In this month's newsletter, Dámaris Herrera Salazar and Clara Soto Arias shared updates in Spanish from the last few months of workshops hosted by GRRIPP projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Here you can read the English language version.
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Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) led the organisation of international events in Brazil, Chile, and the Dominican Republic.
Care, Territory Management and Intersectionality Seminars
Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, May - June 2022
Between May and June of this year, GRRIPP LAC hosted "Care, Land Management and Intersectionality" seminars in the cities of Recife, Santiago de Chile and Santo Domingo, as part of GRRIPP project activities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
The objective of the seminars was to share the lessons learned and strengthen the network of the ten projects financed by GRRIPP LAC across August 2021 and March 2022. To be efficient in organisation, and considering that it was not yet possible to schedule large gatherings, the seminars were held in person at three venues, distributing the projects according to their geographical location. The first workshop took place in Brazil, a second in Santiago de Chile, co-organised by SUR-Corporation for Social Studies and Education. Finally, the third event was held in the Dominican Republic, with the organisational support of FLACSO.
As part of the programme, workshops and discussion sessions were held on the issues of gender and intersectionality, and risk management, as well as on the projects themselves. Discussions on the latter emphasised the importance of networks when undertaking activities in the region. Participants had the chance to visit local projects' facilities, and events were organised with public authorities and allied organisations. The aims of these events were to highlight the contribution of the projects in the respective regions, to debate and exchange approaches and strategies, and to establish links with public policymakers around issues of care, climate change, water, risk and disaster management.
Brazil: identity and territory
The meeting in Brazil was held in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, and was attended by members of four GRRIPP projects located in different Brazilian states (Acre, São Paulo, Pernambuco). From the team of regional advisors, Dr. Sergio Rivero de Madeiros, professor at the Federal University of Campina Grande - and a specialist in sustainable development - was present and made interesting contributions to the discussion. In addition, participants made visits to two territories where the GRRIPP projects were carried out: Camaragibe and the Xukurú de Ororubá indigenous territory.
In the discussion held among the participants, the importance of the different logics of spirituality and ancestry in the constitution of physical spaces was made visible. Another key point focused on the importance of networks that are established to face the risks in the territory.
Chile: Towards a comprehensive care system in the territory
In Santiago de Chile, five projects participated from three different countries: Chile (Metropolitan Region, Valparaíso Region, Ñuble Region, Araucanía Region), Colombia (Bogotá) and Argentina (Buenos Aires, Córdova, Neuquen, Río Negro). Participants from the team of advisors included Dr. Ana Falú (professor at the University of Córdoba and renowned activist for women's rights), Dr. Gonzalo Lizarralde (specialist in disaster risk management at the University of Montreal) and Dr. Paola Jirón (professor at the University of Chile, specialising in mobility and territory issues). They facilitated the workshops and provided invaluable reflections on the concepts of care, risk and vulnerability in their social and environmental dimensions.
At the workshops, the territorial approach was incorporated into the concept of care. In other words, the relationship between care and habitat was made visible. This understanding goes beyond the reproductive (domestic) sphere, but rather includes the community, the infrastructure of the city and the relationship with non-humans (such as the environment). At GRRIPP, we seek the care of everyone in the territory.
During the event, field visits were also made to the project locations - the communes of Santiago, Conchalí and Lampa.
Dominican Republic: networks and sustainability in the Caribbean
The third meeting held in Santo Domingo was attended by members of two projects located in Central America and the Caribbean (Guatemala, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic). Participating from the advisory team were Lourdes Meyreles, researcher on risk management issues at FLACSO and Maria Teresa Rodríguez Blandón, current director of the Women & Habitat Network of Latin America. Participants visited the headquarters of the National Federation of Women Domestic Workers (FENAMUTRA) as part of the activities. FENAMUTRA run the Ecological Homes project in Santo Domingo.
At the meetings there were contributions on the sustainability of the actions carried out by the projects, and it was concluded that networking with various organisations is essential. Through networks, the efforts made in terms of gender and intersectionality can be enhanced and can be more impactful at different levels.
The hosting of these three events in person has had an enormous positive effect among the participants, allowing them to develop and weave new networks, strengthen their capacities (now and in the longer term) and open opportunities for future actions.
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For the latest on GRRIPP LAC's activities, follow them on Instagram: @GRRIPP.LAC // https://www.instagram.com/grripp.lac.
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