Tag Archives: Latin America

Colombia: Artists who were victims of the conflict unite their voices for peace in their regions

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from Noticias RCN

More than 45 artists who are victims of the conflict joined their voices to once again ask for peace in their regions. Singers, poets, dancers and musicians answered the call of the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace and created an album of various genres, in order to send the message against violence: “enough is enough”.

(click image and go to the video)

The album contains a mix of Afro-Colombian rhythms, ordinary songs and rap. It is a cry of hope and faith to bridge the gap between youth and those who take up arms. Noticias RCN spoke with several of its creators about their reasos to participate in the initiative.

(continued in right column)

(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

Question for this article:

Do the arts create a basis for a culture of peace?

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

(continued from left column)

“The idea is that, instead of holding a gun, youth can pick up an instrument to play the music of our ancestors,” said Michelle Valverde, a member of “Juventud ancestral.”

Music as an element that transmits peace

For her part, Adriana Botero, advisor to the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, explained that the initiative is meant to use art against violence.

“Rap worked for us as a tool of social transformation. It is a bridge that allows us to communicate with all our societies,” added Denise Cáceres, member of ‘Motilonas rap’.

The initiative seeks to raise awareness of the need to develop constructive processes where all voices are heard. In it, music is understood as an element that transmits, and on this occasion, the message is peace and reconciliation.

“Without a doubt, music is an element that communicates, in this case, peace and reconciliation. We tell the whole world that through art we can build society,” concluded Edwin Eregua, singer of llanera music.

– – – – – –

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on Colombia artists” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Oaxaca, Mexico: State Government Promotes Culture of Peace as a Public Policy

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from the Gobierno del Estado de Oaxaca

Within the framework of the Training Conference for Municipal Authorities elected by Indigenous Regulatory Systems 2024, the Government Secretariat (Sego) presented the Program “Peace with Justice and Well-being” for the People of Oaxaca.

In this sense, the director of Culture of Peace of Sego, Leticia Cruz López, reported that in the sessions held this January 8 and 9 in the Oaxacan capital, municipal authorities were called upon to develop actions for the implementation of peace policies and promotion programs.

In this way, the aim is to contribute at the local level, to the positive transformation of social and agrarian conflicts for the benefit of girls, boys, young people, women and men of Oaxaca.

(continued in right column)

(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)

Questions for this article:

The culture of peace at a regional level, Does it have advantages compared to a city level?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

(continued from left column)

“We thank the new elected municipal authorities for accepting the implementation of a culture of peace with an intercultural approach, since municipalities are a key element in influencing the strengthening or reestablishment of the community fabric,” she stated.

These trainings are part of the accreditation process for the municipal authorities who assumed their duties on January 1 of this year, carried out by the Sego Undersecretary responsible for Municipal Strengthening.

The state official highlighted that the municipal authorities show their interest in being part of the State Network of Municipalities as Agents of Social Peace, as well as working with their councils with tools to establish community dialogues, spaces for mediation and conciliation in their towns and build processes of conflicts resolution.

With these actions, the State Government and the municipalities join forces so that Oaxaca is transformed with respect, diversity, equality and justice, so that community environments are strengthened and privileged by peace and where differences are worked on constructively.

Some of the municipal authorities that joined the Network of Municipalities Agents of Social Peace are: Mariscala de Juárez, Santa María Yalina, Santo Domingo Albarradas, San Melchor Betaza, San Juan Cotzocón, Santiago Camotlán, San Pedro and San Pablo Ayutla, San Miguel del Río and Ixtlán de Juárez, among others.

– – –

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on (name of article)” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Mexico: the First Conference for Peace is held at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Cuajimalpa

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article by Maribel Lozoyade from UAM/UNIDAD CUAJIMALPA

A group of research professors from the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM) has created the Research Network on Culture of Peace, Justice and Solid Institutions. Its objective is to promote a culture of peace through reflection, education and discussion of issues, as well as the implementation of actions that contribute to the strengthening of the ideals of peace. This initiative seeks to intervene and have a social impact in solving problems from various disciplines.

In commemoration of the International Day of Peace, established by the UN on September 21, the Network organized the First Days for Peace. The opening ceremony took place on September 18 at the Cuajimalpa Unit of the UAM, and was attended by authorities from the different academic units that are part of this university.

Dr. José Antonio de los Reyes Heredia, general rector of the UAM, inaugurated the conference and highlighted that universities and Higher Education Institutions have the responsibility of addressing priority issues, satisfying specific needs and accompanying society in its adaptation to challenges. current. This involves promoting perspectives of peace, working to eradicate violence and assuming environmental responsibility. The rector stated that the UAM has incorporated these efforts transversally into its university policies.

(Article continued in right column)

(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Questions for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

(Article continued from left column)

De los Reyes Heredia pointed out that these days highlight the efforts made by various entities to strengthen their institutions. Almost half a century after the founding of the UAM, the university is implementing strategies that reflect the important social contribution it has had over five decades. He concluded by stating that these first days reflect the identity of the university community and how they wish to be perceived as an institution.

