In the year 1992 within the Guatemalan Cultural Action Group the first steps were taken towards the organization of a group of local youth. While in refuge, they began to hold meetings and chats about the importance of the work of the youth. In the Quintana Roo community the first official group of youth for ACG was created in 1993. They began with 56 members. In July of 1993 they were able to hold their first official meeting entitled “The mission of Jesus, mission of the Youth” in Pueblo Nuevo Ixcán. At this meeting 254 youth participated from different communities such as the CPR’s, Southern Coast, and other return communities in the Ixcán, Campeche, Chiapas, and the Altiplano.

In the 9th General Assembly of ACG held on the 11th of March in 1994 and celebrated in the community of 20 de Enero, the Ixcán, El Quiché it was proposed that we form a directive group for youth on the general level of ACG. In compliance with this proposal at the 9th assembly, during a general meeting of ACG the structure was laid for a commission of youth.. This commission was called the Pastoral Coordination of Youth (COPAJ) with one representative from each zone. This commission had the following objectives: To organize the youth in order to strengthen their faith and help them in relating their lives and faith to other youth; To inspire the youth in the work of transforming society in agreement with the values of their culture, the designs and the concrete tasks of their community; To see the uniqueness of youth with and recongnize its dreams, problems, and challenges.

Since that day, the first tape of songs of Faith and Struggle was made, we have held training workshops, meetings, retreats, etc. Some of the themes of these events have been: The recuperation of culture and the Mayan spirituality, the mission of youth and the action of youth towards the process and fulfillment of the Peace Accords, the role of the youth toward the process of peace, the role of the youth on the cusp of the new millennium, the Mayan calendar, participation, self esteem, identity, the rights of the indigenous peoples, and the Mayan languages.

After the signing of the Peace Accords in December of 1996 life continued with a few changes to human rights but not in relation to our academic and systematic preparation. This was one of our given rights and for this reason in 1997 the youth of the Altiplano restarted their studies in a manner to see that the politics of the struggle were solidified for the marginalized population, the poor population, and the youth in their academic preparation. Thanks to ACG, who stood in solidarity with these youth, and formed an area of work and support for the youth in the Altiplano along with the rest of the zones. In the 8th assembly of ACG, this was seen as the rock foundation for the systematic education of the zones and currently we work with and provide small scholarships to 53 students in the Basic, Diversified, and Advanced levels of schooling. These groups of students meet four times a year in the various zones.

Other Current Projects
Traditional Weaving: This project was begun because of the demand of the youth in our communities who were without work and had to look for alternative methods of acquiring money to contribute to their families. The objective of this project is the creation of employment for youth and the recovery of cultural vales and traditional Mayan dress. It is a job that requires much patience, persistence, and responsibility. Currently there are 7 youth working on our traditional weaving project at the office and little by little they are increasing the quality of their work. There is a high demand for the production of these cortes that they have made since they have been bought by the same girls and women of the communities.

Dance Group: This group was formed in 1998 to provide more cultural activities, and because of the lack of Mayan presence in the current cultural activities. It was formed to study in the use of the marimba and to stress the importance of Mayan dress in the acts. We were missing these cultural values in the presentations that were performed in the communities and the youth were restless to do something with their talents. They looked to add their resourcefulness to the local, regional, and national ambiance. The objective of this group is to promote the artistic participation in the communities reflecting our cultural values (dance, music, and Mayan dress). The Dance Group contains 17 youth, both male and female, that have presented dances on the local, regional, and national level. The group is identified by the name "Oxlajuj Q’anil Q’um’arkaj".

Traditional Music Classes: There is a group of youth that has interest in strengthening the traditional music in the Mayan culture. This group is known also by the name "Oxlajuj Q’anil Q’um’arkaj" and accompanies the Dance Group at its different performances around the country. These performances have been done with a marimba though we currently lack the complementary instruments and the training to add them to the group. Very soon we will begin marimba classes to those interested at the ACG headquarters in Santa Cruz del Quiché.

Computer Classes: As science and technology are advancing, it is important that we keep pace in order to take advantage of technology in the working world.. In seeing that these skills are important in the preparation of the students we began a period of reinforcement for their skills at ACG. We held classes from February to May to assist in the computer education of our students and staff. We are currently trying to coordinate with various institutions that work with technological education so that ACG can give formal classes approved by the Ministry of Education and in 2005 we will be able to give classes on computers to our students and any others interested in our own computer center.

Painting and Art: This work was begun in 1999 because of the need to discover within our young people the diverse talents that they possess. Currently many of the schools do not possess programs of this type for the children. For this reason we have initiated this program with 50 children in 2005 from 8 communities. The children range from 8 to 16 years in age. The objective of this program is to: Discover in the children the artistic talents and engage them in active participation.

Sports: The youth group of ACG is working to form a sports league most specifically targeted at soccer with a men’s and women’s league. The first such tournament was conducted at the 15th anniversary of ACG. This is our first experience with sports and we hope that we will be able to extend the work to the other zones. The most interesting is the participation of the women and girls that historically have not had this opportunity. Again we hope that this will be a good thing.

English Courses: This is our latest project and we realized our pilot session of English Classes in October and November of 2004. We hope to realize more classes in 2005.

Artisans: In July of 2005 the Scholarship program of the ACG Youth began a new phase in the training of artisans. There are currently 8 youth of the ethnicity Maya K’iche’ (5 girls and 3 boys, ages 14-17 from the village of Pacajá that are being trained in Mayan painting on wood. If this pilot project is a success and if the youth are able to sell their products we hope to extend this training to youth of other Mayan communities and for those who are currently being trained to continue their studies.(More)