Updates from AC4’s Urban Violence Project work in Colombia

In March this year, members of Fundacion Puerta Abierta (FPA), Wilmar Valencia, Rafael Agudelo, and Jerson Marulanda, visited Washington D.C. and New York. In Washington, AC⁴’s Urban Violence team organized meetings between the FPA and the officials from the U.S. State Department, the World Bank, U.S. Institute for Peace, and Center for International Policy. The discussions were centered on the needs of youth in Colombia and their initiatives in creating peaceful communities. Subsequently, in New York the FPA participated in AC⁴’s annual Sustaining Peace Conference where they led workshops on urban violence prevention. They offered their insights on issues that youth in Medellín face and about their evolving initiatives. They spoke about the partnership with the Urban Violence project on network mapping of youth activities to build systems for community peacebuilding, and about a story when youth members served as a mediating force to bring a ceasefire to a gang fight in one of their neighborhoods. Their workshops were met with great enthusiasm by the Columbia University and greater New York community where many new meaningful relations were forged. They also were interviewed on AC⁴‘s radio show Conversations from the Leading-Edge, WKCR 89.9 FM.

AC⁴’s partner organization Colombia Somos Todos (CST) from Ibagué, Colombia visited Washington D.C. and New York in mid-May this year. Their members Juan Manuel Garzon Monroy, Miguel Arias Penanda, and Maria Del Pilar Gomez – the mother of the famous soccer player James Rodriguez – met with officials in the U.S. State Department and in other organizations to present CST’s work. They spoke about their endeavor to help youth through sports and about the impact that their activities have in youth’s healthy physical and mental development. CST’s efforts to reduce urban violence in Colombia through sports activities were the focus of discussions.

Note: As of July 2016, Puerta Abierta is no longer active partners with Urban Violence Project.