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Migrants’ New Paths Reshaping Latin America

SANTA MARÍA ATZOMPA, Mexico — When the old-timers here look around their town, all they see are new arrivals: young Mexican men working construction and driving down wages; the children of laborers flooding crowded schools; even new businesses — stores, restaurants and strip clubs — springing up on roads that used to be dark and quiet.

The shock might seem familiar enough in countless American towns wrestling with immigration, but this is a precolonial Mexican village outside Oaxaca City, filling up with fellow Mexicans. Still, grimaces about the influx are as common as smiles.

“Before all these people came, everything was tranquil,” said Marcelino Juárez, 61, an artisan at the local ceramics market. “They bring complications. They don’t bring benefits.”

Throughout Mexico and much of Latin America, the old migratory patterns are changing. The mobile and restless are now casting themselves across a wider range of cities and countries in the region, pitting old residents against new, increasing pressure to create jobs and prompting nations to rewrite their immigration laws, sometimes to encourage the trend.

The United States is simply not the magnet it once was. Arrests at the United States’ southwest border in 2011 fell to their lowest level since 1972, confirming that illegal immigration, especially from Mexico, has reached what experts now describe as either a significant pause or the end of an era.

But this is not a shift in volume as much as direction. Nearly two million more Mexicans lived away from their hometowns in 2010 than was the case a decade earlier, according to the Mexican census. Experts say departures have also held steady or increased over the past few years in Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru and other Latin American countries that have traditionally been hubs of emigration.

The migrants are just not always going where they used to.

Mexicans, for example, are increasingly avoiding the United States and the border region, as well as their own capital, and are moving toward smaller, safer cities like Mérida, Oaxaca City and Querétaro. Experts say more Guatemalans are also settling in Mexico after years of passing through on the journey north. See more.

By DAMIEN CAVE, The New York Times, January 5, 2012.

 

 

Oaxaca Forum on Social Innovation
Culture & Design as a Social Entrepreneur

Oaxaca, Mexico

Nov 2-5, 2011Come join the growing group of brilliant people attending the Oaxaca Forum on Social Innovation, including:

Paula Moreno Zapata, Former Columbian Minister of Culture, Lucina Jimenez (ConArte), Cheryl Heller (PopTech & SVA Design for Social Innovation), Rodrigo Villar (Director New Ventures Mexico), Hernan Fernandez (Angel Ventures Mexico), Tony Carr (Halloran Philanthropies), Nick Kislinger and Elizabeth Stewart (Hub Los Angles), Saul Fuentes (Director CORAL Oaxaca), Daryn Dodson (Calvert) Javier Lozano (Clinicas del Azucar, Luis Duarte (YoReciclo), Michael Cox (Hub Cities), and more….

What’s it all about: 
Social entrepreneurship and innovation as a catalyst for local economies. Contemporary strategies for achieving well being by design. Creative interventions that engage with community.  Ideas and knowhow that drive social enterprises to create the world we all want. 

Who should attend:
Social entrepreneurs and impact investors seeking new ways to start and/or support social initiatives in emerging regions; Designers, social architects and others looking for inspiration and guidance in building social movements that inspire change from the grass roots up; Analysts and consultants who want to explore new ways to develop productive projects with high social impact, particularly in the Latin American context. (Forum in both Spanish & English)

Partnering Organizations

Performing Pictures & The Euroaxacan Inititative for Transformative Cultures, SVA Design for Social Innovation, Next Plays, ConArte, New Ventures, Comunicación Lateral & Creative Industries Conference, Colibri Consulting, and more to be announced.

Read more about the Forum here.  Or  download the event agenda.

Support potential participants in the Art of Hosting Oaxaca!

From July 8 – 10 we will be facilitating an Art of Hosting focused on co-creation and participative leadership in Oaxaca, Mexico. The workshop is a powerful and transformative experience that can support anyone in their work, community or relationships. To learn more about the workshop or register click here.

There are 7 people who really want to participate in the workshop but do not have the financial resources to pay the full amount. You can help them out with a donation of any amount. Whatever you can offer will be a great support. To make a donation click here.

