Wayne Community College will host a talk by a Mexican diplomat next month.
Javier Diaz de León, who assumed the post of Consul General in Raleigh in 2013, will speak on the role of his office in a talk titled “The Consulate General of Mexico in Raleigh: Promoting Integration and Empowerment.” The presentation is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6 in Moffatt Auditorium in the Wayne Learning Center (main building) on the college’s main campus in Goldsboro.
One of Diaz de León’s goals is to improve the understanding here and in Mexico of the strength of the economic relationship between the two.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, Mexico was the second largest market for N.C. goods, a value of $2.7 million in merchandise exports in 2013. Mexico provided the second largest share of imports to North Carolina (behind China) in 2013, sending close to $4.8 billion in goods to this state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
That relationship also exists because of the work of immigrants, Diaz de León recently told The News and Observer, citing construction and agricultural industries’ dependence on them.
His message to Mexican immigrants is to be proud of their heritage but become part of their new communities, to contribute and take pride in being North Carolinians.
Diaz de León has been a member of the Mexican Foreign Service since 1991 and currently holds the rank of minister. Prior to appointment to his current post by President Enrique Peña Nieto, he served as deputy consul general in San Diego and in New York, head of the Office for Migration and Hispanic Affairs at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., and executive director of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Diaz de León holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. He also earned a master of arts in International Conflict Analysis from the University of Kent at Canterbury in England.
The Consulate General in Raleigh serves North Carolina and South Carolina. In addition to its consulate general in Raleigh, Mexico has 55 other formal representatives in the United States, including an embassy in Washington, D.C. and consulates across the country. Four other countries also have consulates in Raleigh: France, The Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden.
This lecture is one of the “World View” series provided by the college’s Cultural Diversity/Global Education Task Force. It is free and open to the public with no registration required.
The public is also invited to the college’s International Festival, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. the next day, Friday, Nov. 7. The event will feature country and culture displays, activities, quizzes, and games in the Atrium and music and dance performances in Moffatt Auditorium.
For more information on either the talk or the festival, contact Maria Cerra at (919) 739-6899 or mdcerra@waynecc.edu.
Wayne Community College encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing accommodations or have questions about access, please contact the college’s Disability Services Counselor at (919) 739-6729 or lbcowan@waynecc.edu.
Wayne Community College is a public, two-year college with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, it serves 14,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 100 college credit programs.