Professor Octavio Mercado González, rector of the UAM-C, stressed that current times are characterized by enormous challenges and threats in different areas and scales. He expressed concern about the polarization of public discourse and how social media influences the local and global context. He highlighted that public universities must reaffirm their ability to contribute to the debate from a climate of respect that makes room for all voices.

“Working in cultures of peace allows us to generate spaces, agreements, but above all, reinforce the way in which the university addresses problems. Universities are not islands, they are not separated from these conflictive environments. We cannot think of the notion of a culture of peace as an absence of conflict, but as the way to address these conflicts towards mediation and construction of agreements that allow a climate of respect to give voice to all parties and to sustain the life of the community.”

Dr. Gabriel Pérez Pérez, director of the Division of Social Sciences and Humanities, explained that the First Conference for Peace takes place until September 22 in different spaces of the UAM academic headquarters. He thanked the work of Dr. Jesús Elizondo, research professor at the UAM-C and head of the Research Network on Culture of Peace, Justice and Solid Institutions, for his remarkable work in ensuring that these sessions were carried out in a public space such as the UAM.

Finally, Dr. Claudia Salazar Villava, member of the Network, spoke on behalf of her research team and highlighted that this initiative seeks to create spaces for learning, debate, reflection and exchange to strengthen the work in favor of peace and justice from different units and approaches. “The network seeks for this Culture of Peace week to be the stage that makes visible the institutional efforts that contribute to the strengthening of peace, the peaceful transformation of conflicts and harmony. We must address the context of violence that affects the daily lives of the university community by promoting reflection and the development of strategies of respect, mutual care and supportive forms of coexistence.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Revista CoPaLa, Constructing Peace in Latin America, July-December 2023

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

Extracts from the Revista núm. 18, introduction by Roberto Mercadillo and David Adams

. . . after long reviews and discussions, between 2019 and 2021, the three of us (Roberto Mercadillo, David Adams and Federico Mayor) undertook the task of shaping a new Declaration for the Transition towards a Culture of Peace in the 21st century following a cognitive approach to human consciousness with four axes: recognize, remember, understand and act. . . . (with regard to action) we propose 12 strategies that can be acted on in two simultaneous routes: local and global. The local route is fundamentally pedagogical to be carried out, mainly, by organized civil society supported by local governments. The global route involves the creation of a “Security Council of Mayors” made up of representatives of the major cities in all regions of the world and the expansion of the General Assembly of the United Nations to integrate citizens of the world in the analysis, proposals and resolutions of the problems that affect us.

In February 2022, with Cristina Ávila-Zesatti, Correspondent of Paz – Mexico, Myrian Castello from Fábrica dos Sonhos – Brazil, and Alicia Cabezudo from the Global Alliance for Peace Ministries and Infrastructures – Latin America and the Caribbean, we formed a group of academics, construction companies, peace educators and journalists in Latin America to discuss the relevance of the Declaration in this region of the world and join efforts for its dissemination. . . .

In September 2002, CoPaLa Magazine opened the call to publish a special issue that would give space to experiences, Latin American thoughts and proposals focused on culture and peacebuilding that coincide with the premises set forth in the Declaration for the Transition towards a Culture of Peace in the 21st Century. As a result of this effort, the current Number 18 of the CoPaLa Magazine provides Spanish-speaking readers with 15 texts with a diversity of ways of communicating and thinking about peace . . .

(1) The first essay exposes cognitive and universalist positions on the human mind. In “Culture of peace: A selfish paradox”, Clemens C.C. Bauer reflects on Nietzsche and the life of the Bodhisattva to argue that understanding our feelings and thoughts leads us to recognize our own well-being intertwined with the well-being of others. . .

(2) It is precisely from the historical approach and from his own experience, that Edgardo Carabantes Olivares writes “Peace and Human Rights in Chile fifty years after the overthrow of Allende”. Half a century after the coup d’état in 1973, the author wonders about the inadequacies of the political, social and cultural system that keeps the people Chile in a space that is neither dictatorship nor democracy, but rather a hybridocracy characterized by hidden violence, a negative peace and manipulation of the exercise citizen. He emphasizes civil disobedience, active nonviolence, and hope as acts of resistance to always choose life and peace.

(3) Meanwhile, in “Total Peace: A New Opportunity for Peace Initiatives ex-combatants of the FARC”, Laura C. Fuentes and Juan D. Forero analyze peace initiatives from and for ex-combatants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. These initiatives form resistance to the Colombian conflict and constitute peacebuilding strategies. The “Total peace”, proposal of the recent and current administration of the Colombian government, could provide – the authors suggest – a stable framework for the construction of a more just and equitable society . . .

Citizen organizations

(4) In “The (re)construction of peace in Mexico through communication”, Lucía Calderón observes and analyzes the violence experienced in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. She describes how the population became managers of information that kept them safe from the actions of criminals. She emphasizes that, to a large extent, the recovery of peace depends on the willingness of the society to rebuild itself and to become aware of the alliances they can build with their peers.

