“Pluralism and Peace” Symposium

The Universidad Autónoma de Occidente de Cali (Western Autonomous University of Cali) organized the symposium “Pluralism and Peace” aimed at learning about the experiences on reconciliation and institutional reforms from other post-conflict contexts.

Leyner Palacios’ Award inspired the University to choose pluralism as the main theme for the 2017-2018 academic year.

The symposium was the first of a series of events for academics, students, and civil society and human rights activists to reflect on the practical applications of pluralism for Colombia in the aftermath of the peace agreement with the FARC in 2016 and to promote national reconciliation. Virginie Laurent from the University of Los Andes, author of a Colombia case study commissioned by the Centre as part of its “Accounting for Change in Diverse Societies” series, presented the conclusions of the paper. Centre staff conducted a pluralism lens workshop with more than 100 participants and joined a series of community dialogues with Afro and indigenous communities in the Cauca Valley.

In September 2018, the University hosted the Hispanic-American University Debate Competition, a week of debates in which students from 12 universities from across Latin America debated on how to build more pluralistic societies.