When I opened a window in my schedule last February, I was thinking of warm weather, a different culture and learning Spanish. Events led me to Ecuador.

“I don’t know much about that country,” said more than one colleague.

“What’s in Ecuador?” others asked. One or two added: “And where is that again?”

I myself knew embarrassingly little about this country, which has much to teach the world about cultural diversity, leadership, economic inclusion and change.

Without reading further, answer these questions:

1. Where is Ecuador?
2. What is its capital?
3. How big is it?
4. What are the main cultural influences in Ecuador?
5. Name two things for which Ecuador is famous.
6. Who is Ecuador’s current President?

I am not sure how many of these questions I could have answered two months ago.

Ecuador, as some might remember from middle-school geography, gets its name from its location on the equator.  It sits on the west coast of South America between Columbia to the north and Peru to the south and east. Ecuador covers an area about the size of the state of Oregon, and is improbably diverse in its biology, geography and culture. In one hectare of the Yasuni National Park, for example, there are as many insect species as are known in all of the U.S. and Canada put together. (BTW: One hectare is a little under 12,000 square yards, or a little less than two football fields, and only three countries have not officially adopted the metric system: the United States, Myanmar and Liberia.)

Ecuador is made of up four distinct regions: the Sierra (Andes), the Oriente (Amazon), the coast and the Galapagos. Evidence of multiple indigenous cultures can be traced back more than 9,000 years. By the 1500s, however, invading Incas had consolidated control over the region and colonized local communities. When the Inca ruler died in 1526, that empire was unconventionally divided between his two sons. The split inheritance led to civil war at just about the time that Francisco Pizarro and the Spanish Conquistadors arrived. The weakened Incan empire was easily conquered.

Because of their importance in both pre-colonial and colonial periods, the capital city of Quito and the historic town of Cuenca have both been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Galapagos, however, was the first property to ever receive this designation.

Courtyard of the Palacio de Carondelet, seat of the Ecuadorian government

Ecuador fought for independence during the early 1800s, freeing itself from Spain in 1822 and joining the visionary General Simón Bolívar’s Gran Columbia for eight years before becoming the Republic of Ecuador in 1830. I didn’t know this history, though, so when I saw Quito streets named after certain days, I asked my driver what day independence was celebrated. He shook his head and said, “We have many days.” I thought he was covering his own uncertainty but it was likely my own ignorance showing.

While Ecuador has had a turbulent history since independence, perhaps no period saw greater tumult than the latter part of the 20^th century. Prior to the ascent of current president Rafael Correa in 2007, Ecuadorians had seven presidents in 10 years.

Correa, an American-trained economist, and his administration rewrote the Ecuadorian Constitution by public mandate in 2008. It was the country’s 20^th constitution and the first in the world to protect the rights of nature. It is written in perfectly inclusive language, beginning with the Preamble, and there is a full chapter entitled, “Inclusion and Equity.” 

Poverty remains high, particularly among Ecuador’s indigenous people, but the country now enjoys greater stability than at any time in recent history. Ecuador is in the process of a transformation and its people are engaged. In February, Correa was overwhelmingly elected to a second term with 58% of the vote and a voter turnout of more than 81%.

When I returned to a U.S. airport after travel delays and other difficulties, I talked with two police officers about a solution to a minor challenge of the moment. One of them stopped me as I spoke and said, “Where did you say you were you coming from again?”

“Quito,” I said.

He said, “That’s in Japan, right?”

Jody Alyn works with organizations that want to bridge gaps, solve complex problems effectively and improve results. She is pictured here above Quito, Ecuador. Contact

This is the third post in a series.