Welcome to the Discussion Room for MHPSS in Latin America and the Caribbean
This room aims to facilitate the sharing of experiences, lessons learned, and good practices on integrating MHPSS into peacebuilding in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
The room is open for any input you may want to share but to start the conversation it has been framed around two main themes with guiding questions. You can respond to one/more/none of these in your contributions, but please indicate on which of the themes/questions below you are sharing your insights. Kindly note that content translation is available on the top-right corner of the page, where you can choose among 100+ languages.
In your responses, please introduce yourself and tell us whether you have a self-care regime or whether your organization provides staff care to ensure your wellbeing.
We propose the following guiding questions:
Theme 1: Your experiences
- How do you/your projects integrate/partner/collaborate with the other field?
- What have been your successes and/or challenges in linking your work with the other field?
- What context/regionally specific elements are you considering and including in your programming on linking MHPSS and Peacebuilding?
Theme 2: Enhancing integration
- What resources would your organization need to be better able to work in a way that integrates MHPSS into peacebuilding?
- What are the regional and/or cultural considerations that need to be kept in mind when integrating MHPSS into peacebuilding?
- What recommendations would you like to make to UNDP regarding the integration of MHPSS into peacebuilding?
Disclaimer: Please note that the room will be open from 11 October to 9 November 2021. Access of UNDP externals to the rooms is based on pre-registration only.
Hello from Puerto Rico! I am excited to share my perspective as a coach!
Dear Cristina Custodio
How wonderful to have you with us; we are very excited to learn from you. What does your work entail? What is the current situation on linking these fields in PUerto Rico. So many questions- tell us more!
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Here are some of my answers to the discussion questions posed. Happy to answer any other questions you may have!
Theme 1: Your experiences
How do you/your projects integrate/partner/collaborate with the other field?
I am a social leadership coach, which means I coach people working for a more equitable world. I am based in Puerto Rico, yet I serve leaders and communities across Latin America and latinx populations in the US. As a professional coach credentialed by the International Coaching Federation, I help peacebuilders and other civil society leaders be successful in their own terms. My work centers on building for the future through a sense of belonging, a mindset of possibility, action, and self-efficacy.
I have coached individual leaders of organizations working in education, youth advocacy, public health, homelessness, the arts, mediation, mentoring, climate change, international development, racial and gender justice. I have also coached groups of organizations to find areas in which to collaborate focused on complex social issues.
I also serve as global Ambassador for the ICF Foundation, the arm of the International Coaching Federation that promotes coaching for social impact. We encourage our 44,000 coach members around the world to participate in low/pro-bono coaching projects with civil society organizations whose work supports the UN Agenda 2030.
I strongly believe the integration of MHPSS and Peacebuilding would be an ideal space for coaching for social impact to flourish.
What have been your successes and/or challenges in linking your work with the other field?
Successes
Challenges
Theme 2: Enhancing integration
What resources would your organization need to be better able to work in a way that integrates MHPSS into peacebuilding?
Access to organizations willing to partner with the ICF Foundation so we can provide low/pro-bono coaching to peacebuilders.
What are the regional and/or cultural considerations that need to be kept in mind when integrating MHPSS into peacebuilding?
In Latin America and the Caribbean, there are currently 1,200 credentialed coaches. Many of them move in circles that do not have much visibility in the peacebuilding space. We would need to take intentional action to bring these worlds together.
What recommendations would you like to make to UNDP regarding the integration of MHPSS into peacebuilding?
Include individual and group coaching as part of the MHPSS disciplines.