Cuba and new policies as announced today!
2018 Trips still going ahead...

Dear Soane Travelers:
 
As everyone is aware, today President Trump held a major speech in Miami concerning his administration's policy towards Cuba.  While the speech itself seemed to express a harsher tone in cancelling "the deal" President Obama made, the reality of what the Trump administration is putting in place is not as harsh.  Here is the released FAQ issued today from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) > 

The Soane Foundation's travel programs to Cuba will be able to continue.  Since our first trip in 2012, we have ALWAYS operated in compliance with OFAC's group travel regulations for people-to-people cultural exchanges and with a very full itinerary of appropriate visits.  As you all can attest, we gave you no free time for lounging by the pool.
 
We will of course continue to monitor the situation.  Our travel partner,
Academic Arrangements Aboard, has more than 40 programs a year going to Cuba so they are very tied in and on top of any regulatory changes or issues.  So we are in good hands moving forward.
 
SOANE TRAVELS:  Our NEXT TRIPS ahead in 2018:

HAVANA 2.0 - a special trip for past travelers that want to return to experience a deeper understanding of the culture, the architecture and people.  This will be 6-nights with our special guest speaker Hermes Mallea.  Dates:  Saturday, January 20 to Friday, January 26, 2018. 

And for your friends...

HAVANA: An Insider's View of Architecture and the Arts - This will be our more typical program of 5-nights with our special guest speaker Hermes Mallea .  Dates:  President's Day Weekend - Saturday, February 17 to Thursday, February 22, 2018 .

Both trips are being worked on to confirm pricing.  We will also now have to see if these new policies of the administration will affect the hotels we use.

>> Send me an email if you wish to be added to the roster for either of the above trips.  That will put you on the priority list so that we can then get info to you as soon as we have it...   [email protected]  
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Other Soane / Cuba News:
As a number of you know, this year we are have a special educational initiative entitled the
Soane Foundation Traveling Grant for Cuban Architects:
- Our two architects are slated to fly to London on Thursday, July 6 and will be in the UK for almost one month.
-  They will be welcomed by Soane Museum Director Bruce Boucher and members of his team during their first three days in London, after which they will start the Summer School program for architects and builders run by The Prince's Foundation.  They will be based in London and for two weeks in Scotland at the great estate of Dumfries House, the manor house and estate that Prince Charles helped to spearhead the rescue and restoration.
-  Our architects are a 27-year old female and a 28-year old male. Neither have ever traveled off the island, so this will truly be a life altering experience... harking back to 25-year-old John Soane's own experience leaving the island of Britain to explore on his Grand Tour of Italy.
-  The Prince's Foundation plans to do a couple of video interviews with both of the Cuban architects (at the beginning, in the middle of their time, and towards the end), so we should at some point be able to share what this experience has meant to them.

Special notes of appreciation!

To those of you that have already provided support
for this initiative, we very much appreciate
this special assistance!  We also wish thank and recognize the
Havana Heritage Foundation
for fully underwriting the second traveling grant.

We would like to thank the members of the Traveling Grant Committee,
the Jury and the Advisory Committee for their work
under the leadership of  Co-Chairs
Rebecca H. Birdwell and Michael G. Imber.
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Enjoy the weekend ahead.
Chas

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Link to our Gala page with more information and
options for ticket purchases and contributrion.
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NOTE:  On Friday, June 8th we distributed an email Save-the-Date for the Gala that included an animated image of red confetti falling.  While this was tested close to thirty times, we have been made aware that this animation did not function on all computers resulting with some people seeing static red flecks on the Save-the-Date image.  W e regret if this didn't work properly on your system.