Anima Leadership | Bolivia Intercultural Conflict and Peace-Building Program

Bolivia Intercultural Conflict and Peace-Building Program

November and December found the Anima team high in the mountains of Bolivia, in the capital city of La Paz. This country has stirred incredible hope and awe throughout Latin America with the election of the first indigenous president, Evo Morales in December of 2005.

Such dramatic change has inspired pride among the indigenous and poor of this nation (who identify strongly with Morales) and has also challenged the status quo. The result has been social upheaval and fragmentation, as resource rich provinces and the corporate elite react in opposition to Morales' government, which is implementing many social reforms benefitting the "have-nots."

Graduates from Anima Leadership's integration and peace-building program were inspired by their experience in our program in The Netherlands and spent a year and a half mobilizing the resources to make a similar social cohesion program a reality in Bolivia. Led by the exceptional Geraldine Vasquez Paredes and her team W.H.Y. Bolivia, the Anima team was invited into a collaboration to create a unique program for the Bolivian context.

Using the unique Anima Leadership Development Process^TM as a foundation, a unique peer-leadership process was developed and implemented. The results were incredible! To date, over 25 presentations have taken place successfully across the country with the support of Geraldine and W.H.Y. Bolivia. National and international funders have been incredibly impressed at the grassroots mobilization through this project. We are looking forward to the next phase of the project when we head back in 2010.