Training Afro Colombian Organizations to Influence Public Policies, Colombia
A street in El Charco, one of the municipalities of Nariņo Department, where 95% of the inhabitants are descendants of Afro-Colombians. Photo: Samuel Lobato/CWS |
International Law Students Association (ILSA)
Afro-Colombians make up 20 percent of the country's population, but 80 percent of them have their basic needs unmet. The illiteracy rate among Afro-Colombians is three times the national average, and only two percent have access to higher education. This project is training and equipping 250 Afro-Colombian community leaders from the Caribbean Coast and Narino departments to ask for and promote rights-based public policies from local, regional, and national government agencies.
Main project activities include:
- Local and regional workshops
- a national conference with participation by specialists in the areas of public policy and human, economic, social, and cultural rights
- reports on the living conditions of Afro-Colombians in different parts of the country to be used by Colombian organizations for advocacy, awareness-raising, and education purposes both in and outside Colombia.
Funding for this project comes from CWS and a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)-United Church of Christ Block Grant.
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