Celebrating the Graduation of the 2022 Goldin Global Fellows Spanish Cohort

By Lissette Mateus Roa, Co-Facilitator, Global Alumni Network Creating an accessible leadership program for Spanish-speaking grassroots leaders On December 10th we celebrated the graduation of the first Goldin Global Fellows program in Spanish language, where 17 Spanish-speaking grassroots leaders from eight countries in Latin America and Europe came together to create a new community of… Continue reading Celebrating the Graduation of the 2022 Goldin Global Fellows Spanish Cohort

Peace Day activities from South America

By Lissette Mateus Roa, Co-Facilitator, Goldin Global Fellows In 1981, the United Nations declared that September 21 would be observed as the International Day of Peace, devoting the day to ‘commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace within and among all nations and peoples’. Now, the day is observed worldwide with many grassroots leaders and… Continue reading Peace Day activities from South America

Freestyling for Change: inspiring youth in Caqueta, Colombia

By Lissette Mateus Roa, Facilitator, Goldin Global Fellows We want to share the unique and inspiring journey of twenty-four year old Johnatan Cordoba from Florencia in the Caqueta region of Colombia. Johnathan is a 2022 Global Fellow (Spanish Edition). He is a trained attorney who combines his skills with the arts to support youth development and youth leadership… Continue reading Freestyling for Change: inspiring youth in Caqueta, Colombia

Unity, Peace and Reconciliation Through Soccer

Peace Building Through Soccer in Colombia

By Omar Arturo Diaz, Goldin Global Fellow, Colombia The “Peace and Unity festival” was initiated to use football as a fundamental element to hatch social ties, where different ways of thinking meet to look for new ways of reconciliation, social peace, and unity, so Colombia becomes the country we dream of. This year, we wanted to… Continue reading Unity, Peace and Reconciliation Through Soccer

Social Movements and State Violence

By Diana Rocio Gomez Torres, 2022 Goldin Global Fellow, Argentina Last Thursday, August 25, we held the discussion “Social Movements and State Violence: past and present” organized by Trenzar Memorias, Memory and Culture Network in Latin America and the Caribbean. The discussion took place at the Institute for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (IEALC), attached to… Continue reading Social Movements and State Violence

Colombia Protests Inequality

By Lissette Mateus Roa, Co-Facilitator, Global Alumni Network Colombia is the third most unequal country in the world, and the gap is growing. That is what is causing the latest mass protests in the country. Colombians no longer care about FARC guerrillas, they no longer protest nor fear this group that signed a peace agreement… Continue reading Colombia Protests Inequality

GATHER Alumni Focus on Child Soldiers, Mitigating Trauma

On August 6, Global GATHER alumni Lissette Mateus from Colombia, and Diana Alaroker and Geoffrey Omony from Uganda engaged in an online video conversation about child soldiers and war-affected children for their peers among the inaugural Gather Fellow cohort. They were joined by Theresa Betancourt, a Boston College professor who’s been performing a longitudinal, intergenerational… Continue reading GATHER Alumni Focus on Child Soldiers, Mitigating Trauma

Perspective: Making Peace Sustainable in Colombia

By Lissette Mateus Roa, Co-Facilitator, Global Alumni Network Just over a year ago, I experienced one of the saddest days in my life. On that day in October 2016, Colombians faced a referendum on the peace process. After more than 50 years of conflict with FARC — the oldest guerrilla movement on the continent —… Continue reading Perspective: Making Peace Sustainable in Colombia

Reflections on Women’s History Month from a Colombian Jail

[quote]Being in a Colombian jail working with women and girls who are serving time after being child soldiers is an interesting place from which to reflect on the last day of Women’s History Month.  The unique challenges and insights of women and girls who were child soldiers are often lost in the conversations about demobilizaiton… Continue reading Reflections on Women’s History Month from a Colombian Jail

A View From Afar: My Trip to Colombia

Goldin Institute Associate Srishtee Dear on her Recent Trip to Colombia to Attend the Foundation for Reconcilation Conference Ten thousand feet in the sky, rocking back and forth in a cable car to our accent, we reached Monserrat, a tourist destination and holy site for Christians. Houses speckled the mass of incredible and incredibly populated… Continue reading A View From Afar: My Trip to Colombia