You can also contact Fernando at the Hub to make a direct donation via the PayPal account of the Hub (fernando.mino@the-hub.net).

The purpose of the workshop is to know and experience the conditions and practices that generate true co-creation. We are calling the workshop because in our communities, organizations and groups we see many people seeking more participative and inclusive ways of working, organizing, meeting, communicating and acting in ways that can transform our society. During the workshop we will be sharing tools such as: Circle Practice, Open Space, Appreciative Inquiry, World Cafe, Theory “U”, among others. In the practice we will learn how to create the conditions to successfully create together and become aware of our collective inteligence.

The Local Shift

Have you heard of Ode Magazine? Here they are in their own words:

Ode is a print and online publication about positive news, about the people and ideas that are changing our world for the better…We wanted to create an alternative to mainstream publications, a magazine that was open to new inspirations and new visions from around the world.

Wow, a vision statement after our own heart!  Ode published an article in May of 2009 that discussed a local economy project that falls right in line with that mission, and our own, here at Hub Oaxaca. It showcased the 10% Shift Campaign.

“In the midst of this global economic crisis, there is a movement happening in some of the hardest hit places in America – local communities…Dedicated to promoting and sustaining local business, Local First organizations across the country are campaigning for a shift in the way we act, in the way we think and most importantly, in the way we spend.”

The campaign hopes to inspire consumers, promoting the idea that there is great power in even the smallest purchases. The concept is simple: “If all consumers made an effort to shift 10% of their spending to independent and locally owned retailers instead of ‘mega-stores,’ the community could see thousands of new jobs created and millions of dollars of taxpayer free revenue.”   Is there a local initiative like this in your neighborhood?  Tell us about it.I know that it can be a challenging commitment to buy locally—as often times that means a higher price tag. For me personally it’s been a great pleasure over the few years to get to know the local vendors at the fruit and vegetable markets near me here in Oaxaca.  They look out for me, pulling aside their freshest herbs (because they know I like good basil and dill), as I look out for them by returning week after week.  It’s a nice symbiosis that I can’t expect from the big supermarket in town. I hope that it does something to support sustainable and equitable economies.

This post was originally published on www.HarmonyWishes.com.

Get to Know Hub Oaxaca

OCTOBER 28-30. DAY OF THE DEAD
SOCIAL IMPACT AND CULTURAL IMMERSION
GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION OF HUB OAXACA

Join us for our Grand Opening Celebration. See more details and the 3-day agenda: GrandOpeningHubOaxaca

THE OFFICELESS GENERATION

CNN’s Richard Quest takes a look at the growing trend of mobile workers, including the Hubs around the world. You can check it here.

THE ART OF CONVENING & HOSTING CONVERSATIONS FOR SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

Using the “World Cafe” tool in particatory discussion

At the beginning of January 2010, Hub Oaxaca hosted the first ever Spanish “Art of Hosting” workshop, at the eco-farm Tierra del Sol.  21 participants from  diverse backgrounds (rural communities, public museums, schools, NGOs to name a few) showed up to  learn techniques and processes to convene and facilitate meetings, conversations,  workshops or events  All tools used in the workshop are designed to generate authentic participation in meetings, projects or proceses. To view the pictures from the event please click here. To learn more about the tools and resources, also available in English on the internet, keep reading. We’ll upload the learnings of the workshop soon.

• Espacio Abierto – www.espacioabierto.net

• World Café
• 
  http://www.theworldcafe.com/translations/SpanishwhatisTWC.pdf
  
• 
  http://www.theworldcafe.com/translations/ImportanceCafeQuests.Spanish.pdf
  
• World Café from guest33db24

• Diálogos Apreciativos
• 
  http://www.4d.edu.uy/2009/index.php?ref=2&sub=3&lang=es
  
  http://www.dialogosapreciativos.es/index.php/esqueson
  

• Conversation Café (English)
• 
  http://www.conversationcafe.org
  

• Art of Hosting – comunidad internacional de facilitadores de conversaciones significativas (English) -  www.artofhosting.org

• The Art of Hosting Conversations Online (English)
• 
  http://www.rheingold.com/texts/artonlinehost.html
  

