Guatemala. In this new age of the internet information superhighway, the key is language and knowledge of technology. English is the language of instant international communication, especially on the internet.
English has been for the last century the language of the most avant guard scientific publications. If you did not publish in English, nobody in the rest of the world would even know this information existed, or that the author existed.
If it was not in English, scientists where invisible.
In development projects it is very noticeable still today, the locals do the work, the people from USA or Europe come in and publish with their names as principal authors. In Archeology it is the same pattern, Guatemalans do the groundbreaking work, writers of international news agencies and magazines publish it with their names as authors. And we feel so proud and grateful because somebody has published something beautiful about Guatemala. But the Guatemalans remain invisible.
There is no blaming anybody or any organization, this is the system, this is how it works. The lesson learned is: you have to write and you have publish, otherwise you do not exist, and English is the default language in this point in time.
It is urgent that the schools and Universities in Guatemala teach the English language and English writing, in any career. The Guatemalan scientists, archeologists, inventors, journalists and writers will remain largely invisible to the world without the almighty tool of the written word in English.
Most importantly, the world image of a country is defined by what is written and published about it in the international news media. Guatemala has a terrible image, all written and published and filmed usually by foreigners with their own agendas.
By this I am not saying that we are the perfect country, or that everything is well. But we are, by all means, much better than our image. Do we have problems, serious problems, yes we do, and so do most countries in the world.
Do we have crime, yes we do, so does Sicily, downtown Miami and Moscow. Do we have poverty, yes we do, so does Thailand, Cambodia and Brazil, considered some of the most beautiful and interesting tourism hot spots in the world. Do we have corruption, yes, so does Saudi Arabia and Russia. Do we have ecological problems, yes, so does Mexico and Costa Rica. Do we have human rights violations, yes, so does the USA and China.
I am risking the criticism of my well meaning rigorous fellow journalists and researcher who can say that my arguments are fallacies.
It all depends on what is your criteria and compared to what standards.
The best example of how well country image building works is Costa Rica. In the last 12 years Costa Rica has launched a massive world wide public relations campaign in English and European languages.
The presence of many Americans and some Europeans in Costa Rica, who have the technological and promotional "know how", have enriched this process astronomically. There are thousands and thousands of websites in English and other languages that promote everything Costa Rican. They have the connections with the international press and media in general that gives them a privileged place in the sun of the international spotlight. Everything about Costa Rica is image, and it has worked very well for them so far.
Guatemala needs to learn from other successful experiences. We are 10 years behind in the use of the cyber technology. "The Know How" already exists; it only has to be implemented.
Foto. Ignacio de Wit