(5) From Mexico City, Arturo Ramírez Ruíz writes “Rodar el pueblo: structures of youth learning and community reception”. He describes and analyzes youth actions organized to ride bicycles and, with this, to build learning structures, community centers and spaces to coexist and live with others. Pedaling the bicycle, says the author, becomes a political act of resistance and vindication of rights that imply knowledge and know how to organize ourselves, know how to take care of ourselves, know how to show solidarity, know how to resist, know how to transform and know how to sustain ourselves.

(6) In “Chiapanecas moving collectively towards a life free of violence: challenges and learning”, Mónica Carrasco Gómez shows us a meticulous and daring participatory ethnography of a collective project of women to build economic independence and live free of violence in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. After searching and creating safe spaces to express their voices, women reestablished a collaborative environmentthat favored their economic independence, becoming aware of their power relations and learning new ways of relating in which the intention to act or speak had no
objective of imposition, but rather the possibility of cooperation.

(7) Carolina Escudero gives us “Culture of peace in the TEB campaign on forced disappearances in Spain.” Through qualitative research, she analyzes the “We Are Here” campaign with families who are victims of the forced disappearance of babies in Spain. She describes the alliances between organizations that ensure Truth, Justice and Reparation that lead to, as one of the participants says, accepting that “We are all equal, we are a family”. The TEB campaign contributes to managing conflict, by denouncing and recognizing the abuses by the State and institutions during the dictatorship, by placing democracy as an antidote to violence, and by strengthening cohesion and group action.

(Continued in right column)

(Click here for the original article in Spanish.)

Questions related to this article:
 
Latin America, has it taken the lead in the struggle for a culture of peace?

(Continued from left column)

Education

(8) In “Teaching ethics in the face of the Technological Revolution (CRI). A hermeneutics-analogue perspective”, Alfonso Luna Martínez raises relevant ethical dilemmas for the assimilation if technological and industrial change in education. He concludes with an ethical proposal, presenting us with the need to overcome the neoliberal capitalist world and to regulate access to the data about people’s interests, so that they are not used in mass manipulation to define market and consumption trends.

(9) Jair Alejandro Vilchis Jardón writes “Thinking about neoliberalism. A critical view from analogical pedagogy of everyday life.” The author calls us to understand that the capitalist model not only acts in the economic sector, but has managed to permeate the educational system through excessive loads and/or work hours justified under the logic of production. He also invites us, collectively, to think about more humane ways of doing science with aspiration of social justice and not as productive agents of knowledge.

(10) In “Understandings about interculturality and its pedagogical implications”, Ximena Marin Hermann reflects on the relationships between interculturality and pedagogy. Interculturality, she suggests, emerges from the need to build public policies focused on social differentiation and globalization, from the resistance and defense of cultural particularities and their identities, and from the investigation to understand the problems of diversity and cultures. Its pedagogical implications lead to the construction of an inclusive intercultural citizenship that would allow us to answer the question “Can we talk about citizen and social construction based on pluriversity and what would be the keys to being able to travel this path?”

(11) Elia Calderón Leyton presents “Education for peace: reflections from literacy criticism”. Her text shows us the importance of writing and critical reading in education. Alluding to the thought of Husserl, Arendt, Habermas, Foucault and Cortina, she points out the need to practice the confrontation of knowledge and experience, as well as to distinguish inequalities in pedagogical practices. Critical thinking contributes to the pedagogy of peace and the ability to listen to others as a political act, because it places the individual in a community to transform doubt into truth, to understand and achieve authentic dialogue in Latin America.

(12) In “Educating towards a culture of peace in the 21st century: Guidelines for thinking and acting”, Anita Yudkin Suliveres proposes a positive vision of peace and a critical approach to education that prioritizes creative thinking, awareness of local problems and global, novel ways of investigating, experiencing and knowing, the cultivation of empathy and solidarity, the arts and the generation of spaces for participation. As educators, we must rethink what happens in educational processes, the experiences of training at all levels and reconsider both the study contents and the capabilities and knowledge that we aspire to promote.

(13) Mónica Lizbeth Chávez González in “School violence and interstitial spaces in Mexico. An ethnographic approach in Uruapan, Michoacán” presents an ethnography of focus groups in a secondary school. She describes how young people, through pedagogy of violence, build relationships and spaces of risk, vulnerability, impunity and defenselessness. Youth are presented as perpetrators of school violence and power through threats, certain criminal practices or the exercise of violent sexual-affective behavior. She urges us to attend to the intersection between these manifestations of violence to collectively them as daily problems.

Action and innovation

(14) In “Culture of peace, service-learning and citizen training: Experiences and reflections”, Benilde García-Cabrero, Alejandro R. Alba-Meraz and María Montero-López Lena reveal to us their proposal for education-action arising from the analysis of three psychosocial interventions carried out by themselves in Mexico. They describe the philosophical underpinnings and pedagogical methods of service-learning as an alternative to promote a culture of peace and citizen training in higher education institutions. With this, they deploy the transformative role of higher education for social awareness, the assumption of collective responsibility and the sense of responsibility. Service-learning enables groups who have a peace or social justice mission to reap the benefits of mutual support and collective action.

