About NAMI

Why NAMI?

Canada, the United States and Mexico are increasingly tied together in an evolving and complex trinational relationship. The spillover effect of economic integration after NAFTA is focusing attention on such shared concerns as the environment, labor, education, immigration and social welfare. And while they integrate, these three large federal states are undergoing rapid internal changes, which also affect the emerging North American community.

The North American Institute (NAMI) was founded in 1988 to deepen understanding and to promote new approaches to North American issues. A unique trinational organization, NAMI’s spirit derives from the vision of founders Maurice Strong, Bruce Babbitt and Jesus Silva Herzog, and developed by Susan Herter, John Wirth and Senator Jack Austin of Canada.

What is NAMI?

The North American Institute is a private, not-for-profit organization with a secretariat in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and chapters in Canada and Mexico. NAMI’s work is guided by a nine-member North American Coordinating Committee, three from each country, and a separate Board of Directors for each chapter.

NAMI’s mission is to enhance public understanding of priority issues affecting the North American community. In pursuit of its mission, NAMI both serves as a convening organization by organizing conferences, workshops, and forums that address pertinent issues relating to the emerging North American community, and a program-oriented organization that works with the next generation of leaders in North America. The three central themes that NAMI addresses are:

1. Advancing public understanding of North American issues
2. Smart borders and green trade corridors
3. Building trinational leadership

As a convener, NAMI brings together people from both the private and public sectors; leading thinkers from academia, business and non-profit institutions; government; labor; and the media to provide a forum for the sharing of ideas on emerging issues, and for discussing the means towards deeper social integration while also acknowledging the social, political, and economic differences between the countries. In addition, NAMI also encourages networking among the wide variety of professional people who attend NAMI functions. Acting as a facilitator for this networking, NAMI furthers its support for trinational cooperation.

NAMI strives to disseminate leading thinking and analysis to the public policy community. Publications include the proceedings of its meetings, as well as books and reports on pertinent issues. NAMI also maintains a site on the World Wide Web (http://www.northamericaninstitute.org) with an interactive public forum, the Voice(s) of NAMI, where members may comment on issues affecting Canada, the U.S. and Mexico and submit self-authored articles or articles from other sources on these issues.