More than 40 community leaders from Chicacao and San Antonio Suchitepéquez participated in a training process. It included techniques for conflict transformation, dialogue and social skills for a good interrelationship, and community leadership, with the support of Agreca and collaboration from The Carlos F. Novella Foundation.
Ana Alejandra Escobar, Agreca’s social manager, stated that the training process is an effort to develop leaders’ capacities. «From Agreca we support community leader training so they can improve their skills, and thus become able to generate a harmonious environment in towns and communities.»
This space created by the Education for Peace project, carried out a total of seven workshops including citizen training, citizenship considerations, and citizen awareness for community leaders. Leadership and empowerment were the issues discussed from March to June 2022.
The training process’s main objective is contributing to community dialogue, and leadership skill development.
Seven face-to-face, four-hour workshops took place dedicated to community leaders, who in turn are highly committed to their environment’s development. Workshops focused on social capacity training and molding community leadership values.
Positive transformation of community leaders brings development to communities in a sustainable relationship with the environment and neighbors.
Consuelo Gómez, a neighbor of the Chicacao municipality, actively participated in the training processes and commented on her experience. «We have learned a lot. What I like most is learning about communication and how to solve problems the right way.»
The Citizen Construction program promotes community participation, mainly among women and young people. It seeks to be a vehicle for awareness, reflection and citizen transformation that promotes values, attitudes, and behaviors rejecting violence, showing generosity, strengthening positive peace, and leading to the creative conflict transformation through dialogue between individuals, groups, and communities.
Training the 40 participants adds to the constant efforts that Agreca and the Carlos F. Novella Foundation develop in most parts of the country.
