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Colombia
National website: colombiasinpobreza.org
National Coalition: Colombia Sin Pobreza
If you are allifiated to an organisation or an individual who would like to get involved with the campaign, please contact:
Alberto Yepes Palacio
email: alberyepes@gmail.com / ati@ati.org.co
Tel: (+571) 3382220 / 57-3007807317
October 17 events
Ayer 17 de Octubre, Día Mundial por la Erradicación de la Pobreza, cerca de 25 Mil personas participaron en más de 21 concentraciones en Escuelas, Colegios, Audiencias Populares y Movilizaciones en las Calles de Bogotá y Medellín con el fin de expresar su Rechazo a la Miseria y exigir a las autoridades y a la sociedad la adopción de medidas concretas para superar la pobreza y las desigualdades enormes que vive el país.
En Bogotá, 14 instituciones educativas tomaron parte en el Evento poniendose de pie y alzando la voz contra la pobreza y la desigualdad. Cerca de 18 Mil niños, niñas y jóvenes de estas instuciones educativas participaron junto con los docentes y directivos en una jornada de reflexión y concienciación sobre las causas de la pobreza y la desigualdad que vive el pais, las consecuencias de este problema y las estrategias para su superación lo mismo que los compromisos que los gobiernos han asumido para superar esta situación que inhibe la democracia, vulnera los derechos humanos y obstaculiza el logro de la paz y el avance hacia un desarrollo equitativo y sustentable.
Con el lema de "levántate contra la Pobreza y la Desigualdad" participaron en Bogotá las siguientes instituciones educativas, convocados de manera conjunta por la Campaña Colombia sin Pobreza, integrante del Llamado Mundial a la Acción contra la Pobreza y el Centro de Información de Naciones Unidas:
1. Colegio Distrital Carlos Pizarro Leongómez
2. Colegio Distrital el Portal del Sol
3. Colegio Santa Francisca Romana
4. Centro Educativo El Jazmín
5. Centro Educativo Libertad
6. Fundación Nuevo Marymount
7. Colegio San Carlos
8. Gimnasio José Joaquín Casas
9. Colegio Emilio Valenzuela
10. Colegio Nuestra Señora del Rosario
11. Colegio Hacienda Los Alcaparros
12. Gimnasio Femenino
13. Colegio Los Nogales
14. Colegio Gimnasio Josefina Castro
En Medellín fueron los siguentes colegios,
1. Colegio Altavista
2. Colegio Altos de la Torre
3. Colegio El Triunfo
4. Colegio Nuevo Amanecer
Además, de una movilización por el Barrio Altavista, también se llevó a cabo en Medellín una Audiencia Popular de Juzgamiento a las Empresas de Servicios Públicos Domiciliarios, en la cual se juzga la violación de derechos fundamentales al agua potable, energia eléctrica y comunicaciones por parte de las Empresas prestadoras de estos servicios en la ciudad de Medellín, en donde 266.000 familias han sido desconectadas de estos servicios debido a su condición de pobreza y a la incapacidad de pago por las elevadas tarifas de estos servicios.
También se llevo a cabo por las calles de la ciudad una gran movilización de víctimas del modelo económico desconectados de los servicios básicos domiciliarios que salieron a la calle a manifestarse contra las políticas de prestación mercantilizada de los servicios domiciliarios esenciales de agua potable, energia y telefonia que excluyen a los pobres y privilegian la acumulación de ganancias en las empresas encargadas de estos servicios.
En todas las concentraciones los participantes solicitaron la adopción de medidas urgentes para superar la pobreza que tomen en cuenta la participación de los mismos pobres en la definición, implementación y evaluación de políticas para la erradicación de la miseria y las desigualdades extremas.
Events in 2005
WHITE BAND DAY II - Wake-Up to Poverty! on Saturday 10th. September
This second global day of global GCAP mobilisation will see the Columbian coalition working closely with the Trade Justice campaign. On the day itself there will be a concert in the dramatic setting of Plaza de Bolivar where congress and the supreme courts are located.