(15) In “Psicocalle Colectivo: A university proposal for education and construction of peace”, Lorena Paredes, Mosco Aquino and Roberto E. Mercadillo narrate the trajectory of a transdisciplinary university initiative to understand by means of neuroscience, anthropology and psychology the phenomena of street life and psychoactive substance use. They propose an action research model framed in the culture of peace and compassion as ways to connect with others and to use scientific knowledge in everyday life. Compassionate feeling and acting should motivate our action when confronted with the suffering of others. The culture of peace leads to actions towards the construction of an
active peace, conciliatory, emancipatory and resistant for life on the street and in the use of psychoactive substances.

Issue 18 of CoPaLa closes with a review of two relevant books

“The right to peace and its developments in History” (2022) published by Tirant lo Blanch, edited by María de La Paz Pando Ballesteros and Elizabeth Manjarrés Ramos: a review written by Erika Tatiana Jiménez Aceros. The book covers the history of Human Rights and the history of peace and peace research, thereby, unfolding the methodologies and objects of study of peacebuilding and allowing us to understand our history with new configurations.

“The other in the sand: 20 glances and a blink at Western Sahara” (2014) published by Gedisa and by the Metropolitan Autonomous University and coordinated by Roberto E. Mercadillo and Ahmed Mulay. This book, reviewed by Luis Guerrero, presents the vision of academics, activists and journalists from Latin America on the war, the conflict and the peace strategies developed in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. With this review, we stand in solidarity with the Sahrawi circumstance, we remember it and make it visible in Latin America in this year 2023 that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Polisario Front, an organization that has maintained the survival of the Sahrawi people, their quest for peace and their demand for autonomy

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Latin America

Mexico: Universities ratify peacebuilding strategy

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from the Universidad de Colima

Last weekend (June 13), 113 rectors of universities and public and private institutions in the country ratified the strategy for building a culture of peace in Higher Education Institutions (IES), during the LXII Ordinary General Assembly of the National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions (ANUIES), which was held in person at the University of Colima.

With a broad agenda of national educational issues, the rectors also ratified the creation of the National Network for Peace and the National Network of Higher Education for Inclusion. The general director of Academic Strengthening of ANUIES, Luis Alberto Fierro Ramírez explained that these are the path towards the construction of the university that Mexico needs.”

The person responsible for the Comprehensive Peace Building Program from the ANUIES Universities, Hortensia Sierra Hernández, prioritized the concepts of dignity, integrity and well-being as the values for actions for a culture of peace within educational communities.

Likewise, she said that the General Education Law is a mandate: “Many times we do not know where to start, but each community has actions that only need to weave together these three concepts.” Thus, she highlighted, “the culture of peace concerns human rights, equity, collaborative work, networks, gender perspective, equality, elimination of stereotypes, promotion and respect for the equality of women and men, mental health and eradication of any type of violence.”

(Article continued in right column)

(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Questions for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

(Article continued from left column)

For his part, Francisco Gorjón Gómez presented the National Network for Peace as a collaborative work scenario between institutions involving experts and actions in the culture of peace and including students and researchers to promote the international objectives defined by the the objectives of sustainable development of the United Nations.

He also spoke of establishing a peace and human rights laboratory, as well as generating projects that have an impact as a network. As a national initiatives of the ANUIES, it calls for support from all the rectors of the IES and the largest number of people and experts.

Likewise, Servando Gutiérrez Ramírez spoke about what will be the National Network of Higher Education for Inclusion. He said that the number of people in conditions of exclusion has increased “at the same time as conditions of vulnerability that impact the situation of people, not only with some disability but also those who are in vulnerable conditions such as indigenous people, Afro-descendants, people of sexual and gender diversity and older adults.”

He added that there is interest in collaborating in a national network and that a large number of public and private institutions already collaborate. All of them have people who are experts in inclusion and vulnerability issues. This, he continued, “will give important solidity and social meaning to this network, because as people with disabilities insist: ‘nothing about us without involving us.’”

Upon learning details of both networks, different rectors highlighted the current importance of the two themes, asking how to integrate them, if there was any financing, and requesting that they not be bureaucratized.

In this regard, the general director of University and Intercultural Higher Education, Carmen Rodríguez Armenta, indicated, via virtual presentation, that within the federal and state resource ministries and as part of the 2023 financial plan, “there is the idea of presenting a protocol about sexual harassment and an institutional program on a culture of peace.”

She continued, “It is now an obligation of the General Law of Higher Education and also a commitment of the resource that are needed.” She added that the auditors of the Higher Body of the Federation in 2024 will have this document duly formalized by their general university council.

Finally, she recalled the importance of the session convened by ANUIES, with its protocol to eradicate gender violence and with the institutional peace program authorized by its university councils.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Book: Culture of Human Rights for a future of Peace

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

A note from the Secretaría de Gobernación de México

Peace is a constant search, it is something that requires permanent work. When we talk about peace we refer to the dignity of life; the protection of individual and collective rights; and the generation of conditions for development.

