By Mayra Rodríguez for ALC.    

Del Valle reported that the two commissions organized in 2010 to make the work of the national ACT Alliance forum operative, have carried out important activities that strengthen them. They are the Commission for Response to Emergencies and that of Development and Political Incidence. She added that during this process the communications team has also been strengthened, in its mission of accompanying the actions that make the forum and its commissions visible.      

The efforts of the Commission for Response to Emergencies have concentrated on reviewing the mechanisms for action during a catastrophic event, through meetings, gatherings and workshops in which special attention has been given to the institutional plan for action response, Del Valle pointed out.   

"From May 16-18 a gathering was held with representatives of the member organizations of the forum and their counterparts, which was key for holding in common the principles that the alliance manages within the framework of the theme of climate change,” Del Valle explained, and said that as a result of that gathering a practice emergency drill community was formed made up of technical teams and community leaders.    

With regard to the Commission for Development and Political Incidence, the executive secretary of the ACT Forum in Guatemala said that the matters of development and incidence are assumed as an inclusive and participative process that should be undertaken with and from the full member organizations and their local counterparts. 

"Using a focus based on rights and respecting the culture, two roundtable discussions on the socio-political, economic and cultural situation of Guatemala have been held, as well as two gatherings to analyze the development focuses and the capacities and needs for political incidence,” she said.      

Del Valle concluded her report by informing that alliances and coordination have been fomented so as to strengthen combined initiatives, in order to avoid duplicating efforts and to guarantee that the actions carried out complement the ACT presence in the region and that of other national and regional institutions.

Photo: Vulnerability of families in the The Garden community, Sacred Domingo Suchitepéquez, Guatemala (Francisco Reyna Norwegian Church Aid)