Three lessons for peace, from Latin America

This blog originally appeared in Alliance magazine’s special feature on the #ShiftThePower Global Summit.

Felipe Bogotá Rodríguez, Executive Director of TerritoriA

Bogotá was the epicenter of a global conversation about new dynamics and ways of deciding in relation to power.

Over the three days of the #ShiftThePower Global Summit we had the privilege of bringing together more than 700 agents of change from all continents to dream of community philanthropy that contributes to global issues such as climate change, gender inequality, violence and armed conflict and socioeconomic inequalities. We questioned, from a critical perspective, how we can change the established power systems to solve the poly-crisis we face as humanity.

As a result of this global meeting, TerritoriA and the Colombian community foundations movement share these three reflections.

First, there is an intrinsic power of local actors to not only forge the development of their own territories but also to contribute to “good societies” in different latitudes. For this, it is essential that communities have a leading voice at the decision-making tables of public policies and funding for development.

Second, the territorialization of ideas, solutions and resources is a fundamental step in forging sustainable territories. This requires a different configuration of the current funding and decision-making systems, in which solutions are not thought “for” the communities but “with” the communities.

Third, we believe that Latin America has a wide variety of lessons learned and paths walked to contribute to this global movement. Our region has been forged from the resilience of multiple movements, innovations for social change and struggles against established powers that can be an inspiration for other latitudes that want to transform established power dynamics.

Finally, we would like to thank all the people who made the decision to come to our country. We are proud to have been able to share the cultural, social and natural wealth with other countries. We are a country that has suffered for decades an armed conflict that has exacerbated socioeconomic inequalities and generated human rights violations, especially for the most vulnerable populations.

However, this has been a process that has allowed us to demonstrate that we have everything we need to build a land of peace. #ShiftThePower is an inspiration for us in how we build a country in peace from different logics. According to Marta Ruiz: “Peace will not be given by a president, nor by a government, nor by an international organization. It is not a peace that is agreed among elites and then irrigated to the rest of the country. Rather, it is created from the small to the big, from the simple to the complex, in every fabric, in every social relationship, at school, at work, in songs, in verses, even in the relationship with nature.”

This is what we continue to strive for: a more just, inclusive, and egalitarian society.

By: Felipe Bogotá Rodríguez, Executive Director of TerritoriA