ObjectivesFund scope
The Maya Joint Programme in Guatemala contributes to improving the situation of the Maya, Xinca, and Garifuna people by advocating for an equal and fair justice system, supporting their right to bilingual and intercultural education, and autonomous political rights and representation. The programme builds and strengthens national and indigenous capacity to enhance sustainable development and eradicate poverty, and also contributes to transforming Guatemalan society and rendering it more integrated and multicultural.
Programme stakeholders support human rights advocacy, which covers land rights, natural resources, quality of life, non-discrimination, justice, culture, inclusion and participation in civil society, and the right to autonomous social organisation. To move towards these goals and the attainment of their rights, the Joint Programme is composed of three main components:
- Component 1: Justice, where a greater degree of rights-based empowerment and participation by indigenous Mayan, Xinca, and Garifuna peoples, their towns, and civil society organisations.
- Component 2: Education with better access to quality bilingual and intercultural Mayan, Xinca, and Garifuna education.
- Component 3: Political Participation, including recognition of the Mayan, Xinca, and Garifuna people with the political right to indigenous participation and representation (this component will be a key indicator of the legitimacy of the political democratic system in Guatemala).
The two cross-cutting issues of the programme are environmental and women’s rights as both are directly related to the three integrated components. Initiatives will focus on inclusion of cases for strategic litigation, design and implementation of education policies, increasing knowledge on sustainable uses of natural resources, and improved training, participation and representation of Mayan, Xinca, and Garifuna women in political spaces.