Francisca Cabrera, a 20-year-old Chilean university student, has been giving weekly art workshops to at-risk children and adolescents in Santiago for three years. Although it was difficult at the outset to keep the attention of children contending with domestic, economic and drug problems, Francisca not only learned to keep them interested but also identified the type of activity that best suited their individual needs. “The children I am working with this year are more oriented towards audiovisuals, so I decided to teach them about TV production.”

Francisca is part of Recreando América Latina, a program designed to train young Latin American leaders and promoted by an AVINA partner in Santiago, Jorge Razeto, with support from Marcia Sigüenza and Joaquín Leguía, AVINA partners in Ecuador and Peru respectively. The program incorporates other members of AVINA’s network reaching 12 Latin American countries.

There are currently 106 million young people between the ages of 14 and 25 in Latin America. Responsibility for tomorrow’s decisions will lie on their shoulders. However, according to 2008 UNICEF figures, 39% of these young people live in poverty, and 15 million live on less than one dollar a day. According to the International Labor Organization, the unemployment rate for the working-age segment of this population has reached 16.6%, almost three times that of adults.

This Latin American network organizes and links throughout the hemisphere young enterprising people who are leading change. It allows them to share knowledge and experiences so they may work toward a society that is more just, inclusive and democratic. “I think what is most important is that there is a ray of hope for Latin America, since young people today are tomorrow’s leaders, and are the ones who will need the wisdom and skills to create a different society,” commented Jorge.

Seventy-seven young leaders between the ages of 16 and 23 from different Latin American countries have participated in Recreando América Latina seminars, which have a ripple effect reaching thousands of young people who benefit from their projects. These enterprising young people assume responsibility not only for their own futures, but for that of Latin America as a whole.

“This type of initiative can only be carried out with organizations such as AVINA that invite you to dream and then help you make the dream reality,” says Jorge. “We have walked this path together, carefully considering each one of our steps, taking risks, completing tasks, and sharing in the joy of achievement.”