With music education as a tool to build peace, strengthen resilience, and advance gender equality, our ‘Voices of Reconciliation’ project engages children, adolescents and their communities in Colombia’s conflict-affected areas.
The Challenge
Despite the 2016 Peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country continues to be the scene of multiple clashes and violence that disproportionately affect young people. Moreover, youth are prime targets for recruitment by armed groups. This phenomenon has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought about the closure of schools and increased insecurity and poverty.
“Between January and June 2020, 190 minors (young people aged 12 to 17) in Colombia were recruited by armed groups, a fivefold increase compared to the same period in 2019.”
The New Humanitarian
About Voices of Reconciliation
We use music education to facilitate capacity-building and dialogue to address violence against children and gender-based violence and promote peace and gender equality. Whilst our primary aim is to support young people affected by violence, the project also seeks to promote peace, reconciliation, and equality in the larger community by training teachers and engaging families through awareness-raising activities. A training guide ‘Acordes por la Paz’ has been developed in Spanish to inspire diverse actors in Colombia to use educational spaces for peacebuilding and inclusive social transformation
“Music bridges gaps that words cannot reach. Through ‘Acordes por la Paz’, we’ve witnessed firsthand the power of music to bring together hearts and minds in the pursuit of a more peaceful future.”
– A teacher from a Batuta music center.
Impact
Voices of Reconciliation
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Children and adolescents were trained in peace and gender equality as part of their music classes in Batuta centers in Puerto Asís, Putumayo and Saravena, Arauca.
Representatives of local authorities, national institutions and civil society organizations have engaged in dialogue to reflect practices and create protective strategies to prevent violence against children and adolescents in armed conflict.
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5000
Community members have been reached through an advocacy campaign to raise awareness of violence prevention, gender-based violence and avenues for peace and reconciliation.
Relationships between students have improved, girls have demonstrated increased participation in school activities and students have shown increased capacities to manage disputes peacefully both at home and within the music schools.
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Partners
Voices of Reconciliation
Alianza para la Paz (APAZ) is a regional organization based in Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Their work focuses on conflict management, the reintegration of juvenile offenders and gang members, the prevention of gender-based violence, and the protection of former members of violent groups.
APAZ believes in the power of people to collectively transform their communities for the better, and strive to strengthen the fabric of society, promote dialogue, build trust, encourage collaboration, and bolster institutional legitimacy in every area of their work. They also view these goals as necessary conditions for regional collaboration, and work to implement actions which are both context-sensitive, but also help create synergies between the local, national, and regional communities.
Fundacion Nacional Batuta is a Colombian organization which works on improving the quality of life of children, adolescents, and young people in vulnerable communities in Colombia who are particularly affected by violence.
Situating itself at the intersection of education, culture, and social development, the Fundacion Nacional Batuta uses musical education and collective musical practice to instill notions of inclusion, equal rights, and cultural diversity in young people. They believe in the transformative power of music and base their work on the premise that group musical education has the potential to support different facets of human and social development. Through this, they strive to strengthen the fabric of society, help individuals build the capacity to become active members of society, and generate spaces for dialogue and reconciliation.
Funders
Voices of Reconciliation
News
Voices of Reconciliation
Publications + Media
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