Participating in the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) in 2017, was one of the best professional and personal experiences of my life. Knowing how the US Justice System for Children works made me visualize that there are innovative and dynamic programs that are very different from the ones we traditionally use in Panama to treat children and adolescents who face the criminal process. With will, due planning, and budget these could be implemented in my country.
In this experience, I was joined by the company of more than 15 colleagues from different countries in 4 continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and America), who faced similar problems in different social realities. I still maintain contact with many of them through social media, which indicates that the relationships generated can be lasting.
Since that moment, my professional path has not stopped. After I came back to Panama, I was able to share with the Criminal Prosecutors for Youth the knowledge and experiences acquired from my position as Senior Prosecutor in charge of the Directorate of the Public Ministry’s School. Subsequently, I continued the institutional path occupying the position of General Secretary of the Public Ministry, and I currently work as Senior Prosecutor in charge of the Criminal Prosecution Policy Secretariat of the Attorney General’s Office, always trying to contribute to the organization and adding value to it through legal and academic contributions.
If I had to describe the IVLP experience with a keyword, it would be inspiring. I recently had the opportunity to participate in a forum organized by the USA Embassy in Panama, called “Women in the criminal justice and security sectors”, to commemorate International Women’s Day, an occasion in which I shared one of the experiences lived in 2017 when I visited AMIKIDS at the Escambia Boys Base in Pensacola, Florida. On that occasion, one of the boys who was in that program asked me how to become a prosecutor, expressing his desire to become one someday. This was after explaining to us -with the use of a pyramid- how they could gain a better status while the internment lasted: fulfilling their duties, studying, having good behavior, respecting their colleagues and their superiors. My answer was that it is the same path you follow to become a good professional in the area that you decide to perform.
Current times also demand us to have the capacity to adapt to changes and to innovate in order to continue contributing positively to society, and that is what I try to do.
IVLP Alumni
Delia De Castro Diaz
