Julie Chappell

Senseless violence

ln the run up to the International Day for the elimination of violence against women (25 November), we have been involved in a number of events to raise the profile of the issue here in Guatemala. I joined the Ambassadors of France, Sweden and Spain in a high-profile political programme to discuss the role of women here - in a society that is fairly well known for machismo. (For spanish speakers, the video can be seen on the archive of (http://www.libreencuentro.com.gt/).

Separately, I attended an event with a number of victims of violence. I listened to personal stories, which moved many of us to tears. A mother who lost her 3 little girls 5 months ago - raped and killed on their way home from school. A girl, 21 years old, maimed by her husband after she dared to ask for a divorce. A child's desperate call and screams to the police as his mother is beaten. The saddest thing is that so much of the violence here against women is done by people close to them - husbands, fathers, in-laws. Another source of violence is the gangs... women have been found mutilated with messages carved into their bodies that aim to stake out the gang's presence and power in that neighbourhood.

On a more positive note, I also held a meeting with the group “Vital Voices”. They are part of an international network (www.vitalvoices.org) to help women become leaders across the board - politics, business, press, civil society. They offer very practical assistance through a mentoring scheme to give up-and-coming stars solidarity and help from women already at the top. The hope is that by having more strong female role models in society here, women will be perceived more often as equals, not victims. 

This week has also seen a lot of action on Climate Change, ahead of the Summit in Copenhagen next month. With the French Ambassador, I co-hosted an event for Guatemala's Vice-President and Copenhagen negotiating team, Belize's Deputy Prime Minister and the Environment Ministers of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

The aim was to encourage the region to adopt a strong, united voice at Copenhagen. The Ministers have since agreed a joint position, which highlights Central America’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change (both drought and severe flooding) and calls for Copenhagen to produce concrete targets for the reduction of carbon emissions as well as funding to help developing countries do the same. There will be plenty of work to do post-Copenhagen and in the run-up to the next major climate change conference in Mexico to support the region's own efforts to reduce emissions and deforestation.

Posted at 16:33 21 November 2009 by Julie Chappell  |  Comments[2]

The power of young people

Since 70% of Guatemalans are under 30 and key to changes that require long-term commitment, we like to work with them. In the spirit of this, I recently went to speak at San Carlos University on the issue of "women in politics". We talked about the challenges - a UN map shows only 12% of Guatemala's Congress are women (though compared to only 19% in the UK). We discussed the benefits of a more representative system; some of the reasons behind why so few women currently enter politics; and the possibilities for change. One subject was quotas - both the positive and negative effects they can have. I was asked if I planned to have a family as well as my career. I said I felt lucky - the Foreign Office allows career breaks and flexible working for just that reason.

In another area of work for us, we helped launch "Recycling for my country" - the project I mentioned in my last blog. The idea is for schools and universities to make a big effort for a short time (until 30 November) to recycle paper. Money gained from recycling will then go to fund the building of basic housing for some of Guatemala's poorest families - just in time for Christmas. We have had some great support, including from two pop-stars here: Carlos Pena, the winner of Latin American Idol, who spoke passionately about young people helping to tackle Guatemala's problems, and Fabiola who at only 16 is already very popular; from the Municipality and Ministries of Environment and Foreign Affairs; and the French Ambassador. Congratulations to "Jovenes por Guatemala" for this fantastic effort. And a special thank you to Fabiola and Marianela from the Embassy who worked so hard to pull this altogether. If anyone reading this would like to get involved - e.g. companies who would like to help by providing collection points for recycling or schools looking to participate - please contact me.

And finally over the last couple of days, I have hosted a conference for all British Ambassadors in the region. We discussed the final run-up to the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen and how we can work with the region to get the most ambitious deal possible. At a reception, Guatemala's Environment Minister spoke passionately about the changes that are already happening in Central America from rising temperatures on land and at sea. Across the world, we all urgently needed to move to clean energy sources - his Ministry is already working out how Guatemala could do this to reduce deforestation and carbon emissions. This will feed into the important debate about how developing countries can be helped to grow in a low-carbon way.

Spanish text

El poder de la gente joven

Ya que el 70% de los guatemaltecos tienen menos de 30 y son primordiales para los cambios que requieren un compromiso de largo tiempo, nos gusta trabajar con ellos.  Es en este espíritu, que recientemente fue a dar un discurso a la Universidad de San Carlos sobre el asunto de “mujeres en política”.  Platicamos sobre los retos – un mapa de la UN demuestra que solamente el 12% del Congreso de Guatemala con mujeres (comparado con solamente el 19% en el Reino Unido).  Discutimos los beneficios de un sistema más representativo; algunas de las razones por las que tan pocas mujeres entran a la política; y las posibilidades de cambio.  Un tema fueron las cuotas – con sus efectos tanto negativos como positivos.  Me preguntaron si planeaba tener familia y una carrera y les dije que me sentía afortunada – el Foreign Office permite descansos en la carrera y trabajo flexible por esa misma razón.

En otra área de trabajo para nosotros, ayudamos a lanzar “Reciclando por mi País” – el proyecto que mencioné en mi último blog. La idea es que los colegios y universidades hagan un gran esfuerzo por un corto tiempo (hasta el 30 de noviembre) para reciclar papel.  El dinero obtenido del reciclaje irá a un fondo para construir vivienda básica para algunas de las familias más pobres de Guatemala – justo en tiempo para Navidad.  Hemos tenido un gran apoyo, incluyendo de dos celebridades juveniles acá:  Carlos Peña, el ganador de Latin American idol, quien habló apasionadamente acerca de los jóvenes de Guatemala ayudando a combatir algunos problemas del país y Fabiola Rodas quien a sus 16 años ya es muy popular; de la Municipalidad, Ministerios de Ambiente y Relaciones Exteriores y de la Embajadora Francesa.  Felicitaciones a “Jóvenes por Guatemala” por este fantástico esfuerzo.  Y muchas gracias en especial a Fabiola y Marianela de la Embajada quienes trabajaron arduamente para que todo saliera bien.  Si alguien que esté leyendo esto quisiera involucrarse – por ejemplo compañías que quieran ayudar proporcionando puntos de recolección o escuelas que quieran participar – por favor escríbanme.

Y finalmente, durante los últimos días, he sido anfitriona de una conferencia para todos los Embajadores Británicos en la región.  Discutimos cómo estamos trabajando hacia las negociaciones de cambio climático en Copenhague y cómo podemos trabajar juntos en la región para obtener el acuerdo más ambicioso posible.  En una recepción, el Ministro de Medio Ambiente de Guatemala habló apasionadamente sobre los cambios que ya están pasando en Centro América desde subidas de temperatura en tierra y mar.  A través del mundo, todos necesitamos urgentemente movernos hacia fuentes de energía limpia – su Ministerio ya está trabajando en sobre cómo Guatemala podría reducir la deforestación y las emisiones de carbono.  Esto alimentará el importante debate sobre cómo los países en desarrollo pueden ser ayudados a crecer con bajas emisiones de carbono.

 At San Carlos University

 Launching "Recycling for my country" 

Posted at 18:30 09 October 2009 by Julie Chappell  |  Comments[0]