CATAPA is a social and environmental movement that uses a participatory and integrated approach to work towards a world without mining of metals and minerals and its negative impact on people and the environment.

In Latin America, CATAPA supports local communities that are (potentially) affected by mining in their region. Catapa’s focus is on stopping new big scale mining projects from executing. 

For the years to come, CATAPA is campaigning on ‘the Right to Say No’. Communities that oppose mining projects face severe repression and human rights violations, CATAPA defends their right to oppose and stop these projects. The Global Engagement Catapa Officer(GECO) will be an important link on the ground to make this campaign a reality. 

The GECO will follow up on the cooperation between CATAPA and the partner organization Grufides (http://grufides.org/) and support them through, among other things, the internationalization of the struggle against new mining projects. Grufides is based in the department of Cajamarca, in northern Peru. Grufides works on issues such as human rights violations, environmental protection and mining.

Grufides supports communities in a variety of ways. They provide legal guidance to communities that suffer from mining conflicts, work on combating climate change, perform water measurements in communities to verify pollution caused by mining, support communities in the field of citizen journalism, human rights education, environmental protection, etc. They also support women in their economic independence and focuses on economic alternatives to mining in the region. Grufides unites farming communities from different regions in the struggle for ecological justice and works to stop new mining projects in the region.

Currently Grufides has three ongoing projects with CATAPA: on climate change, water monitoring, and women’s rights. In addition, they have mostly large projects around legal support for human rights defenders/women. Currently, there are several emerging mining projects that threaten the Cajamarca region. Grufides is mainly active in the provinces of Cajamarca, Bambamarca, Celendín, and Cajabamba.

Tasks Description

• Follow up on large-scale mining projects in Cajamarca (and by extension in Peru).
• Provide external communication on local and national current affairs on mining, extractivism, and social movements. This can be done through blogs, news articles and photos on CATAPA’s website and social media. Inform CATAPA and its supporters about recent developments in these topics.
• Deliver information and material to strengthen our campaigns in Belgium. Collect visual content and documentation on emblematic cases for the Right to Say No campaign.
• Prepare new projects with the partner organization: Write funding applications in collaboration with our partners and help with the implementation, follow-up and evaluation of these projects. 
• Contribute to strengthening the operations of partner organization GRUFIDES.
• Consult and participate within the different partnerships, locally and internationally. 
• Participate in online meetings with volunteers from CATAPA (Catapistas) and provide input on how we strengthen collaboration.
• Share expertise within CATAPA with the partners. Give presentations and workshops. 

Profile

• You are at least 21 years old.
• You have a very good knowledge (spoken and written) of Spanish. You are fluent in Dutch or English. 
• A link with CATAPA is a plus (e.g. you have been active with us in the past, you have collaborated in some way with us, you have written a thesis with us…)
• You have social and communicative skills.
• You function well both independently and in a team.
• You are diplomatic and handle potentially conflictive situations with carefulness and discretion.
• You show openness and respect for cultural differences and can adapt to different environments and organizational forms.
• Knowledge of mining, social movements, gender, environmental protection or water pollution is an asset.
• You are interested in an engagement within CATAPA upon return.
• You are willing to familiarize yourself with the themes of CATAPA and the partner organization before your departure in Belgium and participate in various training moments, including the CATAPA movement weekend from September 30 – October 2, ’22.

Period

Departure autumn 2022 (October/November). Will be for 1 year, with an intermittent evaluation after 6 months. You will be based in Cajamarca, Peru. 

We offer

• Preparation before departure and supervision and follow-up during the stay.
• Full travel insurance.
• Visa refund.
• A contribution to the living expenses (500 euros/month).
• A contribution to the plane ticket to Cajamarca, Peru(€800 max). 

Interested?

Send your CV and motivation letter to charlotte.christiaens@catapa.be at the latest on September 11. We will invite the selected candidates within 14 days after the deadline for an exploratory meeting at the CATAPA office.  

CATAPA is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion.

More information?

Contact charlotte.christiaens@catapa.be or maxime.degroote@catapa.be

CATAPA
Maria Hendrikaplein 5 bus 401   9000 Ghent
www.catapa.be