Connecting Dots: Entangling Experiences of Women from Colombia and Afghanistan in Peace-building

This event will provide simultaneous interpretation in Spanish to English and English to Spanish.

This forum will elevate the voices and lived experiences of women who are building and enhancing community networks capable of facing challenges of violence and injustice. It will examine the potential and difficulties that each community has discovered in developing its own networks from Montes de Mar.a and El Huila in Colombia, as well as Nadia Amanyar and Shakila in Afghanistan. The forum will be moderated by three Engaged Research Fund recipients Sooriya Arya (American University of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan), Diana Ordoñez Castillo (Universidad de Los Andes, Columbia), and Carol Montealegre (Bard College, United States).

Community Participants include representatives from Colectivo de Comunicaciones de Montes de María (Colombia), Asomhupaz Asociaci.n de Mujeres Huilenses por la Paz (Colombia), and Uzgarish Cultural and Women Organization (Afghanistan).

Spanish:

Este evento contará con interpretación simultánea de español a inglés e inglés a español.

Este foro elevará las voces y experiencias vividas de mujeres que están construyendo y fortaleciendo redes comunitarias capaces de enfrentar desafíos de violencia e injusticia. Examinará el potencial y las dificultades que cada comunidad ha descubierto al desarrollar sus propias redes desde Montes de María y El Huila en Colombia, así como Nadia Amanyar y Shakila en Afganistán. El foro será moderado por tres beneficiarios del Fondo de Investigación Comprometida Sooriya Arya (Universidad Americana de Asia Central, Kirguistán), Diana Ordoñez Castillo (Universidad de Los Andes, Columbia) y Carol Montealegre (Bard College, Estados Unidos).

Los participantes de la comunidad incluyen representantes del Colectivo de Comunicaciones de Montes de María (Colombia), Asomhupaz Asociación de Mujeres Huilenses por la Paz (Colombia) y Uzgarish Cultural and Women Organisation (Afganistán). 

Community Partner Organization Biographies:

Asomhupaz: Asociación de Mujeres Huilenses por la Paz

"We are an association of women in the process of reincorporation, victims, youth, peasants, and single mothers based in El Huila, Colombia. Our objective is to guarantee, defend, and strengthen the rights of women promoting political and democratic participation. Our demands comprehend the implementation of the Peace Agreement with a gender approach, for the search for peace and reconciliation in our country, contributing to the construction of a society with social justice."

Colectivo de Comunicaciones de Montes de María Línea 21

"The Collective is a civil society organization whose main purpose is to contribute to the positive transformation of the territory and the dignification of the population of the Montes de María, in northern Colombia, heavily affected by the armed conflict. Its lines of action are intertwined around communication, education and cultural management. Its two pillars of work are the Audiovisual Festival of the Montes de María FAMMA and the Itinerant Museum of Memory and Identity of the Montes de María 'El Mochuelo' For 30 years, the collective has been working with the most vulnerable population of the territory, and recently it has been implementing projects focused on the prevention of gender violence and the empowerment of women in peace building."

Ozgarish civil and Social Organization

"The Ozgarish organization is a civil society organization which was established in 2018 with an aim of capacity building of youths, de-radicalization, women empowerment programs and cultural development programs. With 40 years of conflict that extremely impacted every citizen, managing and improving the awareness about various issues affecting the lives of citizens postconflict, in the process of conflict and even the peacemaking process is vital to provide the platform for them to talk and have their voices. Since then, we have contributed and initiated more than hundreds of projects that assisted citizens and they have largely contributed with active participation. We also have the honor of organizing a sequence of cultural projects where women equally represented their arts, and ideas through various initiatives. We have the honor of initiating the first series of talks about peacebuilding and citizen's voices in the process in eight zones of the country. We also brought the voices of women to talk in 2019 to raise their questions from representatives in Peace deals and demand their basic rights. We also have close coordination with Afghan Thinks Tanks. Recently, it is working to distribute books in villages and is eager to engage women in peacebuilding through initiating awareness programs."