for the future.  If one was to imagine that the US predominance will slowly shift to Asia, that the US may find itself having to adapt to this change by strengthening its alliance to its neighbors.  If we were to freely imagine that in this global shift, Latin America emerges with a more stable, confident positioning (including willing to defend its own people and resources from overt foreign exploitation) if we also allow ourselves to imagine that the inclusion of Brazil provides a cue for Quebec to support/persuade Canada’s involvement in a process of unification of the Americas. 
6. Ask or Respond these questions accordingly.

Q_a) What do you think that this confederation of the Americas would use as main motif(s) to unite itself?
Since it cannot be a shared language, or culture.
And perhaps not even a possible threat of a far in the future Asian domination.

Q_b) The unification would have to be perhaps a De-Centralized Federation of states, What kind regulating institutions do you think would have to be established?

Q_c) What kind of cultural institutions would arise from such a political, commercial shift?

Q_d) If we imagine that the US remains a dominant member of this union, what kind of concessions would be needed in order to guarantee that developing countries that are members would not become targets of further exploitations?

Q_e) Do you think that opening the boarders would be part of the objectives?

Q_f) How would the unification of the Americas impact the operations of drug-trafficking cartels?

Q_g) There are already commercial agreements such as NAFTA and Mercosur, would a confederations exacerbate the expansion of campaigns that benefit multinational corporations?

Q_h) There would be many legitimate concerns from anti-globalization activist, what do you think would be an issue that would gain a lot of relevance in the process of unification of the Americas?

Q_i) Would the Human Rights question be a unifying concern throughout the process?

Q_j) The European Union is experiencing a crisis at the moment, what would be the impact of the Unification of the Americas on the EU?

Q_j) Would the NBA evolve into the CBA (Contintental Basketball Association)

Q_k) Is the concept of the Americas Unified, an anti-imperialist one?

Q_l) Would Che Guevara be reborn and organize troops to break the AU apart?

Q_m) Would Cuba be part of the Americas as an independent nation, or would it become part of Quebec, as in Cu-bec, and thus join in?

Q_n) One legitimate and undeniable connection throughout the Americas is its Native Heritage, would the process of confederation become a vehicle for many Native Pueblos to gain independence?

Q_ñ) What would be the official language, if not English?

Q_o) If the Spanish Language was to become prevalent in the confederation, based on numbers of people speaking it, How would spoken English change over a period of 50 years?

Q_p) If the unification exacerbated commerce between north and south of the Americas, perhaps it would that translate into a higher cultural exchange. What would be some emerging popular practices?

Q_q) If the Confedration was not a confederation, but rather some other form of political/economical unification, how would it work – and how would refer to it?

Q_r) After a mass disappointment in Capitalism and a period of economical depression and uncertainty, would the Americas’ dynamic configuration take on a role of leader on environmentally responsible governance, with a strong mandate around social inequality?

Q_s) In a scenario of unification that includes a boost on our pride on our Amerindian heritage? Could that become a source for fresh ideas for new forms of organization that take into consideration a cosmological dimension in governance?

Q_t) Would it be the case that our African heritage transform into a constitutive element of a Continental Identity as well?

Q_u) One can imagine that French and Portuguese languages could gain usage in places where before they had not. Would this be a sign of a different globalizing process?

Q_v) How would the Unified Americas respond to terrorism?

Q_w) Please name the first country that comes to mind as the main opponent to the Unification of the Americas.

Q_x) If an exodus of people in the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere (mainly to Canada and US) was to take place.  Would there also be anther exodus of people from the North to the South?

Q_y) What would be the name of the newspaper that would report on the whole continent and that would be issued throughout the Americas.

Q_z) Which symbols would be appropriate to represent the Unified Americas?

7. Record the answers in writing, or with a sound recorder.

8. Phone the gallery at the announced times and broadcast the answers to the sound system in the space.  Details can be found here (ßmake into a link please) you can begin with something like this:

Goodevening and welcome to today’s news.
We are broadcasting via cellular phone from the north-east of the Americas.  The local time is Zero hours UTC and the current temperature is of 34 degrees Celsius.

Tonight we are dedicating the program to the ongoing talks for continental unification of the Americas.  We are the first news show to bring you a focused discussion on the recent developments in the process of unification involving 29 countries.  We are also going to listen to expert opinions on the impact that, the first unification to extend over both hemispheres will have politically, commercially and culturally.

Stay tuned for the next hour as we present to you with the most relevant issues of this historical event that will affect an estimated, 859 million people, living today in South, Central and North America.

Or if you prefer in Spanish:

Buenas Noches y bienvenidos a este su noticiero.
Estamos transmitiendo via cellular desde el nor-este de las Americas. Son las zero horas de la noche y la temperatura es de 34 grados Celsius.

Esta noche, dedicamos el programa a las platicas de unificacion continental de las Americas.  Escucharemos la opinion de diferentes expertos sobre el impacto de esta iniciativa en lo politico, commercial y cultural de nuestro continente. Y cual seria la relacion de esta nueva entidad con la union europea y los nuevos poderes comerciales en Asia. 

Quedese con nosotros, en la hora sigueiente le traemos un analysis sobre el proceso de unificacion que tendra un impacto en 859 millones de personas que viven actualmente en Sur, Centro y Norte America.

9. Breathe deeply. Exhale… pronounce clearly every word, avoid speaking too fast or too slow keep a rhythm. Try to avoid jargon.

10. Don’t give up.

11. Bring your broadcast to a conclusion with a last general thought about what you decided to comment.

12. Remember your ideas.

13. Good Luck!