November 18, 2006

Colombia, one of Latin America’s longest running democracies, has ironically been scarred by nearly four decades of violence which in recent years has been driven by the illegal narcotics trade and consumption in the developed world.  Millions of Colombians have suffered the consequences of this violence in the form of forced displacement, kidnapping and even death. 

Among the victims, the collective plight of the internally displaced has garnered most of the international community’s attention. Indeed, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs called Colombia the biggest humanitarian crisis of the Western Hemisphere. According to his office, Colombia, with 2 to 3 million displaced persons, has the second largest displaced population in the world after Sudan.

Sponsored by the Alvaralice Foundation and hosted by Americas Society and Council of the Americas, the program “Colombia: Voicing the Conflict” will give New York City audiences a unique opportunity to listen to first hand accounts of the Colombian tragedy from some of its victims and learn more about the social, political, cultural and economic aspects of the country. The first part of the event consists of a luncheon-panel discussion. Speakers include a former child kidnapping victim, an ex-guerrilla fighter, an internally displaced person, the former Director of the Colombian government’s demobilization and reinsertion program and two Columbia University conflict resolution experts.

That evening there will be a reception and video screening of the work of artist Juan Manuel Echavarría, followed by a dialogue with the assistant curator of the Department of Film and Media at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, Sally Berger, who will discuss the potential of art as a means for activism.

“Colombia: Voicing the Conflict” is part of the series Art and Activism: Human Rights in Colombia organized by the AlvarAlice Foundation.