Mission
To advance the presence, participation and shared responsibility of women and men in society, so that development and a life of dignity become possible, through training and education.
About us
A plural, interdisciplinary organization with more than twenty years of experience in Venezuela and across Latin America.
Our history and legacy
Since our founding in 2002, FUNDEMUL has grown into a plural, interdisciplinary organization with more than twenty years of experience behind it. Our history begins with the initiative of María Bello de Guzmán and a team of women and men who saw what was needed: the full development of women, and complete respect for the dignity of every person.
We are a democratic organization, and we work without pause to promote concrete goals and actions that help eliminate discrimination in all its forms. Our calling is to be agents of change in every sphere of public and private life, examining relationships of power against a standard of liberty, shared responsibility, solidarity and justice.
Over twenty years we have committed ourselves to a new democratic model of society, one where the social, political and economic relationships between the State and its citizens rest on that same standard of liberty and shared responsibility. Our commitment is to building peace, democracy and civic participation, so that a life of dignity and respect is guaranteed for everyone.
Vision
We are working toward a new democratic model of society, and of the social, political, economic and cultural relationships between women, men and the State, that guarantees liberty, democracy, justice, equal opportunity, respect and shared responsibility. A model in which every form of discrimination, inequality and inequity has been rooted out, and in which human rights and the fundamental right to life are respected.
Leadership biographies
Held together by a shared vision of equity and empowerment for all women.
María Bello de Guzmán
Founder
María Bello de Guzmán, who died in 2019, served as president of FUNDEMUL Venezuela until 2018 and was a tireless defender of dignity, social justice and the rights of women. Across a distinguished political and international career she served as a deputy, a city councilor, and president of the National Council for Women, representing Venezuela at key gatherings such as the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. She was awarded high honors, among them the Order of the Liberator.
Virginia Magdalena Rivero Lozada
President
A legal professional and educator specializing in Human Rights and in the rights of women and the family. She is known for her leadership as Executive President of FUNDEMUL Venezuela and for her representative and international work with the OAS, the United Nations, and organizations such as the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (UMOFC/WUCWO). Her career also carries deep experience in pedagogy and non-formal education for training leaders, in social outreach, institutional development and peacebuilding, along with her editorial work as editor of the UMOFC magazine «Voz de las Mujeres». Languages: Spanish, English, German and French.
Debora Carpio de Cabrera
Vice President
A Venezuelan attorney specializing in the law of women and the family, she is a co-founder and Vice President of FUNDEMUL Venezuela, a position from which she advances women’s leadership, social justice and community empowerment. With more than twenty years of service as a Caracas city councilor and as a former director in the state government, she chaired the commission on civic participation and holds a long political record as a leader within COPEI and as a representative of her country before the OAS and the CIM.
Rosa Virginia Cabrera
Director
Rosa Virginia Cabrera is a Venezuelan attorney specializing in public law and a university lecturer, with a long record in public service at institutions including the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, and as legal director at Gómez Cabrera & Asociados. Since 2001 she has also driven the defense of human rights and the strengthening of democratic governance through FUNDEMUL, advancing the development of women and of communities in vulnerable circumstances.
Cefora Contreras de Martínez
Co-founder
A graduate in Letters and a prominent political leader, she served as a city councilor in Caracas and in what was then Vargas State, today La Guaira, where she built a long record of leadership and commitment to the community. She chaired the Commission on Childcare Centers and represented Venezuela at the Beijing Congress, and is remembered as an unwavering advocate for the rights of women and for the strength of the family.
María García de Fleury
Advisor
A professor at the Santa Rosa de Lima Seminary, affiliated with Universidad Javeriana. She directs and hosts the weekly television program «Abriendo Caminos». She produces short radio and YouTube segments on hope, the social doctrine of the Church and holiness for an AM/FM circuit of 115 stations across Venezuela. She hosts two weekly hour-long programs, «Inteligencia para la Paz» and «Genio Femenino», on ESNE Radio in California, United States, and produces daily three-minute audio pieces on the saint of the day or on an event of interest.
Our logo
Our logo shows a family in which the one who holds it up, the «sostén», is the mother: a woman who fights and who protects. Its central figure is love, drawn as a heart in graphic form.
Love moves us as the highest value. Family and love are our foundation.