Responding to the call of EIJIT PLANTAte por la tierra y la paz, the Chinautla Youth Movement, a project born out of the Pedro Poveda Foundation, joined the formation process proposed by the TA before the International Youth Meeting in Assisi in 2026 (EIJIT). In this chronicle, they describe their participation.
Chinautla Youth Movement
The Chinautla Youth Movement is a space that brings together teenagers and young people from different communities in the municipality of Chinautla in Guatemala. It is made up of approximately 25 teenagers and young people.
It was born out of a project developed by the Pedro Poveda Foundation, which seeks mainly to empower young people in the advocacy, demand and exercise of their rights.
It has carried out actions of great relevance in the community, such as advocacy in health, sexual and reproductive rights, comprehensive sexuality education, access to quality education, care for the environment, among other actions.
First face-to-face meeting: Here we are! Who are we?
The proposal for Unit 1 of the EIJIT was taken as a basis, which proposed answering the questions: Who am I? What do I think, feel, and desire about the earth and peace? You have to be yourself...
Based on this proposal, together with the coordinating body of the Youth Movement, a plan was drawn up to address these issues in a holistic manner, taking into account the processes already underway with the adolescents and young people who are part of it.
This plan includes other topics that are of interest in the formation process of the members of the Movement, but which were adapted to highlight the EIJIT and the work of young people for the conservation of our common home.
The main achievements:
- Active participation of 25 adolescents and young people.
- Launch of Phase 1 - Face-to-face meetings of the EIJIT.
- Raising awareness of the presence of the TA in the projects of the Pedro Poveda Foundation.
- Sowing the seed to continue the work of the TA among the youth of Chinautla.
Second face-to-face meeting
The second face-to-face meeting was based on the proposal for Phase 1 Unit 2, which proposes: My context. The roots from which we contemplate reality. A look at our neighbourhood, town or city.
These topics were incorporated into the planning of the monthly Youth Movement meeting to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the context in which adolescents and young people in Chinautla develop. The methodology for this meeting was based on popular education, carrying out activities such as the paraguas, where different opinions are proposed through a brainstorming session.
Context of Chinautla
From the perspective of young people, the municipality of Chinautla is one of the most neglected and stigmatised in the country, and this is reflected in the low level of municipal and state investment. Young people indicated that communities are neglected, with no sanitation services or strategies to preserve the environment.
Among the opinions that can be gleaned from the workshop are:
- That it is urgent for us to collectively demand that the authorities come up with plans to rescue and preserve the environment and beautify the area.
- That young people must unite to create strategies for preserving our common home.
Third face-to-face meeting: Action planning
Once the first two face-to-face meetings had taken place, a third face-to-face meeting was held. The aim of this third meeting was to create a strategy based on the ideas proposed by the young people in the context analysis and the knowledge of who we are.
The methodology used, based on popular education, allowed young people to propose a series of actions through activities such as the proposal wall, which would enable the ideas proposed in the meetings to be put into practice.
The main proposals were:
- A communication strategy on social media and posters to be placed at strategic points in the neighbourhood.
- Gardening and reforestation day. Clean-up day.
- Formation processes aimed at students and educational establishments in the community.
- Formal request to the local municipality to implement a cleaning train in the community.
If you would like to learn more about the Teresian Association's International Youth Meeting and find out everything they are doing, you can follow their Instagram account: eijit2026.
Chinautla Youth Movement - Guatemala.
TA Translation Team.
Published in News