Ambassadors of El Salvador: Creating Community, Transforming the Local
The majority of young people have dreams for their lives, and many want to leave their mark for future generations, and even legacies of transformation and civic activism. Over the course of time, it is possible to strengthen a network of leaders, social transformers that emerge from the most sincere visions and the most hardworking, enduring hands that desire to be the difference in this wave of intimidation that confronts El Salvador.
In each gaze, in the eyes and in the most profound thought and heart of youth awakens the emotion and the call to a dedicated effort to give life to a stronger network of ambassadors, who are more resilient and more capable of working at the systematic level to construct a country that models the work and passion of committed youth.
This network met with effort and commitment in their hearts met to replenish their toolkits of information and support one another in their paths of leadership. Each time that they get together they create, dream, and design paths of work for their communities, using the resources that they find in their own homes. Who forms the ambassador network in El Salvador? There exists a network of youth leadership for a resilient and sustainable future. Formed by 36 ambassadors in El Salvador interconnected from different regions in the country, this network has achieved a model of collaborative local and regional work, in which various ambassadors are already participating in spaces of national importance. Fátyma Valladeres is an example with her participation in the National Council of Food Sovereignty of El Salvador. We have it set in our mind that we need to strengthen this network of strategic alliances to weave efforts with courage and humility so that we can immerse ourselves in our dream.
"Participating in this conference has given me the strengthen and energy to continue with this network’s work and activism. I want this effort to be strengthened by our talents, capacities, abilities, and desires," affirmed Wilson Sánchez, ambassador.
But…yes the youth of El Salvador is becoming vulnerable before this wave of violence and is blinded by the system we currently have. With this reality, how do we aim to guarantee a more just future for our next generations? It’s a tough question, right?
First national reunion of ambassadors in 2017
The meeting was held in the Centro Upatoro of the Diocese of Chalatenango, where 12 ambassadors from different municipalities and strategic areas of work aligned with SERES in El Salvador met and shared their knowledge with one another. It was incredible to listen to the thrilling ideas of the ambassadors for improving the work of the network and local work, strengthening and weaving alliances among themselves, with the intention to collaborate and construct dreams aligned with their communities in order to fulfill their role as leaders that transcend boundaries and borders with their actions. In this meeting, the ambassadors had the opportunity to learn about diverse topics experimenting with modalities and profound methodologies. On the first day we explored systemic thought and social detectives, topics that awaken the critical thinking of ambassadors and that invites them to ask questions like: Are our governments impermeable to changes? We also had a session about biology facilitated by Iselda Vega (biologist and professor of the online university of the University of El Salvador).
Our own ambassador from Suchitoto, Fátima Landaverde, facilitated on the topic of personal responsibility. How happy are we? How responsible are we with our actions and obligations? What impacted me the most was that the ambassadors considered those topics to be of the utmost importance for their personal and professional growth, including how they can dream to authenticate the network coming from their own personal sustainability.
“We see the SERES team as an unconditional supporter, that allows us to fly. I believe that as ambassadors we are able to make this network stronger,” affirmed Juan Carlos Castillo, ambassador from Suchitoto.
There is no doubt that this network has dreams and goals for the near future and beyond. Theirs are life projects, as local ambassadors, and the effort and the energy of these youth moves the hearts of those that want to unite with them and stain the shirt of change with their sweat.
“My favorite moment was in the session about systemic thinking. It was there where my mind opened to thinking about changes at another level and in my position of leadership.” –Enrique Escobar, ambassador
- Susana Ruiz, SERES facilitator