Colombia: Cultural spaces for the construction of peace

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from RPTV Noticias

Young people have a role in building peace. This is how the organizations that make up the youth fabric have understood it, a group from the town of Rafael Uribe Uribe in Bogotá, one of the towns most effected by the armed conflict in the capital.


Video of Cultural Spaces

“What we want to show is that we have a conscience, we want a change and we are doing things to make that change real. Relating to the territory gives me the sense of belonging to the place where I have grown up, where I have been and it makes me realize the realities that are around me, ”said Nicolás Chávez.

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(Click here for the article in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

How important is community development for a culture of peace?

Do the arts create a basis for a culture of peace?, What is, or should be, their role in our movement?

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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With their actions the youth have worked to generate new ways of appropriating the territory, preventing violence and promoting inclusion through artistic expressions.

In this community work, the main protagonists are young people, who with art and culture reflect leadership as a fundamental pillar to transform their spaces.

“The initiative of the murals is the demilitarization of life. It is one of the most beautiful ways of expressing what we feel. It is a way of reaching young people since it is a part with which they identify,” said Sofia Alfonso Cantor.

Youth fabric interprerts peace as a space for exchange, based on respect and collective participation.

This is how Nicolás Chavez, resident of the Rafael Uribe Uribe town and who participates in these conferences, highlighted the importance of these spaces: “for us the construction of peace is a state of well-being, to be among everyone, in a place, a space where we can all feel good ”.

Youth fabric that is part of the research carried out by the Compaz Foundation, for its appropriation of the territory to build citizenship, to promote dialogue and collective decision-making, a clear example of the role played by civil society organizations in the building a culture of peace.