Juan Saloj Pos wins CECI's Rosario Demers Award

It is with great enthusiasm that the Rosario Demers Award was presented to Mr. Juan Saloj Pos on the occasion of International Volunteer Day 2022. The Rosario Demers Award recognizes a volunteer involved in one of CECI's international cooperation programs who has demonstrated exceptional commitment and made a significant contribution to a CECI project.

Mr. Saloj Pos has completed two mandates as a national volunteer in the framework of Nouveau Québec sans Frontières and one mandate in the framework of the Volunteer Cooperation Program with our partner organization COINDI (Coopération Autochtone pour le Développement Intégral) in Guatemala. Mr. Saloj Pos has done remarkable work with COINDI and the women of the two Mayan communities that the association supports in terms of climate adaptation. He has facilitated several trainings with a collaborative, participatory and practical approach, greatly appreciated by the Mayan women.

Mr. Saloj Pos has accompanied the women in positioning themselves as key actors in resilience and adaptation to climate change in their communities. He has developed innovative methods for collecting rainwater and drying the medicinal herbs harvested by the women as part of their green businesses. The selection panel and the entire CECI team would like to salute and congratulate Mr. Saloj Pos for his contribution!

"Juan wins this award, because his impact was considerable at the level of local Guatemalan communities, all my congratulations!" - Ekué Sessi Afanou

CECI firmly believes in the power of voluntary cooperation as a development tool. In the current context of the pandemic, the commitment of volunteers like Mr. Saloj Pos, whether in the countries of programming or at a distance, has been crucial in supporting the efforts of our partners to act more effectively for the communities.

_{A few words about CECI's Rosario Demers Award CECI's
Rosario Demers Award recognizes the exceptional commitment of one of its volunteers. This award is named after Mr. Rosario Demers, who passed away in 2015. A humanist, intellectual and visionary, Mr. Demers left CECI a legacy of solidarity and altruism. His commitment and his conception of volunteerism and training have become models of volunteer support. He has led a whole series of actions, projects and teaching programs. He has been present at CECI since its creation. Finally, he has contributed to the training of volunteers and the public for more than 20 years on intercultural relations and how to approach work abroad.}