CATIE National Office in Guatemala promotes institutional articulation and projection through project exchange meeting

• The meeting brought together initiative coordinators, unit directors, and IICA to promote synergies, positioning, and coordinated work in the country.

The CATIE National Office in Guatemala held the CATIE Project Exchange Meeting in Guatemala on February 12, a strategic space aimed at promoting institutional integration, coordination, and projection in the country.

The objective of the meeting was to facilitate processes of updating, integration, coordination, projection, and institutional positioning of CATIE in Guatemala, in accordance with the official agenda of the event.

The event, led by Julio López, CATIE Representative in Guatemala, was attended by coordinators of CATIE projects and initiatives in the country, the National Office support team, directors of CATIE research units and programs from headquarters, as well as Federico Villareal, representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Guatemala.

During the morning session, progress, results, and perspectives of various ongoing initiatives were presented, including projects related to ecosystem-based adaptation, forest restoration, socio-environmental resilience, productive scaling, coffee, biodiversity, and climate transparency, among others.

Each project shared its current status and perspectives, as well as spaces for exchange of experiences, scaling, and complementarity, both in thematic and territorial terms.

The space made it possible to identify synergies among projects, explore technical exchanges and scaling opportunities, as well as update institutional participation in forums, platforms, and working groups.

Within the framework of the meeting, the preparation of CATIE’s 2026 Country Report in Guatemala was also addressed, and information was shared on the academic offerings and financing opportunities of the Graduate School, reinforcing the link between research, education, and territorial development.

CATIE Director General, Dr. Luis Pocasangre, highlighted the relevance of this initiative and its potential to consolidate a more integrated working dynamic with the National Offices: “I would like to wish you a very productive day of work and for you to know that CATIE’s General Directorate has viewed this initiative very positively, and we hope it will serve as an example to replicate and turn this into a dynamic through which we can have interaction with the National Offices.”

Likewise, during the afternoon session, topics related to institutional visibility and positioning, administrative aspects, follow-up, and commitments were addressed, consolidating a roadmap to strengthen CATIE’s presence and impact in Guatemala.

In Guatemala, CATIE seeks to work in an articulated manner, generate applied knowledge, and build strategic alliances that contribute to the country’s and the region’s inclusive green development.