The Mesoamerican Pre-Congress of Territorial Women Leaders, held in Panama, was attended by more than 30 indigenous women leaders from all over the region.

Women members of ACOFOP, the National Alliance of Forestry and Peasant Organizations of Guatemala, MASTA, FEPROAH, Mayangna Women's Governments, YATAMA, RIBCA, the Emberá-Wounaan General Congress and the Guna General Congress participated in the Pre-Congress. Under the slogan "We are rivers, we are blood, we are the voice that cultivates life", women leaders from the region defined the work agenda at the local, national and regional levels.

Con este encuentro, las mujeres indígenas participantes buscan fortalecer sus vínculos con las diferentes organizaciones participantes. Durante el pre congreso definieron actividades y acciones a desarrollar en lo que resta del 2018 y el próximo año. «Hablamos sobre nuestros derechos, sobre nuestra identidad y la importancia de nuestra cultura. Nosotras somos quienes hacemos el relevo generacional en nuestras comunidades con los saberes que les compartimos a nuestras hijas e hijos» mencionó Sara Omi, presidenta del Congreso Emberá Alto Bayano.

During the Pre-Congress, the participants defined articulation mechanisms in the region to strengthen actions to reduce climate change. Among the actions proposed, the indigenous women seek to accompany the forest protection processes of the territorial governments. They also seek to make visible the importance of the role they play in the transmission of ancestral knowledge.

"Indigenous women have also always been committed to our territories. We need to make our struggles visible and defend our rights to be an example for the new generations. Men and women are equal in the protection of the land, we must make our work better known, as it is often not recognized," commented Sara Omi, president of the Emberá Alto Bayano Congress.

Se definió un Comité Provisional de Mujeres Líderes Territoriales, organismo que representará a las mujeres indígenas ante la Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos y Bosques. Con este órgano se busca fortalecer la participación de ellas en todos los procesos de tomas de decisión a nivel local, nacional y regional. También se concluyó en la importancia de fomentar iniciativas de empresarialidad justa, incluyente y respetuosa de las costumbres de los pueblos, por medio de los proyectos manejados por la AMPB.

This exclusive space for indigenous women concluded with the importance of expanding the participation of women in the management of the territorial agenda with other peoples and organizations, as well as the incorporation of young leaders and the inclusion of women in the training programs of the Mesoamerican School of Leaders.