This book is an initiative of the General Directorate of Public Policy and the Economic Culture Fund, which explores the construction of a culture of peace in relation to human rights. That is, it links the idea of making peace, understood as a way to address the causes of the conflict, with the prerogatives that allow the integral development of individuals. To address this question, a group of activists and academics who share an interest in exploring peacebuilding processes in Mexico and Colombia were invited.


This publication was officially presented at the Bogotá International Book Fair on April 20, 2023, and its content was discussed at a dialogue table that included the participation of the Mexican ambassador to Colombia and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in colombia.

It will soon be available at the Economic Culture Fund.

(Review continued in right column)

( Click here for the original version in Spanish.)

Question for this article:

What are the most important books about the culture of peace?

Latin America, has it taken the lead in the struggle for a culture of peace?

(Review continued from left column)

A brief review

Peace is more than the absence of armed conflict or criminal violence. This book questions the dominant notions of peace, often associated with the territorial integrity of a national State, and instead it confronts the processes of domination, injustice and inequality. For many of the authors, achieving peace is a process that cannot be achieved until structural violence, such as poverty or impunity, is overcome. In that sense, peace is conceptualized in a broad way, not from the negative definition of a pure absence of war, but as a positive statement. That is to say, peace becomes an alternative to militarist and sexist ideologies, to criminal violence and to warlike values.

Table of contents

* Total peace and human security in Colombia: potentialities and limitations / Pablo Emilio Angarita Cañas

* Moving towards peace: neuroscientific perspectives from Mexico / Roberto Emmanuelle, Mercadillo Caballero

* The challenges of peacebuilding in contexts of chronic violence and persistent human insecurity in Latin America / Alexandra Abello Colak

* The total peace in Colombia: a necessary attempt / Juan Camilo Pantoja, Raúl Zepeda Gil

* About the identity and particularity of education in the key to building a culture of peace: contributions for Colombia / Alicia Cabezudo

* Peace and human rights / Miguel Concha Malo, Carlos Ventura Callejas

* Weeding out militarism: cultures of peace in the struggle of the Lesvy Berlin femicide case Rivera Osorio / Sergio Beltrán-García

* How to discern the nuances of apparent forms of peace: a tale of two peoples / Trevor Stack

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Argentina: International Meeting of Participatory Conflict Resolution Methods

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from the Argentine government

December 6: An international meeting on Participatory Conflict Resolution Methods “Human Rights, democracy and culture of peace” was held in the City of Salta with more than 400 mediators from different organizations at the federal level.

The event was organized by the Secretariat of Justice of Salta, the European Union Argentine Delegation, the National Directorate of Mediation and Participatory Methods of Conflict Resolution and the Federal Board of Cortes and Superior Courts of Justice of Argentina, JUFEJUS.

It was developed in two days of extensive work with the aim of continuing to develop mediation in our country.

Present at the opening ceremony were the president of Ju.Fe.Jus, María del Carmen Battaini; the president of the Access to Justice and Mediation Commission of JUFEJUS, Fernando Augusto Niz; the Minister of the Superior Court of Chaco, Victor del Río; the Minister of Security and Justice, Marcelo Ramón Domínguez; the Secretary of Justice of Salta, Luis María García Salado and the National Director of Mediation and Participatory Methods of Conflict Resolution, Patricio Nicolás Ferrazzano.

(Article continued in right column)

(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Question for this article:

Mediation as a tool for nonviolence and culture of peace

(Article continued from left column)

During the conference, different panels were held with experts working on different thematic axes related to Participatory Conflict Resolution Methods throughout Argentina.

In addition to the National Directorate Team, participants included international and national exhibitors from many Argentine provinces.

In a second meeting, a series of talks was sponsored by the European Union with 4 speakers. It was attended by Ambassador Amador Sánchez Rico and the Head of Cooperation, Luca Pierantoni.

Minister of Security and Justice Marcelo Domínguez highlighted the importance of this space for debate and the participation of national and provincial authorities, as well as people from various provinces. The official indicated that it is key to work on the development of public policies that lead to forming a more just and supportive society, where each person is seen as a neighbor and not a rival. Furthermore, he stressed the value of resolving conflicts peacefully.

Likewise, the Secretary of Justice of Salta emphasized that he is proud that the Salta mediation model is an international reference because it speaks very well of the mediators and the commitment of the Governor of the Province to contribute to the culture of peace, coexistence and access to justice.”

The promotion of participatory methods of conflict resolution is essential to build a culture of peace and understanding and the promotion of these is not only a desirable option, but an imperative necessity if we seek to build a more peaceful and just world for future generations. .

The meeting included many mediators, officials and the general public from all over the country. The government of Salta and the Ministry of Security and Justice are recognized for their joint work and for achieving this enriching meeting.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Tourism as an engine of peace: strategies for sustainable development in Colombia

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from LABARRA

On November 23 and 24, the IV National Congress of Confetur (Confederación de la Industria Turística de Colombia) was held in the city of Bucaramanga. As part of the agenda, Arturo Bravo, Vice Minister of Tourism of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, made an important intervention on the strategy of tourism for a culture of peace, promoted by the national government to build the country through tourism.


