Participating at Espacio USA/Vanguardia Latina

I have been this whole week participating in Vanguardia Latina. This event organized by Televisa Mexico, in conjunction with the IDB and UNESCO, gathers students from LatinAmerica (some of whom pursuing their degrees in the US, others are studying in LatinAmerica) and the latino students (US citizens with latinamerican roots) interested in changing LatinAmerica and converting it into a better place.
We have had many presentations with great panelists. We have talked about security, migration, economy, politics, education, etc. The topic of the Environment and specifically climate change was not raised as often as I hoped. The low importance devoted to climate change, made me realized, how Latin America struggles to overcome issues such as violence, corruption, migration and to a great extent, poverty.
Thereafter when Latin American countries are faced with challenges like climate change, there is an absent strategy on how to address it. It could be due to the other issues that are more tangible in the day by day. The problem is that if we wait too long to address these issues of the environment, it could be too late. Moreover we are more vulnerable than developed countries towards the impacts that climate change can cause.
On the other hand, I met students from all the countries and from a variety of disciplines. Each student brought his/her own perspective to the different issues presented. We were encouraged how the youth should be empowered and take the leadership in making LatinAmerica a better place to be.
I enjoyed the experience and hope to contribute towards this dream that one day will become true!