• Talkaoke – forma de crear participación usando el estilo de un show de TV o karaoke (English) - 
  http://talkaoke.com/
  

AND WE’RE IN! Tuesday November 10th, 2009

A big day in the short life of a little project with a huge vision: today we got the keys to a small space with two rooms and a mezzanine, that will become the testing ground for Hub Oaxaca. The work of the project is already underway, through this blog, linking, celebrating and supporting local social innovators, and through regular events to bring together local actors around pressing themes such as permaculture, alternative education and urban mobility. Now, with the space, things step up a gear, beginning with a session today on space design and utlization, in which the team conducted ‘post-it note design’, indicating how spaces, areas, corners, features, could be used for different purposes (photos below). The team was so inspired that they continued into the evening, discussing and designing by candlelight as the electricity hasn’t yet been connected in the space!

This initial session will be complemented by a similar event (hopefully this time with electricity) convening members of the Hub Oaxaca community to further co-design the space in the way that will attract and inspire them.

Next steps: furniture. Next week Oaxacan designers will come and inspire us with their vision, hopefully inspired by ours. We are aiming to invite selected local social innovators to come share the space with us from December, and begin to collaborate and co-create. This invitation will be extended to a broader user base in January. In this way we will be able to slowly but surely test our model, build our community, implement our offering and respond to our user’s needs. This critically important pilot phase has been made possible through the committed support of Halloran Philanthropies.

we have the keys!

discussing criteria of great spaces

space design by candlelight!

WE ARE LOOKING FOR FUNDING AND KNOWLEDGE PARTNERS     July 2009

With the feasibility phase coming to an end, the business plan nearly done, the team and initial community waiting for the green lights, we are ready for the piloting of space and services. We are fortunate to have huge and invaluable support of Halloran Philanthropies but are still looking for partners for the renovation and fitting out of a space and the development of new and exciting services such as our action learning and access to finance programs. If  you are interested in finding out more about ways of contributing to this initiative please email oaxaca@the-hub.net We’d love you to be part of it!

HUB OAXACA MODEL July 2009

During the last couple of months the development team has been feverishly working to get ready for the piloting phase. From the interviews carried ou in February with future potential members and key social actors we’ve come up with this image to explain what we are planning to develop. Click on the image for an enlarged version.

Hub Oaxaca Model

OUR DREAM SPACE June 2009

A video is worth a thousand words. Click here.

POST-SKOLL MEXICAN LUNCH  28th March 2009

A day after the Skoll conference, Halloran Philanthopies and The Hub hosted a lunch for those at the event who were involved or interested in the Hub Oaxaca project. We hosted a true Mexican-style lunch with totopos, beans, guacamole…and were very happy to see more than 10 people in the meeting room at Hub Kings Cross in London. We shared our vision, process and the birth of a new model for supporting people with social initiatives in Latin America.  You can see the Interim Report here.

GOING PUBLIC – FIRST COMMUNITY GATHERINGS 13th February 2009

Today we had a fantastic event in our temporary space. A diverse group of local people with interest in what we´re developing here got together to discuss a wide variety of topics concerned with the ´what´, ´how´and the ´why´ of starting a project like this in Oaxaca. Photos below..!

Meeting starts

Carlos is the host of the evening

Group discussion during the community gathering

Impassioned debate

‘The main and universal challenge is self-sustainability. It will be very difficult to charge people for space and services.’

THE FIRST STONES LAID February 5th 2009

This week saw the first team session for Hub Oaxaca.

Plan for the day!

An intensive afternoon’s discussion saw the two delegations sharing their ‘story so far’, setting out their ‘tools for the task ahead’ and coming together around a vision for this initiative.

Hub Oaxaca development team discussing the vision

Sharing vision

To make sure that, within this critical phase of development and creation,  sufficent time is given to listening and reflecting, we are borrowing a tool known as the U-Process, which is a basically a structured way of doing something which many people (particularly in indigenous cultures) have done for centuries.. listen (a lot), retreat, reflect, consult, create, implement.

U-Process for Feasibility Phase