Colombia peace destinations seal

Among the most crucial points of the conversation, the importance of peace tourism territories, local economic development, purposeful tourism promotion and the construction of a culture of peace around tourism were highlighted. A complete look at a key sector not only in the country’s economic recovery, but also in the construction of peace.

Peace tourism territories: a strategic approach

According to the information presented by Bravo in the congress, the ministry has managed to identify “the tourist territories of peace and 12 subregions at the national level, where of the 170 PDET municipalities, which are the municipalities that have special plans for compliance with the agreements of peace, 88 have a tourist vocation.” These findings have allowed the Government to create a strategy that not only promotes these tourist territories of peace, but also provides tourism entrepreneurs with tools to promote the economic and social development of their regions.

As part of this strategy, the ministry has begun the first phase that involves an investment of 8.2 billion in these territories. Regarding this point, the vice minister highlights that, although it does not seem like an important figure, it corresponds only to the first phase of a project that hopes to mark a significant milestone for the sustainable development of these destinations and tourism in Colombia.

Impact of the conflict on tourism: a historical perspective

Colombia is a country plagued by violence, which for decades has experienced the scourge of political and economic wars, which has permeated all sectors of society. Faced with this problem, Bravo poses a very pertinent question: “How much has been the cost generated by the armed conflict for tourism?”
And from the eighties to 2000, the number of tourists was below 1,000,000, a result precisely of the intensity of the armed conflicts experienced at that time. That situation closed the doors of the country to non-resident visitors in Colombia. However, the achievement of the peace agreements with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and the FARC, presented a notable change.

“With the first peace agreements with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, tourism increased almost 21% (…) When the final agreement was finally signed with the FARC instrument, it rose to 38%.”

For Bravo, this increase may not seem so significant if seen outside of the Colombian context, however, taking into account that the time it took the country to reach these numbers, it is clearly an achievement. “When you see it in that context, in almost two decades we we,t from 1,000,000 tourists to 7,000,000; “It is, without a doubt, an enormous challenge and a great achievement as a country,” he states.

Although the 2020 pandemic brought a significant decrease, as it did throughout the world, the possibility of a new peace agreement with the ELN offers an optimistic horizon of seeking to exceed 7 million tourists by 2025.

Challenges and opportunities in the PDET territories (Development Programs with Territorial Focus )
Faced with this point, the vice minister highlights the cost generated by the armed conflict in the PDET territories. According to the figures he revealed during the congress, there are significant sociodemographic challenges, such as high rates of informality, unemployment and monetary poverty.

“Of the total number of employed people in these territories, 58% are informal, there is an unemployment rate of 12.8%, higher than the national average, and a monetary poverty rate of almost 78%,” he says. Furthermore, according to the vice minister, 50% of the victimizing events are concentrated in these territories.

However, Bravo shared some figures on tourism development in these territories, which show their development potential. “More or less 10% of the country’s total industry is concentrated in these municipalities. In Colombia, there are around 94,000 formal tourism companies, of which only 9,000 are in those territories,” says Bravo.

The vice minister highlights the concentration of service providers in accommodation, pointing out the need to diversify the value chain to include other aspects such as transportation, gastronomy and tourist activities.

“77.43% correspond to accommodation service providers, while only 12% are travel agencies and 1.2% correspond to gastronomic establishments. This means that many aspects of the value chain need to be developed,” but above all, “in these territories there is a need for new entrepreneurial options,” he concludes.

(article continued in right column)

(Click here for the Spanish original.)

Questions related to this article:
 
How can tourism promote a culture of peace?

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

(article continued from left column)

Peace tourism territories strategy: promoting local development

For the ministry, it was extremely important to create a strategy that promoted sustainable tourism within the framework of the consolidation of peace tourism territories. Thus, its proposal is based on four fundamental axes: the construction of tourist territories of peace, the development of economic opportunities, the consolidation of the culture of peace and the promotion of tourism with a purpose.

Construction of tourist territories of peace

Regarding the first point, Bravo comments that the challenge begins with understanding “what are the capabilities that these territories have” and from there strengthening human talent, improving staffing conditions and working as a network to share common experiences and challenges.

For Bravo, this last point has been vital, especially in terms of international cooperation. An example like that of Cuba, guest of honor of the Congress, is an example of everything that can be achieved in relation to the deepening of commercial and tourist relations.

Economic opportunities

During the congress, Vice Minister Bravo presented the Colombia peace destinations seal, a key element to promote economic opportunities in areas affected by the conflict. The seal, beyond being a badge, is a powerful narrative that carries with it a commitment to peace. Bravo emphasizes the importance of granting this seal to products, services and tourist activities from these areas.

A concrete example occurs in gastronomy: when buying from suppliers in areas of peace or connecting with people who have been signatories of the peace, victims or former victims, the peace seal can be applied. This not only highlights the quality of the products, but also builds a social fabric where everyone contributes to the peace process.

