The Association of Foreign Affairs wants to put focus on Colombia. For the next three days, AF-borgen will be filled with Colombian politicians, guerilla leaders and diplomats.
A large internal conflict has been raging in Colombia for almost 50 years. But during the last ten years, the situation has partly improved. Last year, the Association of Foreign Affairs‘ Travel Committee visited the country.
“After being on the trip, we started thinking about putting together a seminar in Sweden together with our partners in cooperation”, says Carl Sernbo, one of the project managers.
After several months of work, the Association of Foreign Affairs is now gathering interlocutors from both sides of the conflict on neutral ground, to listen to one another and exchange experiences. Between the 3rd and 5th of April, the Association of Foreign Affairs is putting together “A Modern Colombia“, three seminar days with lectures, debates and workshops on the progress of Colombia.
Invited to participate in the seminar days at AF-borgen are different organisations with connections to Colombia. Among others, there are Colombian politicians, diplomats, prison guards and academics, all coming to discuss the current situation in the country.
“I would not miss Francisco Galán, a former guerilla leader”, says one of the project managers, Fabian Hylin.
To show the background to conflicts and look at potential solutions is one of the purposes of the seminars.
“We also want to bring out Latin American social issues from the media periphery. Many picture a Colombia with problems with violence, but there is a lot more to learn”, says Carl Sernbo.
Translation: Jakob Eyjólfsson
Text: Josefine Gustafsson
