Los Congos Conservation Group activities
Basketweaving workshop, Jan. 27, Finca Biamonti, Coronado. Info: grupoloscongos@gmail.com.

National Museum Summer Workshops Move and Enjoy, Jan. 27, all ages, 10:30-11:30 a.m.; Casa de los Comandantes, ages 9-12, Jan. 27, 1-3 p.m. at National Museum, Ca. 17, Av. Ctrl./2. Info: 2257-1433, www.museocostarica.go.cr.

“Eating to Live”
A talk by Ana Fonseca for women who are suffering or have suffered from breast cancer, Jan. 27, 6-8 p.m., behind Outlet Mall, de Il Pomodoro 300 m. south, 50 m. east, house # 23, Barrio Roosevelt, San Pedro. Info: 2224-3678, 2234-1810.

Hands for Haiti
Benefit concert for victims of Haiti earthquake, with Shell, Tapón, Toledo, Jahricio, Pablo Livity, Marswell I, Banton, G and more, Jan. 27, 8 p.m., Tavarúa, San Pedro.

Entrepreneurs in Costa Rica looking to improve business tactics and operations will soon have the option of learning how to do so from the experts. Cisco Sytems Inc., a leading global supplier of Internet networking equipment, communications technology and network management, has announced it will create an Entrepreneur Institute in San José to teach small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs how to improve business functions and information technologies.

According to Cisco, the first training centers will study the business models of, and be located at, ITS InfoCom and Parque Tec, two international Internet technology companies that work with Cisco and have facilities in San José. The training center at the Parque Tec location is scheduled to open doors to entrepreneurs on Feb. 15, while the ITS InfoCom location will being training on Feb. 20. Cisco aims to train 500 Tico entrepreneurs during the institute's first year.

"The launch of the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute in Costa Rica reinforces our commitment to promote an entrepreneurial culture in the country and aid in the development of new projects that boost national development,” said Marcelo Lebendiker, the president Parque Tec. "We know Costa Ricans have the talent and vision to do business, but we need more initiatives like The Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, which provides support and training for entrepreneurs, to strengthen their knowledge and to develop their successful ideas."

Cisco said the institute will cater workshops and classes to educate owners, managers and partners who are creating or expanding their business operations. The courses will cover three levels of corporate development, and will include “Starting a Business,” for less experienced entrepreneurs, “Growing a Business” for established companies looking to expand and “iExec Business Essentials,” to help companies develop Internet strategies and applications to transform organizations and maximize efficiency.

According to Cisco, the courses were designed by Stanford and Cornell Universities, with assistance from the company My Own Business Inc. Classes will be offered in Spanish.

In the most recent Fortune 500 rankings, Cisco Systems was ranked as the 57th highest earning company in the world, earning $39.5 billion in revenue in 2009, and making over $8 billion in profits.

Regional airlines Taca and Copa are working to reduce the number of “no-shows” on Election Day by offering discount tickets to Costa Ricans who wish to fly in from any of its 41 destinations.

Taca spokeswoman Sofía Valverde said depending on the location, the El Salvador-based company's discount could be as much as 50 percent.

“It's a way to contribute to Costa Rican democracy and give Ticos living outside the country the opportunity to exercise their right and responsibility to vote,” said Valverde. “We don't keep track of the number of people who have taken advantage of the offer, but we know people have.”

Elections procedures do not allow for absentee voting and, therefore, Ticos living outside the country cannot participate in the vote unless they physically return to cast their ballot.

To qualify for the reduced fare, the passenger must present a Costa Rican identification card or passport proving Costa Rican nationality and that the passenger is of voting age. He or she must also show that the trip is for the purpose of voting.

Asked whether she expects the promotion to benefit one candidate over another, Valverde said that's not something Taca can control. “We are looking to support democracy, independent from the candidates,” she said.

Copa Airlines also announced discounts for Election Day travel. Flights from New York are $125, from Orlando, Florida are $169, from Los Angeles, California are $119 and from Managua, Nicaragua are $79, according to the airline's Web site. 

According to elections officials, absentee voting will be available for the presidential elections in 2014.

For more information, contact Taca at 2299-8222 or 1-800-400-8222, or click here for a list of Copa offices.

Latin America is the only region in the world where teen pregnancy has risen since 1980, according to a recent report by the Ibero-American Organization for Youth (OIJ).

The document, entitled “Adolescent Reproduction and Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Call to Reflection and Action,” is a joint project of the OIJ and two United Nations agencies: the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and the United Nations Population Fund.

The text notes that “Latin America is the only region in the world (including Africa ) where the teen pregnancy rate has risen over the past 30 years,” said the OIJ's assistant secretary general, Leire Iglesias.

Presenting the document together with OIJ Secretary-General Eugenio Ravinet in Madrid, Spain, Iglesias added, “the unplanned pregnancy rate in the region continues to grow steadily.”

The report was drawn up on the basis of data collected from 17 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The report, which studied young women ages 15 to 19, also said that 73.1 of every 1,000 pregnancies in Latin America are “teen pregnancies that are probably unplanned,” Ravinet said, adding that that figure is much higher than the world average of 54 adolescent pregnancies per 1,000.

Regarding the influence of socio-economic factors, the study found that “the better the educational system the greater the decrease in the rate of unplanned teen pregnancies.”

Income levels continued to be another key factor, as the report also found that “the greater the level of poverty, the greater the likelihood of an unplanned pregnancy.”

“We can't be satisfied with what we've seen” and with the current situation, Ravinet said.

“Big teenage-prevention programs are always being announced, big sex-education days at high schools, and generally they don't lead to anything,” he said.

Ravinet said teenage pregnancy frustrates “the aspirations of thousands of women to develop themselves and attain a more comfortable life.”