420 leaders participate in the Leadership for Change program in Peru

CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, and the Government and Public Management Institute of the San Martin de Porres University (UPSMP, for its acronym in Spanish), inaugurated the X CAF Leadership for Change Program 2015, which included the participation of 420 leaders, with the objective of strengthening citizen leaderships regarding civic-democratic values in new decentralized headquarters in the country.   

The inaugural ceremony included the participation of Claudio Higa, Senior Executive of CAF's Public Sector in Peru, and Iván Hidalgo Romero and Jorge Gobitz, General Director and Coordinator of the Leadership for Change program, respectively. 

Higa highlighted that CAF's agenda is aimed not only at financing resources for infrastructure projects, such as the inter-oceanic highways, the Chavimochic, Majes Siguas, and Olmos irrigation projects, or the Lima Metro, but also at promoting democratic culture, ethical values, and leadership aimed at strengthening Latin American societies. In this respect, he pointed out that for the tenth consecutive year, the financial institution will support the development of CAF's Leadership for Change program in Peru, which includes training leaders for social, cultural, indigenous, farming, and union organizations, and micro-enterprise associations. 

He stated, "CAF is called upon to work in the area of governance by creating innovating activities which promote values and principles. To date, close to 5,000 leaders belonging to 1,500 districts from the 25 regions of the country have graduated from the program. We believe that to change our countries, we need leaders with solid values". 

At the same time, Hidalgo Romero highlighted the relationship between CAF and the School of Government and Public Management of the UPSMP to develop the tenth version of the training program, which this year will be executed in the capital cones of Lima Centro, Lima Sur, Lima Norte, San Juan de Lurigancho, La Molina, as well as in Chiclayo, Huánuco, Puno and other regions.

Romero mentioned that this edition seeks to Guarantee an efficient virtual training at the decentralized headquarters, assure financing for the projects presented at the end of the training period, and promote the interrelation of the participating leaders with the purpose of consolidating a network of graduates of the program at a national and regional level. 

The Leadership for Change program started in Colombia in 2002, and is currently carried out in Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela, with the objective of identifying, selecting, and training natural leaders to generate a transforming leadership that manages tools to detect the needs of the community, as well as formulate consensus and other actions that contribute to practice their citizenship in a better manner, and contribute to governance and democracy in the countries of the region.