AVINA partner Martha Cranshaw heads a network that defends the rights of Nicaraguan migrants to Costa Rica. Her work has thrown light on the contribution of these people to both the Costa Rican economy and its culture. The campaign has reduced illegal emigration from Nicaragua and created awareness among Nicaraguans regarding the need to obtain a passport, a visa and a work permit, and to pay for social services, all of which smoothes their legal integration into Costa Rican society. The program has reduced xenophobia in Costa Rica, encouraged institutional policies that favor integration, promoted more respectful relations and enabled migrants to exercise their labor and social rights.

On July 1, 2008, the government of the State of Pernambuco in Brazil passed Law 13.486 establishing an incentive program for educational employment performance. This program rewards all the state’s educational employees according to the results of their performance in teaching children. The law was inspired by the practice established by PROCENTRO, an institution supported by AVINA since its inception, which has pioneered these incentives in experimental state training centers. The passing of the law is a first in Brazil and allowed the incentive to be applied throughout the entire state network.