Note: Conference registration closed on Thursday, October 13th
Partnering for Peace:
Colombian & North American Communities in Solidarity
Chicago, October 21-23, 2005
Memorial, © Betty Udesen 2002 *
Friday's Gathering, Saturday and Sunday Workshops:
International Conference Center
4750 N. Sheridan Road
General Plenary Sessions:
Preston Bradley Center
941 W. Lawrence Ave.
Building Paths to Peace
In Colombia, communities caught in the crossfire of war
are creating nonviolent strategies for survival and growth
Uniting Hands and Voices
In North America, groups forging partnerships with these
Colombian villages, churches, and organizations are coming
together for the first time for an international conference
Join Us . . .
As Colombian and North Americans meet to learn and share
together, working to develop strategies for building
lasting partnerships across our borders and constructing
truly democratic paths to peace and justice.
Una mano
más una mano
no son dos manos
Son manos unidas
Une tu mano
a nuestras manos
para que el mundo
no esté en pocas manos
sino en todas las manos
A hand
and a hand
are not just two hands
They are hands united
Join your hand
with our hands
so that the world
is not in a few hands
but in all hands
"Revolución" by Gonzalo Arango, Colombian Poet, 1931-1976
We invite people of faith and conscience in North America to develop or deepen relationships of solidarity and mutual learning with Colombian communities, churches, and organizations struggling for peace and justice. A singular opportunity for forging sister relationships over the long term will be this international consultation and conference in Chicago. The event is designed both to support existing sister relationships and to offer tools and inspiration to people interested in exploring sister relationships with Colombian communities or groups.
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* This sculpture by a Dutch artist stands in the Nueva Vida settlement in honor of the 83 community members killed and disappeared in Cacarica, Colombia since 1997. In the community's own words: “Memory is the basis of our identity and the possibility of our future.”
