Six years of impact at the Central America Donors Forum
Strengthening our commitment to climate, migrant, and racial justice
Andrea Villaseñor de la Vega, Director, Migration & Forced Displacement
Over the past six years, Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) has deepened our understanding of the intersection between forced migration and climate change. This journey, in part, was driven in 2019 by our participation in the Central America Donors Forum (CADF) held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and has continued in virtual and in-person sessions. Through these experiences, HIP has collaborated with powerful voices in the fight for climate, migrant, and racial justice and recognized the intersections at which these issues impact Latine communities across the Americas.
First session: CADF in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Mitigating Forced migration due to climate change with gender perspective strategies
In 2019, HIP led a session at the CADF in Tegucigalpa, Honduras to address the relationship between forced migration and climate change, highlighting gender perspective strategies. It featured the participation of key voices such as Susan Kandel from Prisma in El Salvador, Honduran journalist Paulo Cerrato, and Miriam Miranda from the Honduran Black Fraternal Organization. I remember how our panel concluded with an audience dazzled by Susan's knowledge, Paulo's experience reporting from the field, and Miriam's assertiveness and clarity in narrating the impacts of the Garifuna community.
It was a key moment for HIP in which we understood the need to listen much more, learn in-depth about the gaps in climate justice and migration, and connect with leaders who work to make these issues visible.
Virtual CADF 2020: Lessons from the pandemic
Intertwining racism, migration, and climate change
The 2020 virtual gathering of CADF was an opportunity to reflect on what was learned from the pandemic. HIP understood that it was important to highlight how racism, forced migration, gender violence, poverty, and climate change are deeply interconnected. We invited Miriam Miranda again and sought to complement the dialogue with voices such as those of Emiko Saldívar (Colectivo Coopera) and Sebastián Frías (W.K. Kellogg Foundation) who highlighted the need to create intersectional anti-racist agendas to address the root causes of these problems. For HIP, this dialogue gave us a glimpse of the role HIP could play within our sector and the different spaces we occupy.
Around that time, HIP programmatic staff, particularly the migration and forced displacement team, delved into defining intersectionality in our work, how we support organizations, and our relationships with donors. Many issues intersect with migration across the Americas, but based on the learnings shared from our partner organizations, we decided to focus on the intersection with climate, migrant, and racial justice.
The year 2020 also marked a before and after in our understanding of the multiple layers that intertwine these challenges. It was a time gripped by the pandemic, a moment that had already pushed communities to the limits of their resistance. But when hurricanes Eta and Iota hit Central America, what little was left was devastated. There was no room for recovery, no time to heal. The heartbreaking testimonies of those who lost everything revealed a compelling truth: migrating stopped being a choice for many and became the only option for survival. With nothing to lose, the communities undertook a desperate exodus, searching for what their land could no longer offer them.
CADF 2021: Community resilience and our commitment
Social reconstruction initiatives from grassroots organizations
In 2021 we continued our participation virtually and committed our efforts to center a dialogue of the intersections between climate justice and the realities of grassroots organizations in Central America. That year's panel brought together Miriam Miranda, Yolanda González (ERIC-Radio Progreso), and Luis Paiz Bekker (AFSC) to discuss how communities organize and articulate responses to adversity, especially amid the unequal impacts caused by the pandemic, natural disasters, and the structural problems of the region.
From the privileged standpoint of an organization like HIP, we felt deeply responsible to act so that these communities receive the support they need. We had to get involved more intentionally, opening the space for the communities of those who live these realities to guide us. HIP's commitment was to accompany, learn, and act, knowing that the answers are at the center of the very communities we serve.
CADF 2022: Intersectionality in Practice and the Colibrí Initiative
Building common agendas
Alongside ERIC-Radio Progreso, The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Derecho a No Obedecer (DANO), and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) we sought to organize what we knew, what we saw, and what we intuited about climate change and migration. As a result, we returned to CADF in 2022 to question whether it was possible to build common agendas under human mobility and climate justice.
We shared how climate justice recognizes the inextricable link with social, gender, and racial justice and puts the needs of the most vulnerable communities at the center. After several years of learning, conversations, and working with our allies, we published our results of three intergenerational dialogues, a consulting process with a research team, and a podcast series.
Those findings showed us that in a world where less than 2% of global donations are allocated to climate change mitigation, HIP needed to launch the Colibrí Initiative. It was our response to redefining the role of philanthropy in the fight for climate and immigration justice.
CADF 2023: Deepening connections
Opportunities for solidarity
In 2023, HIP delved deeper into the connections between race, climate, and migration. During a panel with Marisa Aurora Quiroz (International Community Foundation) and Alida Vicente (Palín Indigenous Authority, Guatemala), we discussed how racial hierarchies and systems of oppression continued to permeate the laws and institutions that impact communities. This dialogue underscored the importance of cross-movement solidarity and the ability of philanthropy to support a more holistic analysis that encompasses these interrelationships.
CADF 2024: Presenting “We Are Territory”
Testimonies from the frontiers of climate change
At CADF 2024, HIP proudly presented the product of a collective effort, the documentary "Somos Territorio." Highlighting communities in Central America, it exposes the unequal impacts of socio-environmental disasters, the deep roots in development policies based on the extractivism of people and their lands, and proposals for alternatives based on community knowledge and practices. With the participation of Douglas Juárez (AFSC), Ivanna Herrán (Ayuda en Acción), and Diego Ceto (Ancestral Authority of the Mayan Ixil People), the panel at CADF reinforced HIP's commitment to putting communities at the center of solutions.
HIP's journey in the CADF, from 2019 to 2024, has been a process of learning, action, and solidarity. Through these years, HIP has strengthened its intersectional approach, connecting climate, migration, and racial justice, while continuing to listen to civil society organizations and supporting their agendas. With initiatives like Colibrí and narrative projects like "Somos Territorio," HIP is committed to continuing to connect, raise resources, and foster the change necessary to achieve true climate and migration justice in the region.