Youth of El Salvador: Fighting to make migration an option, not a necessity

CISPES de Santa Cruz is thrilled to announce that Alba Santana, the Director of Social, Environmental, and Cultural Inclusion of El Salvador's National Youth Institute will be speaking at the Beach Flats Community Center on Sunday November 16th at 4pm. There will be time after Alba speaks to meet community and university activists and enjoy light refreshments.

The US has spent almost half a billion dollars on the drug war in Central America over the past four years, while the power of drug cartels has seen no evident decrease. In the meantime, 66% of migrant children cite violence by armed organizations as a motivation to migrate. The Salvadoran government is looking for alternative approaches to addressing violence. Alba will be speaking about the root causes of migration for Salvadoran youth, and the innovative programs the Salvadoran government is implementing to make migration a choice, not an obligation.

More information about the speaker:

Alba Santana
Director of Social, Environmental and Cultural Inclusion
National Youth Institute (INJUVE), Government of El Salvador

Alba Santana joined INJUVE in June, 2014, with the inauguration of the administration of President Salvador Sánchez Cerén. INJUVE is the government agency tasked with implementing the executive’s National Policy for Youth, and works to “promote the holistic development of the youth population” as “strategic actors in the country’s development.” Their programs focus on access to education, job training and placement, healthcare promotion, youth cultural activities, violence prevention, youth participation, recreation and sport. Alba oversees the sub-Directorate of Social, Environmental and Cultural Inclusion where, in coordination with national and local youth groups, she works to prioritize the needs of youth within historically marginalized sectors, particularly indigenous peoples, women, people with disabilities and the LGBTQ community. Regarding the high rates of migration of young people out of El Salvador, Alba says, “It should be an option to travel or leave the country, not an obligation. Which is why INJUVE coordinates with other institutions to create spaces for development and opportunities for young people.”

Originally from the town of Jayaque, in El Salvador’s central province of La Libertad, Alba is currently pursuing a degree in architecture at the University of El Salvador. She also serves as Assistant Secretary of the Youth Secretariat of the governing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party, where she coordinates relations with the youth organizations of other leftist political parties in Latin America. Additionally, she is part of the FMLN’s International Relations Secretariat and a member of the FMLN’s National Council since 2010.