The Fundación Paraguaya presented the publication called, The Poverty Stoplight, as an international experience, in a meeting that included the participation of the Minister of Agriculture of Ecuador, Xavier Lazo, as one of the main panelists. The Government of Ecuador has been the first in the region to apply this multidimensional poverty elimination methodology created by the founder of Fundación Paraguaya, Martín Burt, who was also one of the speakers of the event.

Ana Botero, the Director of Social Innovation of CAF (Development Bank of Latin America), an organization that promotes the Poverty Stoplight in the region, participated in a virtual mode in the meeting as a guest. The panel was intended to be an opportunity to speak and reflect on the impact of this methodology (Poverty Stoplight), as a tool for social innovation, in addition to presenting research conducted on it as an experience of ending poverty throughout the region.

The Ecuador experience, where a pilot plan of working with families from rural areas began last year and has become official this year, was contributed by Minister Lazo, who in February 2019 came with his staff to the Cerrito Agricultural School to learn about in-depth use of this methodology. “I am completely sure that this Stoplight tool is what will make our community succeed,” said the minister.

For his part, the executive director of Fundación Paraguaya, Martín Burt, talked about feeling good because a Paraguayan methodology is helping communities, and in this case, a foreign government. “We could have never imagined that with the Poverty Stoplight we were going to cross borders and with the Government of Ecuador, that fills us with pride,” he said.

He also highlighted the role of families, the main axis to get out of poverty. “We know that we can move the poverty of Paraguay to the museum, we must listen to the families, use technology to ask them what their specific needs are, accompany them and encourage them,” added Burt.

Representatives of civil society and companies that apply the Poverty Stoplight methodology in our country, also attended the presentation.