The newest CALI class recently concluded their first seminar, The Challenge of Leadership,this past November 28th to December 3rd, in La Reunion, outside of colonial Antigua Guatemala. The seminar, moderated by Harry Strachan, Stace Lindsay and Diego de Sola, emphasized on the attributes of effective leaders, for example Ghandi and Nelson Mandela. Fellows also discussed and analyzed Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jailand Niccholo Machiavelli’s, The Prince, amongst other readings. All Fellows shared insightful comments and reflections on the texts.

This past December 8th, Salvadoran CALI VI Fellows, Hugo Martinez, Claudia Umaña, Rodrigo Simán, and Tomás Calderón, signed the bylaws for their Fundación DTJ (Democracy, Transparency and Justice) in San Salvador before twenty -eight outstanding Salvadoran attendees. Board members were also elected during Fundacion DTJ’s launching event. The new initiative will promote dialogue and trust building, with the purpose of reducing the high polarization levels in Salvadoran society.

The CALI team is proud to announce the graduation of the self-proclaimed ‘CALIente’ class this past Thursday, October 27th in Panama. Prior to graduation, the CALI V group attended The Promise of Leadership seminar moderated by Stace Lindsay, Harry Strachan and Sylvia Gereda. The seminar took place in Playa Bonita, a short car ride away from Panama City.

On Wednesday, August 3rd TVN awarded and recognized ten individuals and organizations as "heroes"—an initiative envisioned by Sabrina Bacal, a CALI II Fellow.

October 11th, 2011 – The CALI Foundation – The Central America Leadership Initiative Foundation, in conjunction with its founding organizations, INCAE, The Aspen Institute, FUNDEMAS and TechnoServe, and regional members of the board, are proud to announce the selection of a seventh class of 24 outstanding Fellows, four from each of the six countries of Central America.

Fundación Calicanto’s CAPTA Program (Fellow Hildegard Vasquez’s leadership project) joined GlobalGiving.org In April to raise money sustain its job training program for unemployed women of Panama’s Casco Antiguo. Alexander Turnbull, a Global Giving intern was able to attend a CAPTA course graduation and shares his experience.

By Alexander Turnbull - GlobalGiving Intern

Walbin Sanchez, a CALI IV Fellow from Costa Rica, is making a difference in the lives of hundreds of low-income women in the Guanacaste area through his leadership project. Walbin—a gynecologist and director of San Rafael Arcangel Medical Center—has set out to help women detect and cure cancer at an early stage.

Some patients did not know the cause of their cramps, bleeding or missing periods; instead, they endured them in hopes that a simple tea would make it better.

By Ariel Schwartz.

Sylvia Gereda, a founder of El Periodico, the first independent newspaper in Guatemala, is making sure her country has the benefit of a free and vigorous press.

Journalism is perhaps the best tool for exposing corruption; once corrupt institutions are shoved into the spotlight, they tend to shrink back. But while some of us in the U.S. take quality investigative journalism for granted, real reporting isn't easy to come by in other countries. Enter Sylvia Gereda, one of the founders of Guatemala's first independent newspaper.

From July 6th – 10th, 2011, ACT II—the Biennial Gathering of Fellows from across the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN)—was held in Aspen, Colorado.

This year's theme was "Stepping Up" and more than 200 Fellows from 27 countries made the trip to Aspen to share experiences and inspire their colleagues to continue to "step up" and create meaningful change around the world.

From July 25th – 31st the sixth CALI class, the self-proclaimed SIXnificance, gathered at INCAE’s Walter Kissling Gam campus in Alajuela, Costa Rica for “The Aspen Seminar”– their second in a series of four leadership seminars that comprise the Fellowship.