Young NIMD arrives in Guatemala

First day of Zita and Floris

After a long journey we finally arrived in Guatemala, the day before yesterday. Off course, to our senses it was already 6 ´o clock in the morning, but the clock said 23.00 when we left the airport. Zita Schellekens (Young socialists) and I (Floris Kreiken - Young Democrats) will spend this week in Guatemala, to talk about youth participation in politics.

Our first day was very intense. Whilst still adjusting to the different time zone, we paid a visit to the local NIMD office, to meet all the people. It´s all very overwhelming, but we have a great guide in Valentijn Wortelboer. He is kind enough to escort us to all the important places and introduce us to practically every person we encounter. We started the day off with a briefing by Doris Cruz and Heleen Schrooyen on the week. Afterwards we received a briefing by Gustavo Porras, a political analyst that played a big role in the Guatemalan peace talks. He shared his view on Guatemalan politics, which was very interesting. But a visit to a foreign country would not be complete without a visit to the Dutch Embassy so we went and met all the people there too. The afternoon we spend meeting Guatemalan youngsters that are all politically active. It was cool to meet them, especially because it gave us some familiar faces at the conference the next day.

After a good night sleep we went to the Youth conference today. All the political parties here have their fair share of youngsters active that meet every year in a forum to discuss youth issues, and talk about youth participation in politics. In the meantime Zita and I helped NIMD build up a ´Dutch stand.´ We brought Dutch things, and especially material from our own organizations.

Tomorrow Zita and I will give some presentations at the conference. The idea is that we share our ideas on youth participation and give Dutch examples. We brought plenty of videos and stories, and will also take part in panel discussions. Can´t wait!

Floris