Colombian Foreign Ministry Organizes Sports and Cultural Diplomacy Initiative to Prevent Recruitment of Minors by Illegal Armed Groups

• The exchange is organized by the Colombian Foreign Ministry within the framework of the Sports and Cultural Diplomacy Initiative for the prevention of the recruitment and use of minors by illegal armed groups.

Bogota, June 9, 2023. This morning, at the San Carlos Palace, a group of girls and boys from the María Mulata Corporation, from Rincón del Mar, Sucre, met with the foreign minister in charge, Francisco Coy, and with the Argentine ambassador to Colombia, Gustavo Alejandro Dzugala, as a preamble to his cultural exchange in Argentina. High expectations and a lot of talent.

This exchange activity, which runs from June 9 to 16, is carried out within the framework of the Sports and Cultural Diplomacy Initiative for the prevention of the recruitment and use of minors by illegal armed groups of the Colombian Foreign Ministry.

The purpose of this project is to motivate young people linked to the cultural process of audiovisual production and promote the development of their talent, encouraging them to obtain a global perspective of the world.

In this way, it is hoped that when they return to their communities, they will continue to be positive leaders in terms of peace and entrepreneurship, and will be able to formulate projects that benefit their communities.

In Buenos Aires, the agenda will take place in audiovisual study centers, with expert film and television producers and directors, as well as in meetings and workshops with young people interested in the production of digital content.

Led by the Colombian ambassador, Camilo Romero, the young people will do an audiovisual exercise while visiting emblematic sites of the Argentine capital.

In addition to taking part in audiovisual awareness workshops and film classes that will be held in different parts of the city, young people will participate in days of free expression and communication that seek to develop alternative mechanisms to dialogue with their environment and recognize themselves as individuals and an active part of the society.

On the other hand, and in the foreign policy component, they will visit the Argentine Foreign Ministry and meet with the director of Intermediate Organizations of that ministry. They will also share spaces with officials from the Colombian consulate and embassy.

Additionally, young people will have a cultural agenda with tours of emblematic sites in the capital such as the Teatro Colón, the ESMA Site of Memory Museum, San Telmo, Puerto Madero, La Boca neighborhood, the Cinema Museum, the Casa Rosada, the Plaza de Mayo , the Planetarium and the Silver Museum, among other places of interest.

María Mulata: boys and girls protagonists in Rincón del Mar

The María Mulata Corporation works with children and adolescents from the community to encourage the rescue and promotion of the cultural traditions of Rincón del Mar, as well as promoting education programs and environmental awareness through alternative training strategies. It also works on actions or activities with a gender perspective to transform institutions, cultural norms and community practices that are discriminatory and encourage the perpetuation of violence against women and other feminized bodies.

Among its objectives is also to promote projects that provide sustainability to the cultural agents of Rincón del Mar, for the growth of the guild of culture in the corregimiento and to ensure the correct use of intangible assets of the community’s heritage through research programs that grant, with academic rigor, adequate tools for the rescue, safeguarding and transmission of ancestral practices, knowledge and trades.

Sports and cultural diplomacy initiative to prevent the recruitment and use of minors by illegal armed groups

This initiative began in 2011, after the National Government voluntarily accepted Resolution 1612 of 2005 of the United Nations Security Council. Sports and cultural exchanges link children and adolescents (NNA) and constitute inspiring experiences for their communities.

This is an initiative that also seeks to strengthen the country’s foreign relations through public diplomacy, which takes the form of sports and cultural exchanges with adolescents between 13 and 17 years of age.

In this framework, additionally, it seeks to provide adolescents with an international experience that reinforces their commitment to sport and culture and promotes in them values ​​associated with its practice.

Since its creation, and adding this first exchange of 2023, the Sports and Cultural Diplomacy initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has carried out 163 exchanges in 53 countries, with the participation of 1,965 boys, girls and young people and 347 coaches and teachers from 96 municipalities of 24 apartments.