Saturday April 30, 2022 | By Julio Guity-Guevara, LL.M.
“Being a politician and a woman in this hemisphere is a complicated issue. It has a lot of variables that get in the way. Violence, derogatory speeches, discrimination, traps by which quotas and other parity policies are avoided. These are eternal problems that we never finish solving
….On the other hand, being of African-descent adds to that complexity…In our hemisphere, we have some unfinished business that we have been trying to solve for a couple of centuries. When one reads the biography of Epsy Cambell Barr, one feels in the presence of someone who has fought, who has built and prevailed. Someone who has made her presence known in the social and political field with determination and sagacity...”
2022 Mastermind Latino (M.M.L.) Award
H.E. Vice President of Costa Rica Epsy Campbell Barr received the 2022 Mastermind Latino (M.M.L.) Award from Mr. Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). She is First Vice President of Afro-descent of Latin America in 200 years. This Award is the highest honor given by the European Institute of Efficient Intelligence (IEIE) of Madrid, a center for research, development and training for individuals and corporations.
The ceremony took place in Miami, Florida under the leadership of Dr. Estrella Flores Carretero, who is a specialist in transactional psychology, educational psychology and senior business management. The event included a panel discussion led by Mario Andrés Moreno, a Colombian journalist considered one of the most recognized voices in Miami media.
Last year, H.E. Vice President of Costa Rica Epsy Campbell Barr was elected to represent the region in the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent. As an Independent Expert elected by the General Assembly of the United Nations, she will be responsible for helping operationalize the Forum as a platform for improving the safety, quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent.
Afro-descendants and Climate Change at the IX Summit of the Americas. This award to H.E. Vice President Campbell is timely in the light of the upcoming IX Summit of the Americas that will take place in Los Angeles, California between June 5 and 9, 2022. There is an expectation of higher participation of representatives of Afro-descendant populations in the dialogues and negotiations of the Summit. More than 150 million Afro-descendants of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which constitute a third of the population of the Americas, face a range of serious and diverse challenges – from climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent increase in food and fuel prices as a consequence of the domino effect of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. These factors are further increasing the gaps in social and economic inequality in the region, which generally translate into citizen insecurity and regional instability.
A Summit with the leading participation of Afro-descendants will offer us the opportunity to create inclusive and equitable processes. In addition, this will allow us to generate programmatic actions to improve lives and build confidence to promote true reconstruction, recovery and economic relief in the region. Particularly, facing the challenges of adaptation to extreme weather, access to clean energy, assistance to develop communal land and housing projects, digital, financial education and technical and credit assistance. All these aspects must include the perspective and differentiated approach from and for Afro-descendant populations.