The Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), in strategic collaboration with the Women in Energy Association of Chile and with the support of the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Guatemala, launched in Guatemala City the first National Workshop for Building Women’s Energy Networks. These initiatives seek to promote women’s leadership in the region’s energy sector through association and collective work. The National Workshops aim to establish a local women’s energy network that will, in turn, become part of the Latin American and Caribbean Women in Energy Network (RedLACME) as a regional platform for coordination and articulation, facilitated by OLADE as Technical Secretariat.
The meeting brought together specialists, authorities, and representatives from various Guatemalan institutions in the public sector, industry, and academia. Discussions focused on the challenges and opportunities to build a national women’s energy network aimed at increasing women’s participation in the sector, promoting their inclusion in leadership positions, and advancing public policies with a gender perspective.
Drawing from the experience of the Women in Energy Association of Chile, participants discussed association-building processes that have emerged in other countries of the region, identifying common goals, establishing statutes, governance, and membership, as well as strategic planning and actions to ensure the sustainability of a national network.
The event opened with a video message from the Minister of Energy and Mines, Víctor Hugo Ventura Ruiz, followed by remarks from Gloria Alvarenga, OLADE’s Director of Integration, Access and Energy Security; Pía Suárez, President of the Women in Energy Association of Chile; and María Consuelo Morales, Head of the Gender Unit of the Guatemalan Ministry.
“When you work in community, the benefits are not only added, they multiply. Every connection created and every piece of knowledge shared has the potential to generate a far-reaching impact,” said Alvarenga, who emphasized that energy is a human right that enables other fundamental rights.
For her part, Suárez highlighted that Guatemala was chosen as the venue for the first workshop due to its progress in gender institutionalization, and Morales described the event as “a historic opportunity to build a national women’s energy network.”
The program included three core modules — “Stories and Common Purpose,” “Governance and Sustainability,” and “Regional Articulation” — designed to foster collaboration, strengthen leadership, and achieve sustainability for national women’s energy networks. In the final module, OLADE presented its robust work on gender and energy as a foundation for the consolidation of RedLACME at the regional level, along with the guiding principles of the initiative.
This first workshop in Guatemala marks the beginning of a series of meetings to be held in several Latin American and Caribbean countries, aimed at exchanging experiences, formulating strategies, and identifying focal points for the establishment of national women’s energy networks.
Through the Work Plan and the consolidation of RedLACME, OLADE reaffirms its commitment to a more inclusive, participatory, and sustainable energy future for the region.
