Grants >> Grantee Spotlight: Asociación de Grupos Juveniles Libertad - AfroAmerica XXI (Youth Association)
Latin America and the Caribbean
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    • 2005 Latin America and the Caribbean Program Descriptions:

    Andean Region
    Argentina
    Bolivia
    Colombia
    Cuba
    Ecuador
    Guatemala
    Haiti
    Mexico
    Nicaragua
    Peru
    Venezuela
    Latin America Regional

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    Not until 1991 did the Colombian national government recognize black Colombians by giving them rights to own land and acknowledging their ethnic roots. Afro-Colombians make up 25 percent of the Colombian population and are the country's largest minority. A 40-year conflict between the Colombian government and the guerilla insurgency, which threatens public security on a daily basis, has had a particularly devastating impact on Afro-Colombians.

    Asociación de Grupos Juveniles Libertad, a member of the umbrella organization AfroAmerica XXI (Youth Association), and supported by NED since 2002, is working to integrate Afro-Colombians into Colombia's political process as active and respected citizens on the national, state, and local levels. The Afro-Colombian community is generally excluded from Colombia's political agenda at the national level and its interests as an ethnic group go largely unaddressed, especially their safety in the face of guerilla insurgents.

    The Youth Association has been working to address these problems at the local and national levels. At the local level, the Youth Association is working to strengthen and support the inclusion of the Afro-Colombian community in the development of public policy agendas in Cauca, Valle de Cauca, and Nariño states. The Association has already created a permanent Afro-Colombian presence in the political landscape of Cauca and Valle de Cauca by helping to develop dialogues between local government officials and community organizations that raise the concerns and needs of the Afro-Colombian community.

    Building on these efforts at the local level, the Youth Association is working to develop a caucus of Afro-Colombian congressmen modeled after the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus. With the support of Afro-Colombian congressmen and the United States Embassy, the Association will also convene a meeting in Bogotá to map out a strategy for the formation of the caucus. Once the caucus has been formed, six members will travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus to learn from their experiences and to develop a relationship between the two groups. One of the goals of this effort is to draft model legislation to improve the legal situation of Afro-Colombians, consequently empowering them to leave a permanent stamp on Colombian democracy.

    The efforts of the Asociación de Grupos Juveniles Libertad are vital to ending the exclusion of black Colombians from Colombian politics. Through their work with the various levels of government in Colombia, the Youth Association is ensuring that Afro-Colombians will have a permanent and long-overdue place in the Colombian democratic process. * Indicates Department of State Funding Beyond NED's Annual Appropriation

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