The Mantra of Leadership goes to Dr. Epsy Campbell Barr

Leadership is neither masculine nor feminine, it just is and Dr. Epsy Campbell Barr embodies the spirit of a true leader.

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLOMBIA, USA, July 19, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Dr. Epsy Campbell is one of the staunch peace and human rights advocates of our generation and she is only getting better with time. She is the former Vice President of the Republic of Costa Rica (2018-2022) and former Minister of Foreign Affairs (2018), Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, Chairperson of the High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19 of the Pan American Health Organization, Member of the Jury of the Human Fraternity Award.

Dr. Campbell is more than just an Afro-Costa Rican leader and two-time Congresswoman, she is the main proponent of the Global Coalition Against Systemic Racism and for Reparations. She lectures internationally and is a constant researcher on issues of Social Inclusion, Human Development and Well-being, Anti-racism, Women and Human Rights, and rights of indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants. She has been recognized by the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) as one of the most important women of African descent in the world, in addition to receiving the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Justice in recognition of her work for the rights of people of African descent, she has received recognition from Forbes Magazine as one of the most powerful women in Latin America and the Caribbean (2019).

She was the coordinator of the Afro-Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Network, which focuses on the recognition, respect, and full exercise and protection of the human rights of the Afro-Costa Rican population, particularly women; coordinator of the Women’s Forum for Central American Integration; Member and Founder of the Center of Afro-Costa Rican Women, Founder of the Black Parliament of the Americas and Founder of the Women’s Forum for Central American Integration. She was a proponent in Costa Rica of the approval of the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (2016); a member of the Committee that prepared the “Regional Human Development Report (IRDH) for Latin America and the Caribbean: Multidimensional Progress” (2016) coordinated by UNDP; director of more than fifteen international research and author of 20 publications on social inclusion.

In the promotion of peace and defense of human rights, Dr. Campbell has worked in the following strategic areas at the national, regional, and international levels: LGBTQ+ Rights – As Vice President of the Republic of Costa Rica, she contributed to the promotion of a National Policy for an Equal Society Free of Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression, which included actions to promote respect for sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, the prevention and elimination of violence and discrimination against LGBTI people, as well as the recognition of the rights of same-sex couples.

Persons with disabilities – In the area of recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities, she has been a clear spokesperson at the national and international level to advance the inclusion of public policies for the visibility, inclusion, and participation of persons with disabilities based on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Further, she has promoted the inclusion of specific questions on disability as established by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics in censuses, specialized surveys, and administrative records, providing necessary information related to human rights and exclusion experienced by persons with disabilities, particularly women.

Indigenous People – She has more than 20 years of experience as a researcher in indigenous peoples’ rights and indigenous women’s rights, particularly oriented to the defense of their human rights, the promotion of political participation, indigenous women’s rights, culture, intercultural dialogue, the right to lands, territories, and resources. Dr. Campbell has worked with indigenous organizations and with multilateral agencies that promote the rights of indigenous peoples such as the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the International Land Coalition, the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC), Enlace Continental de Mujeres Indígenas (ECMIA), Mesa Nacional Indígena de Costa Rica, Asociación de Mujeres Indígenas de Talamanca, among others.

Women’s Rights – Dr. Campbell was the driving force behind the Gender Parity Initiative (GPI) with the Inter-American Development Bank, which seeks to identify and reduce the barriers that prevent women from having equal access to employment opportunities. This initiative was aimed at increasing women’s participation in the labor force, reducing the gender wage gap, and promoting the participation of women in leadership positions. She was also a promoter of the “Women’s Council”, a group formed to advise the Government of Costa Rica on issues of democratic governance, attention to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on women, and the economic empowerment of women.

Access to Education – She has been a researcher in education, intercultural education, and human rights education, recognizing that access to education is a human right enjoyed by all people and that it should be given with equal opportunities and free of all forms of discrimination, recognizing the contributions made by different populations to the construction of States, and with a human rights approach. Concerned about the high rates of inequality in education faced particularly by people of African descent, indigenous peoples, and people with disabilities, as well as those living in poverty or extreme poverty, she was the driving force behind the initiative “Law for Democratization of Access to State Universities for Public School Students” in Costa Rica.

The Afro-Costa Rican Women’s Center was founded in 1992 in the city of Puerto Limón, Costa Rica, as a political initiative of Afro-Costa Rican women who set out to work with specific issues related to their gender and race, as well as the Afro-Costa Rican population. Recognizing themselves as Costa Rican citizens, the founding women of the Center needed to actively contribute to the construction of just societies without discrimination of any kind. Since its founding and due to the Afro-descendant identity that transcends national borders, the women of the Center considered the need to work at the local, national, and regional levels. Dr. Campbell’s pursuit of justice, human rights, and peace is not slowing down anytime soon.

Ian Campbell
Manchester Global Solutions, Inc.
+1 202-709-3354
[email protected]
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VP Campbell speech