Institute for International
Cooperation and Development Studies

Training and advocacy programme for indigenous, afro-colombian and peasant organisations of Northern Cauca (Colombia)

Date: 2021 November 15

On 21st November to 3rd December 2021 will take place in Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz a training and advocacy programme on collective protection and early-warning action systems and on the defence of the human rights from indigenous, Afro-Colombian and peasant organisations in Northern Cauca (Colombia).

Twelve people are to take part in the programme, seven women and five men. They are human rights leaders from the Association of Indigenous Councils (ACIN), the Association of Community Councils (ACONC), coordinators of the indigenous and former Cimarron guards, the Association of Councils of Caldono, the Nasa de Toribio Project, and ANUC, and also from the Ensayos Corporation.

This programme is carried out to strengthen the security and protection capacities of the organisations confronting human rights violations, assassinations and threats in the northern Cauca region. The programme also includes a political advocacy plan to support the peace process. In addition to the teaching sessions, there will also be meetings with Basque public institutions (such as AVCD, the Basque Parliament and the Provincial Councils of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia). There will also be media interviews  and meetings with universities and NGDOs.

Hegoa Institute (University of the Basque Country) organises this programme in consortium with the Institute of Co-operative Research of Mondragon Unibertsitatea and with the Ensayos Corporation and the Institute for Intercultural Studies (Universidad Javeriana de Cali, Colombia); with the support of the Basque Agency for Development Cooperation (AVCD): PRO19K2-003 "Strengthening of social agents for the construction of territorial peace and alternative economic models".

Within the framework of this project, another specialised training course was also held in the Basque Country, between 19th September and 9th October 2021, with 10 people (6 women and 4 men) from organisations in northern Cauca, on sustainable rural development and social solidarity economics. This course was held with organisations from the Basque agricultural sector. (Photo).