🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi all -
finally back on line our center in Guatemala is thriving - should
finally have something on the WWW soon

For now, I am stuck working in a situation in which I have little
experience leading groups. I am looking for materials and ideas for
workshops to handle a sticky situation.

The organizations that have payed or traded for services, an ONG and a
agency for health that is government supported, have formed groups
capacitating and producing videos consisting of women both Ladina and
Indigenous. The Indigenous are usually the least educated, come once or
twice and say little and drop out. As we continue with the group I have
to insist that we incorporate Indigenous images as more than just
subjects of study - the group, all ladina, is resentful saying that I am
favoring Indigenous over Ladina women who want to get ahead.. etc..

I know this is a real sketchy picture but I think it is a common
situatation in all cultures experiencing institutionalized racism to
this extreme.  I am hoping there are videos and materials somewhere that
have been successful in stimulating self-reflection and discussion in
the very first meetings. Please feel free to send any ideas and/or
advice - what I would really like is video in Spanish that effectively
shows how class and race can be presented differently ... to stimulate
the eye...  I know there are some good ones on gender that could be
interesting too.

The projects are great and I feel we have a huge opportunity here to
really make a difference. We are preparing projects to show at the VI
International Festival of Indigenous Film and Video, where much focus
will be on community participation because of the state of peace and
human rights in this country.  For this reason it was decided to hold
the festival here and the committee is now looking for a site in
Quetzaltenango.

Our Center of Indigenous Women Communicators has a couple of projects
started - one with artisans and commercialization. We will hopefully be
holding capacitations here for the planning commmittee of the festival
as they are interested in promoting more local participation.

We are sending our request for materials to other lists and if you know
of somewhere we should send a request in spanish, please let us know. If
you can respond in spanish it saves me a translation...
thanks much
Padma
--
Centro de Mujeres Comunicadoras Indigenas
http://www.quetzal.net/~padma

Padma's Productions
http://www.cnw.com/~padma