On the other hand, Bravo anticipates the holding of four regional roundtables in these peaceful tourist territories. With this strategic approach, we seek to promote collaboration between local entrepreneurs, promoting the development of direct local trade. This strategy not only benefits the timely development of the tourism product, but also addresses the challenge of the productive chain of tourism, crucial in remote regions of the country.

In a context where positive and ethical narratives are essential, the tourism sector emerges as a key agent for the positive transformation of Colombia.

And precisely, regarding this point, the vice minister was very emphatic about the need to improve connectivity so that the tourist services in these areas can reach tourists effectively. According to the president, connectivity is not only about facilitating access to destinations, but also about connecting strategies between entrepreneurs efficiently. Thus, business efficiency, in this context, becomes a key component for the success of the strategy.

Consolidation of the culture of peace

The third axis, for its part, focuses on the culture of peace, highlighting the importance of working with different ethical principles, especially on issues of historical memory. The objective is clear: to avoid glorifying war, not to repeat the tragedy and, above all, not to repeat victimization.

According to the vice-minister, enhancing memory tourism allows us to tell a different story and rescue what makes these territories great. “There we have to work hard on the construction and strengthening of peace narratives, to avoid negative tourism, and move on to positive tourism, one that does not make us forget, but does help us build towards the future,” he comments.

Tourism promotion with purpose

The fourth axis focuses on purposeful tourism promotion, headed by the implementation of the “Colombia Destinations of Peace” seal. This approach seeks to sell an emotion, a different way of contributing to the national purpose of building peace. The invitation is to actively participate in this initiative, where tourism promotion is not only about destinations, but about telling positive stories of what happened in those territories.

The Vice Minister points out the existence of previous programs, such as Peace and Coexistence tourism, which have already consolidated destinations for the culture of peace. The region of Urabá stands out; they will host the next congress and is presented as a destination of peace. The idea is to take advantage of these advances and consolidated experiences, sharing the lessons learned through networks and inter-institutional cooperation.

(Editor’s note: Regarding Urabá, see the The ‘Island of Enchantment‘: the mysterious island that “appears and disappears” in Urabá)

Without a doubt, the vision presented by Vice Minister Arturo Bravo within the framework of the IV National Congress of Confetur, reveals a comprehensive approach that will allow tourism to be positioned as a catalyst for peace and development in Colombia. The proposed strategy addresses not only tourism promotion and local economic development, but also the construction of a culture of peace through other narratives.

Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Rebuilding the social fabric and the culture of peace in Mexico

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from National Autonomous University of Mexico

Rebuilding the social fabric and the culture of peace in Mexico necessarily requires respect for human rights and legality, as well as reducing inequality and controlling types of violence, agreed experts gathered at the UNAM.

When closing the work of the Permanent Seminar on Social Sciences (SEPERCIS) 2023 “Reflections of the contemporary world, the reconstruction of the social fabric and the culture of peace”, the General Secretary of the National University, Patricia Dávila Aranda, reported that members of the 14 academic career committees participated, along with representatives of civil society organizations. “This was wise, because they broadened their views and had a more inclusive vision.”

“I am sure that each and everyone learned and heard something that will allow them to move forward on this important issue. Without a doubt, paths were built for the future, because that is why we meet, discuss and hold these types of seminars,” she pointed out.

She hoped that in subsequent meetings more voices from society would be integrated because “there is room for all of us at the University. The more groups and different ways of thinking we are related to in academic work, the more we will learn and the better we can build.”

Dávila Aranda explained that during the 18 sessions methodologies were analyzed, experiences of community and territorial interventions were shared, and theoretical approaches were addressed to provide elements for the understanding and relevance of the reconstruction of the social fabric and the culture of peace.

(Article continued in right column)

(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Questions for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

(Article continued from left column)

She highlighted that the social sciences have a range of training and specialists in different topics, and at this event they analyzed them from a multidisciplinary perspective, in order to improve social interactions, mental health, human rights, care, resilience and mediation, among other topics.

Enduring values

“In various definitions, peace is understood as a situation without armed struggle, in harmony, without confrontations or conflicts. We relate it to a concept of war, but it is not limited to that, rather it means the opposite of all types of violence,” emphasized the former head of the University Human Rights Program, Luis Raúl González Pérez.

“Peace refers to well-being, inner tranquility, having basic needs such as food, security and correct development covered. It is talked about based on justice, which generates positive and lasting values capable of integrating people, politically and socially, that respond satisfactorily to human needs.”

“That is, inalienable guarantees must be the guiding axis for the construction of societies that live in peace,” said the former president of the National Human Rights Commission.

“However, the 2023 National Public Security Victimization Survey of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography indicates that 60.5 percent of the population over 18 years of age consider insecurity to be one of the most important problems that burdens us,” he said.

“In 2022, 27.4 percent of people in Mexican households had at least one of their members as a victim of crime. In addition, 21.1 million people were victims of some crime,” he noted.

