Belmopan - 11 May, 2001.

The National Advisory Commission (NAC) has been sponsoring a series of workshops for teachers on the history of the Guatemalan claim. While the target has been primary school teachers, the participants in the three workshops that have been held to date were teachers from primary to tertiary, students and the general public. Mr. Herman Byrd, the Association of Tertiary Level Schools of Belize (ATLIB) representative on the National Advisory Commission, organized the workshops.

The first workshop was held in Dangriga on Friday, March 2, 2001. About twenty teachers attended the session at the Dangriga Town Hall. This seminar included a presentation on the history of the claim from 1821 to 1859, a talk on the 1859 Anglo-Guatemalan Convention, and speech on Developments in Belize-Guatemala relations since 1999.

The Toledo District was the site of the second workshop. The session was opened with a discussion on British rule in Belize in the 18th century. In addition to this, Dr. Ludwig Palacio a member of the Belize-Guatemalan Mixed Commission, spoke on the current state of affairs and the facilitation process.

On Monday, April 30, 2001 over three hundred high school and sixth form students, teachers, and administrators attended the third workshop, which was led by the Corozal Association for Studies in Education (CASE) at Corozal Community College (CCC). Ambassador James Murphy, Senior Director of International Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened this session with a review of the current situation. He made a point of noting that the workshop was being held on the very day that the Belize government presented its position paper on the claim to the Facilitators in the current negotiations. Mr. Elizardo Ricalde, lecturer at UB followed him; he emphasized the treaty is a boundary one and not a treaty of cession as the Guatemalan Government claims.

At the workshop teachers were given some key documents to enhance their knowledge of the claim and their teaching. At the last two workshops copies of the 1859 treaty were distributed since many Belizeans have not read it. Two more workshops will be held - one in Orange Walk and another in Belize City -- before the start of the new school year. The National Advisory Commission is confident that the participants will become better informed both of the history of the claim and of the present negotiation process and so be better able to share their knowledge with their students.