On Thursday September 10, 2015 the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and CONNECTAS in collaboration with Asociacion Sobrevivencia Cultural began a three-day Investigative Journalism training workshop in Guatemala City. The project is part of an ICFJ initiative to foster investigative journalism in Latin America. Guatemala is one of three countries in Central America to benefit from the training workshops Honduras and El Salvador have already hosted similar events.
The year 2015 was an eventful year for politics in Guatemala. In a report released on April 25, 2015 by the International Center Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), several high-ranking government officials were involved in customs fraud. The report pointed directly to the now ex-president and ex-vicepresident of the country as leading a secret group that stole millions from the country by negotiating customs taxes for various customers.
On August 22, 2015 Asociacion Mujb’ abl ‘yol celebrated the closure of a 9-month series of workshops and trainings for 40 community radio volunteers on “Democracy, Development and Community Media.” The project was partially funded by DEMOS Guatemala and the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) to benefit community journalists in Guatemala. It is the first time a project of its kind has been launched and has achieved 100% graduation rate. 40 participants proudly received their recognitions on Saturday in hopes of improving community media in their communities.
On August 17, 2015 Jose Mujica the ex-president of Uruguay visited Guatemala during the VI Esquipulas Forum where he spoke on “Moral Imperatives of Human Beings Before The Politics and Economics of Globalization”. The Forum took place in Guatemala City with the participation of various Human Rights entities and Latin America political leaders from Cuba, Argentina, Ecuador, etc. The ex-president was received warmly and with much anticipation given the current political state of the country.
The 193 member states of the United Nations reached consensus on a new set of sustainable development goals on August 2, 2015 concluding a negotiation period of more than two years which included the unprecedented participation of civil
An ongoing dispute over 2,300 acres of land in Segera, Laikipia County, Kenya has the Maasai people facing violent abuse and other human rights violations. The Maasai community were told that the land had been purchased by North Tetu Cooperative Society and that they had to evacuate.
An Analysis by Kapaeeng Foundation of the Human Rights Situation of Indigenous Women and Girls (January-July 2015)
Photo courtesy of Aled Llion.
Cultural Survival deeply mourns the loss of our co-founder Elsebet “Pia” Maybury-Lewis, who passed away today, August 4, 2015 at age 89 at her home in Cambridge, MA, surrounded by her loving family and friends after a long battle with lung cancer. Pia was born in Jutland, Denmark on June 1, 1926.
As part of an ongoing initiative to include Indigenous youth voices in petitions put forward by Indigenous organizations and groups, the first national Indigenous youth political discussion was held in Guatemala City on July 17, 2015. Youth representatives of all three linguistic groups in Guatemala: Mayan, Xinca and Garifuna, were present during the meeting. Previous regional meetings were held earlier during the year throughout Guatemala where a political agenda was developed from the various work-groups.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