On this occasion, the president of the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City, Nashieli Ramírez Hernández, pointed out that in the country there is a breakdown in the social fabric that we must rebuild, based on a reality where violence and conflict prevail.

“It is essential,” he added,”to build strategies with the objective of achieving a culture of peace; For this it is necessary to enter into the discussion around this concept which is approached from the dichotomy of peace and war. We must move beyond that logic to observe it as a real strategy that can be applied in scenarios like the current one. We must recover the concepts of restorative justice that are based on dialogue.”

Among the strategies to achieve it and rebuild the social fabric, Ramírez Hernández mentioned the transformation of narratives, participation, communication, reinforced protection for priority attention groups and reworking of restorative justice mechanisms.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Mexico: Global forum at the Centro Universitario del Sur promotes the culture of peace

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from the Universidad de Guadelajara

The VI Global Culture of Peace Forum took place in the Oral Trial Room of the Centro Universitario del Sur (CUSur), under the motto “Actions for Peace.” The event aims to analyze the advances of the culture of peace with a citizen focus, through education, development and transformation at the national and international level, in order to achieve the objectives of peace, justice and security. It is organized by the University Rights Ombudsman of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG).

Dr. José Guadalupe Salazar Estrada, Rector of CUSur, addressed a few words to those present, pointing out that the university center follows guidelines established by the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) through the Council of Rectors and the General University Council. This is done to guarantee the use and respect of University Rights and Human Rights.

“The University of Guadalajara, as an institution of academic excellence and with social responsibility, has undertaken a series of measures that support the training of highly qualified human resources to support and operate the implementation of the culture of peace […] As part of the Institutional Development Plan, the doctoral program in Human Rights was created,” mentioned Dr. Salazar Estrada.

Likewise, he highlighted that the university center monitors violations of university regulations, the protocol for the prevention, care, punishment and eradication of gender violence, and issues of human rights, regulated as well by the Ombudsman’s Office. These elements are consolidated as a responsibility to contribute to the Culture of Peace, promoting respect for all people and the defense of human rights.

Professor Hiram Valdez Chávez, founding President of the First National Congress of Culture of Peace (COMNAPAZ) Mexico, explained that this forum is of great importance in the country, being an international platform for participation by citizens, international organizations and civil associations of Human Rights, Culture of Peace and Human Development.

(Article continued in right column)

(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Questions for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

(Article continued from left column)

“This forum is undoubtedly a great challenge, especially to design and carry out year after year in strengthening international peace and educational models that involve the professionalization of actors involved in the culture of peace,” explained Valdez Chávez.

Dr. Norman Bardavid Nissin, President of the Global Citizen Organization for the Culture of Peace, explained that peace is a state of being in unity, observed from three dimensions: individual, social and environmental. At the same time, he highlighted that the citizen forum was born with the intention of generating a global organization that could linki to national peace commissions that have followed the example of Mexico.

Dr. Dante Jaime Haro Reyes, Defender of University Rights at the UdeG, commented that the responsibility of each human being is to turn into reality the values, attitudes, and behaviors that promote the culture of peace. This is achieved by acting within the family, local citizen, regional and national framework.

Finally, Dr. Andrés Valdez Zepeda, Academic Secretary of CUSur, recited a poem he authored titled “Peace is the way.”

As part of the activities of the VI Global Forum on the Culture of Peace, the master conference “Peace Studies in Latin America” was held in the Adolfo Aguilar Zínser Auditorium, given by Dr. Fernando Montiel, Director of the Galtung Institute, headquarters in Mexico and Representative of Johan Galtung in Latin America. He highlighted that peace research and the pacifist movement are two different things but they are connected.

He referred to the first generation of peace activism, understood as opposition to war and open violence, that is, the search for peace from a moral perspective by condemning violence in ethical and moral terms.

In this context, Dr. Fernando Montiel questioned whether Mexico is in a state of peace or war. He highlighted that, according to the basic definitions of Public International Law, war is equal to any armed conflict that causes more than a thousand deaths per year. A few years ago, the State Department maintained that nearly 300,000 people have lost their lives in Mexico for reasons related to organized crime.

“Mexico is a country at war by any metric. Why isn’t this recognized? Because Mexico has an internal conflict, not a war. The numbers say that a fierce humanitarian tragedy is occurring, no matter if it is a war against drug trafficking in particular or an internal armed conflict […]  The truth is that the suffering is there regardless of the labels, said Fernando Montiel.

Finally, he commented that the development of peace studies is part of the pacifist movement, since they are academic research disciplines existing in university faculties whose objective is to find the way in which peace can be achieved. For this reason, he explained that in 1959 the first Peace Research Center in the world was founded in Norway, the famous Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO). Five years later, in 1964, the first journal specialized in peace research, the Journal of Peace Research, was established, becoming the formal beginning of peace studies as a publicly recognized academic discipline.

Subsequently, the panel “Construction of Citizenship and Promotion of the Culture of Peace” was held, as well as the international tables “Education, Consciousness and Peace”, Public Policies of Peace, Security, Justice and Peace. In addition, comprehensive peace-building workshops were taught in different classrooms at the university center.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America