Daniel Chavez Moran of Vidanta Foundation Selected to Join the United Nations Advisory Council of Citizen Safety Project

Daniel Chavez Moran, Mexico

Founder of Grupo Vidanta to join new Council created by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with dignitaries in policy, academia, business, media and civil society

The Regional Directorate for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has created a new Advisory Council of Citizen Safety Project. Its goal is to produce a comprehensive Report on Citizen Safety and Development as part of its Citizen Security and Governance area. Mr. Daniel Chavez Moran, founder of Grupo Vidanta and Vidanta Foundation, has been chosen as one of a select group of distinguished individuals to join the Council. Mr. Moran is the first and only businessman from all of Mexico handpicked to join the Council, receiving this distinguished honor based on his breadth of knowledge ranging from the private sector to public policy.

The process started in September 2011 and is scheduled to be completed in mid-2013, and will include a final diagnosis of the Latin America insecurity situation, data collection, case analysis and policy recommendations. Rafael Fernandez de Castro, former Presidential Advisor to President Felipe Calderon of Mexico and Head of the Academic Department of International Studies at ITAM, Mexico will lead coordination efforts.

The Council includes several high profile individuals:

-Daniel Chavez Moran, founder of Grupo Vidanta and Vidanta Foundation

-Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico

-Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile

- Beatriz Paredes, former Senator of Mexico

- Adriana Cisneros, Vice Chairman of the Board and Director of Strategy, Cisneros Group

-Bill Bratton, former Commissioner for the New York Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department

-Heraldo Muñoz, UN Secretary General Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Program for Development

-Alvaro Saieh, President of Corp Group Interhold S.A.

-Tabaré Vazquez, former President of Uraguay

-Gregory F. Traverton, Director, RAND Center for Global Risk and Security

-Norman Quijano, Mayor of San Salvador, El Salvador

-Carlos Romero, Interior Minister of Bolivia

-Ana Palacio, former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Spain, Member of the State Council of Spain

One of the UNDP’s priorities is to create processes for analysis, consultation, consensus-building, strategizing and citizen involvement to contribute towards a better understanding and treatment of the major public policy challenge of citizen security. It was decided to create an Advisory Council of Citizen Safety Project composed of various present and former Latin American presidents, distinguished representatives of academic, politics, the mass media, civil society and the private sector. The Council will be the main advisory body towards the proposed stated objectives.

Daniel Chavez Moran founded Grupo Vidanta in 1974, a business dedicated to the development of luxury hotels and resorts in Mexico. In 2010, CNN named him one of the top 100 most important businessmen in Mexico. In 2005, he retired from his executive positions to focus on philanthropic endeavors. In 2005, he founded the non-profit organization  Vidanta Foundation  whose primary aim is the reduction of poverty in Latin America through the promotion of economic development, social sciences and culture.

Learn more about the Regional Directorate for Latin America and the Caribbean of the UNDP at www.undp.org/rblac.