Motivation

Being the largest and most populated city of Ecuador, Guayaquil is known as the city that “makes money”. With nearly 3.1 million people in the metropolitan area, Guayaquil is located on the western bank of the Guayas River which flows into the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Guayaquil. Its convenient location makes this developed city, the center of Ecuador´s business and manufacturing industries. The city of Guayaquil takes pride of being the economic centre point of Ecuador. However, the poor air quality, busy noisy streets, and loud city noises doesn’t necessarily make the city a tourism hotspot. In fact, many tourism websites and books describe Guayaquil as a great central location to travel from, and that is not recommended to “stay in”.

“If you don’t like something, change it; if you can´t change it, change the way you think about it.” – Mary Engelbreit

Other Ecuadorian cities are much greener and they take pride in their biodiversity and protect it with care. Guayaquil understands that they cannot undo what has already been dug out and built on top of with concrete. Instead, they chose to promote their tourism ratings in a different way, and counties like Canada, have influenced them to make that decision. Today, the city of Guayaquil has a vision to become more sustainable in the coming decades, in terms of improving the quality of life of its people, and natural environment. Located in adeveloping country, Guayaquil is facing several intricate challenges, such as poverty, health issues, lack of education, insecurity, pollution, etc. On the other hand, the city has made efforts. In 2001 for example, the Mayor Jaime Nebot has started a successful urban regeneration process, working with different sectors through specific projects and programs for the development of the city.

Lunch break during the conference

They have also made their goal public, and the Ecuadorian-Canadian chamber of commerce created a conference that reunites both countries in the same room, where information and advice could be shared on how to become a sustainable and attractive city. On September 6th Lindsay and I attended the conference, which was entitled “A Green Future for Guayaquil, Ecuador: Building the Bridge with Vancouver, Canada – A shared perspective” The conference covered the topics of green building, renewable energy and sustainable tourism development in an urbanized setting.

“Setting an example s not the main means of influencing another, It is the only means.” - Albert Einstein. 

Speakers and Helpers

The conference was very interesting. There were 8 keynote speakers, 7 from Canada, and 1 from Ecuador. I learned that the city of Vancouver has a vision of becoming the Greenest city in the world by 2020. This conference in Guayaquil presented a great opportunity for both cities to share and learn from each others’ experiences and perspectives, especially because of their many similarities, including being port cities on the Pacific Coast. What made the conference even more interesting for me, were the diverse angles in which the presenters tackled the same topic. The group had everything from environmental consultants, trade commissioners, architects to engineers and conservationists that were promoting the slow food movement as a method to becoming more sustainable.

After each hour presentation there was a question session that opened up afterwards. The crowd at the conference was very diverse, there was hotel owners, developers and farmers, there were also many students that appeared and voiced their opinions as well. One of the questions that arose during the conference was: “how do you motivate people that do not want to change? How do you convince people that are poor, and care for nothing more than their next dollar at any price to change?” One of them men answered with a long list of the ways that it works so well in Canada. He mentioned governmental incentives for energy efficient buildings and homes, he also mentioned a “tourism tax” that exists in Vancouver. Hotels for example, have an additional tax that goes towards funding more energy efficient buildings and homes. He also mentioned that people having to pay a higher property tax and fee if they wanted to build anything that was not environmentally sustainable. “Our government takes a big role in promoting the change towards sustainability.” That was his final sentence. After he spoke, there was a short moment of silence, as if people were realizing that without governmental support, they would not get very far. The corruption within Ecuadorian government, as in many third world countries, is a crucial part of the country´s present situation. This suddenly changed the premise of the whole conference. Speaker after speaker, they were naming various ways in which they changed and adapted their organizations to become more sustainable. Today, people relate “sustainable building” to money, because everything comes with a price and for a country with a high poverty rate, that price may be unaffordable to most.

The presentation that followed the last one that I mentioned seemed to brighten up the silver lining in what looked like a dark hopeless hole. He was the only Ecuadorian keynote speaker and he spoke about his solar thermal energy organization named AV renewable Energy . What makes his organization so amazing through my eyes is the fact that part of the proceeds of their sales, go towards developing small rural communities of Ecuador. One of the communities that have already received their help is named, Isla Santay. It is a small very green island that can be seen with ease from the Malecon, or boardwalk, located in downtown Guayaquil. Boat rides are inexpensive, and I have made plans to go as soon as possible. He built a housing complex with solar panels on the roof that will guarantee running water, and electricity to people that had neither. 

At the end of the Conference, there was a roundtable discussion. With great questions and answers, the session ended on a very positive note. Canadians were motivating everyone to make a change! They congratulated them for being there, and getting informed, and they reminded the people that the collective will overpower the government every time.

“For nobody can transfer to another more power than he has in himself, and nobody has an absolute arbitrary power over any other. We were born free and we will die free” Two treaties of Civil government, II,123;93.

They didn’t suggest a riot, but they did suggest a green movement of likeminded people that raises awareness and present people with more opportunities to discuss issues such as sustainability.

There is something about getting inspired that wakes up the self motivation in me. It reminded me of a message that I already knew, but just needed to remind myself of. When I got home, that's exactly what I did, I wrote the following in my journal. “Every story has a beginning and this one begins with people like you, people that care. Spread the word, share the message, get involved and you will grow in numbers and power. Changes can be made, but you have to believe that with everything you have. Once you believe, you cannot fall. It all begins with a strong desire for change, good use of your support system and time dedication. You cannot underestimate yourself. There is no room for pessimism, or insecurities. The fear of failure is inevitable, but that very fear simply shows you how strong your desire to succeed is. A motivated positive mind will surprise you, once the inspiration is there, the rest is history. Stop doubting, stop pouting, and start picturing your successful outcome. It's realer than you think.”
 Re-reading what I wrote, was like hearing it for the first time. I even folded the end of my page, so I can read it again in times of discouragement. This conference was very inspiring for me in many ways. It reminded me of the power I possess, even if I feel helpless at times. Progress may be slow sometimes, but my motivation keeps me optimistic and patient.