Eliane Karp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eliane Karp
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אליאן קארפ
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Karp in 2009
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| First Lady of Peru | |
| In role 28 July 2001 – 28 July 2006 |
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| Preceded by | Nilda Jara de Paniagua |
| Succeeded by | Pilar Nores de García |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Eliane Chantal Karp
24 September 1953 Paris, France |
| Citizenship |
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| Nationality | Israeli |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Stanford University (PhD) Hebrew University of Jerusalem (BA) |
| Profession | Anthropologist |
Eliane Chantal Karp Toledo (born 24 September 1953) is an anthropologist from Peru. She was the First Lady of Peru from 2001 to 2006. She held this role as the wife of Alejandro Toledo, who was the president of Peru during that time. Eliane Karp is an expert in studying the ancient and modern cultures of the Andes Mountains.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Eliane Karp was born in Paris, France. Her family had Jewish roots from Belgium and Poland. During World War II, her father, Charles Karp, was part of the French Resistance, a group that fought against the occupation of France.
Her Schooling and Degrees
Karp finished her high school studies at the French Lycée in Brussels in Belgium. She then earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. She focused on studying Latin America. Later, she received a Master of Arts degree and a PhD in anthropology from Stanford University in the United States.
She also took classes about native communities at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She did more advanced studies in anthropology and economic development at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
Marriage and Family Life
While studying at Stanford University, Eliane Karp met Alejandro Toledo. They got married in 1972. Karp first visited Peru in the late 1970s to learn about its native communities. In 1992, Karp and Toledo divorced, and she moved back to Israel with their daughter. However, they remarried and returned to Peru before her husband's election campaign in 1995.
Professional Career
Eliane Karp has had a varied career, working for international groups and in academics.
Working for Global Organizations
In 1980, Karp started working for international organizations. These included the OAS, UNICEF, and UNDP. She helped measure how well development projects were working for native populations.
From 1982 to 1987, she was a consultant for the Agency for International Development (USAID) in Lima, Peru. After that, from 1987 to 1992, she worked at the World Bank in Washington D.C. There, she was a project officer for Latin America and Africa. Karp also worked for the European Investment Bank and Bank Leumi, focusing on international banking relationships.
Teaching and Research
More recently, Karp has been a professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. She was also a visiting professor and scholar in the Anthropology department at Stanford University.
She was a special fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. She also taught as a visiting professor at Salamanca University in Spain.
Role as First Lady of Peru
When her husband, Alejandro Toledo, ran for president in 2001, Eliane Karp played a big part in his campaign. She wore traditional Andean clothes and spoke to voters in Quechua, a native language. This showed their dedication to issues important to native people. Her energetic speeches made her well-known.
In 2001, Toledo was elected president, and Karp became the First Lady of Peru. She held this position until 2006. During her time as First Lady, she became the honorary president of a fund that helps native communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
CONAPA: Helping Native Communities
Soon after Toledo became president, his government created the National Commission on Andean, Amazon, and Afro-Peruvian Communities (CONAPA). Eliane Karp was the president of this commission. Its goal was to create plans for native communities, make sure their interests were heard in the government, and work towards new laws that would help them.
Some people felt the commission was not very effective because it lacked funding. However, others noted that it did good work. For example, it helped promote a section on native rights in the new constitution. Eliane Karp also often supported or defended native initiatives.
Some critics thought that having the First Lady lead the commission was not ideal. They believed a government minister should have been in charge instead. There were also concerns that Karp's leadership of CONAPA might conflict with her own private organization, Fundación Pacha. In 2003, partly due to these concerns, Karp stepped down from CONAPA. The commission was then changed into a national institute.
Machu Picchu Artifacts
During her husband's presidency, Karp was involved in talks with Yale University. These discussions were about returning over 350 ancient artifacts to Peru. These items were found at Machu Picchu around 1915 and sent to Yale for a short time. Peru wanted them back. The National Geographic Society and Senator Christopher Dodd supported Peru. The talks stopped when Yale did not agree that Peru was the only owner of the artifacts. However, discussions started again later.
Karp wrote an article saying that Yale seemed to wait until Peru had a new president who was less focused on native issues. She also criticized an agreement made in 2008. This agreement said Peru would have to build a museum and research center to Yale's standards before getting some of the artifacts back. Most of the items would stay at Yale.
Pacha Foundation for a Change
In 2001, Karp started Fundación Pacha. This is a non-profit group that works on development projects for native Peruvians. The foundation focuses on creating projects that help communities grow in a lasting way. It also helps people develop skills to use Peru's natural resources and promote ecotourism.
Karp led the organization until 2006. Pacha's small projects included giving vaccinations for diseases like yellow fever and malaria to people in the Amazon. They also helped build basic community centers and provided medical equipment in rural areas with native populations.
In 2002, Karp asked billionaire Bill Gates for money to fund a vaccination program. Gates decided to focus his humanitarian efforts in Africa and China instead. Karp has since said she felt it was unfair to ignore Peru, as conditions in rural Peru can be as difficult as in other poor areas.
Current Activities
Eliane Karp continues to be involved in important causes.
Supporting Rights for Native People and Women
Karp has shown her support for having more women in the Peruvian congress. She believes that setting quotas can help achieve this goal.
In March 2012, Karp returned to Peru to teach anthropology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. She also announced that she would write a book. This book would explore how native populations become part of the democratic political process.
In May 2012, Karp spoke at a human rights conference at Stanford University. She called for discussions about the rights of native peoples in Peru. Karp stated that "social inclusion and equal citizenship are key factors for good governance." She also said that the native way of looking at the world should be respected and included in government plans.
In October 2012, Karp shared her experience meeting Aung San Suu Kyi, a famous human rights activist. Karp found the meeting inspiring and was impressed by Suu Kyi's calm nature despite being imprisoned for many years. Karp compared this to meeting the Dalai Lama, who lives away from his home country. She urged support for a petition to the United Nations to help fight human rights violations.
Published Works
- Karp de Toledo, Eliane. Los pueblos indígenas en la agenda democrática: Estudios de caso de Bolivia, Ecuador, México y Perú. Corporación Andina de Fomento, 2006.
- Karp de Toledo, Eliane: Allin Kausaynapaq, Interculturalidad y participación: Para vivir mejor con nosotros mismos. Office of the First Lady of the Nation. Lima, 22 May 2006.
- Karp de Toledo, Eliane: La Diversidad Cultural y los ciudadanos del Sol y La Luna – Propuestas para la inclusión social y el desarrollo con identidad de los pueblos originarios del Perú. Office of the First Lady of the Nation. Lima, 30 November 2004.
- Karp de Toledo, Eliane; Lema Tucker, Linda (eds.): El Tema Indígena en Debate. Aportes para la Reforma Constitucional. Presented in the Congress of the Republic of Peru. Office of the First Lady of the Nation. Lima, April 2003.
- Karp de Toledo, Eliane: Hacia una nueva Nación, Kay Pachamanta. Office of the First Lady of the Nation. Lima, July 2002. Second Edition, October 2002. Third Edition, June 2003.
See also
In Spanish: Eliane Karp para niños
