Our Partners in Quito
My last post was about the trip to the rain forest but there was a real treat waiting for me in Quito as we left the jungle for our trip home.
On Tuesday I met with 9 of Los Caminantes de la Nueva Tierra, the facilitator group from Ecuador. 17 folk trained together last year, a training that was run in Spanish by trainers from staff here at The Pachamama Alliance and a US-based Chilean (thanks Tracy and Anne Marie) since when, to be honest, we haven’t heard much from them. But in the silence there has been a real rush of activity including;
- they have run about 30 symposiums for groups up to 400 in size, and also
- they have opportunities to train facilitators inside Ecuadorian universities, not only this but
- they have also run the symposium at the World Social Forum in Brazil and in Chile (that’s another new pin in the map), AND
- they have set up there own beautiful, comprehensive web-site (check it out even if you don’t speak Spanish, that’s not all
- last week they presented the symposium to the Minister for the Environment, she was deeply moved and immediately wants another symposium for her senior civil servants (can you run another event for 200 next week please?) and then for all of the staff of the Department, but even more than this
- they aim to take the symposium to President Rafael Correa by the end of the year
I am moved, impressed, excited and inspired by this example of what we can do when we are committed to bring forth a new dream, when we can give that a focus, when we realise who we are and what capabilities we have and when we look to our right and look to our left to see the beautiful people who we stand alongside. Together we are a genius and together we are an unstoppable force.
On behalf of facilitators and new dreamers everywhere I salute Los Caminantes, we love you all.
