With an attendance of almost 700 people from 32 different communes in Chile, was the second National Meeting of Social Involvement, in Cunco, located in Chilean Araucanía.
The National Meeting of Social Involvement or ENVS, the abbreviation in Spanish, was an event organized by Balloon Latam, 3xi and the Municipality of Cunco. They brought together rural entrepreneurs, recognized actors and social figures like the Minister of Social Development Alfredo Moreno to, international representatives and leaders from different sites of action from around the country, take part in the theme: social linkage and the exchange of experiences.
Florencia Mesa, National Director of Balloon Latam Chile, explained the expectations previous to the start of the gathering: “We were hoping to get together the big Balloon family that we are. We wanted people to meet us to create dialogue, to get rid of prejudices, tell our stories and from there prepare us for what is to come”.
Among the attendees was our team Karün, an organization, collaborator and friend of Balloon Latam. Karün had the privilege of being invited to participate and the team shared beautiful moments with the other attendees. “We came to meet, to connect with the people and to learn so that we can really deepen our view of how a country can be more fair and inclusive”, said Thomas Kimber, founder of Karün, previous to the start of the #ENVS.
The event consisted of 59 conversation tables, more than 650 rural entrepreneurs shared experiences with their peers, giving each other advice, wisdom and good memories, all guided by the monitors of the meeting.
At the end of the event, when the two instances of conversations tables were over and with full bellies, the Mapuche community dignified the closure of the meeting. Mesa closed the ceremony saying: “We are very happy with how the meeting unfolded. There were 59 conversations tables where differents themes were spoken about. We all enjoyed it as participants, not only as a team. It is important to be dedicated to bond, to listen to others and connect with the heart”.
A pleasant visit
Days later, in a follow up meeting Karün as a team invited our beloved friend, Karina (a rural entrepreneur and important part from the Mapuche community in our country) to share her experiences. She visited us at the Karün HQ in Puerto Varas, where we talked about Mapuche traditions, she shared the indigenous worldviews of coexistence and we discussed how to do the things with more consideration of the Mapuche community here in Chile, both as a company and as people.
At the end of the meeting, she brought Mari Mari the Mapuche name for a gift for us, a handmade necklace of a Cultrún, that symbolizes to never forget our roots and always find ourselves in tune with the desire to do the things well. Thanks Karina!
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