In addition to this, these buildings will be wrapped in white bands, which will have the action cards attached to them. These actions are planned to take place at roughly 1530. After the concert, the coalition will hand over 20,000 action cards for GCAP to congress.
For more information on this event and how you can get involved please contact: Alberto Yepes - 57 3006001245 (Mobile), 57 1 3382220 (Bogota), 57 4 3332073 (Medellin) - yepes@epm.net.co
BACKGROUND
Photo gallery on the first White Band day in Colombia – July 2005
The 10 December 2004 activities in Colombia were aimed at making the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) visible:
In Bogotá, the Campaign showed up at the human rights march with a placard reading the motto of the Campaign in Colombia: FOR A COLOMBIA WITHOUT POVERTY, NO MORE EXCUSES. CAMPAIGN FOR THE FULFILMENT OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. The March started at the National Museum and ended at the El Campín Stadium.
In Medellín, the Human Rights Week agreed to hold outdoors activities, gathering groups of people to promote the Call to Action against Poverty.
About 80 people from different human rights organizations, young people and women’s organizations and NGOs gathered together and shared bread, fruit and the "canelazo" drink with 200 people from excluded sectors and marginalized people from downtown Medellín
Campaigners took part in an interview on the Caracol Radio station regarding the reasons and philosophy of the Campaign in Colombia. On December 10th, a live interview took place on the Super Radio station, which had national coverage.
A 30 minute programme was made with Teleantioquia and Telepacífico TV stations, which was broadcasted on Friday 10th at 8:00 pm and on Sunday 12th at 6:30 pm.
On Monday 13th, the campaign was presented on the main regional TV station, Telemedellín, in the live show "Plaza Pública", which is broadcasted on Mondays between 8:30 - 9:30 pm.
Several meetings with the city’s Administration have also taken place where a Citizen's Congress has been proposed during which a Programme against Hunger and Poverty focused on the implementation of the Millennium Goals would be coordinated. Meetings with the Secretaries of Solidarity, Social Development and Government have also taken place to support the proposal.
SUMMARY OF CAMPAIGN ACHIEVEMENTS IN COLOMBIA
Although the campaign was only launched at the end of last year it has already succeeded in setting up a broad national coalition made up of the main networks and platforms within the Colombian civil society.
The Campaign in Colombia is made up as a coalition of networks and social organizations with presence at national level which have accepted the invitation to work in favour of placing those policies on poverty and the fulfilment of the Millennium Goals at the core of the National Public Agenda.
The Campaign No Excuses 2015 Colombia Without Poverty, has recently established a Coordinating Committee including the main civil society networks and organizations, religious organizations, local governmental organizations, and non governmental organizations.
The Campaign Coordinating Committee is made up of the following networks and institutions:
- The National Secretariat of Social Pastoral (Agency of the Colombian Episcopal Conference with presence all across the country). 2. The National Planning Council, which represents the Planning Territorial Councils of each one of the country's municipalities. 3. The National Federation of Councillors (FENACON) which represents municipal councils all across the country 4. The Network "Viva la Ciudadanía", with presence at national level, focused on the issues of Democracy and Development. 5. The Colombian Federation of Municipalities, which represents the 1,250 Colombian local mayors 6. The Colombian Platform for Human Rights, Democracy and Development, which represents about 80 organizations working on the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights. 7. The Alliance of Social Movements and Organizations: about 80 organizations that focus their action on the follow-up to the London Agreement signed between the European Union States and Colombia to set criteria for the provision of development aid and cooperation to Colombia. 8. The Colombian Confederation of NGOs with more than 2,000 affiliate NGOs at national level.
Besides, the Campaign has organized and carried out national Debates in the three main cities of Colombia with the participation of the Colombian Government, civil society organizations, universities, religious authorities and local governments, placing the issue of the country's poverty situation and the measures needed for its eradication on the Public Agenda.
As a result of such debates, the government made known its document on the strategies aimed at the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, which civil society organizations had been unsuccessfully requesting for nearly 8 months.
Progress has been made on placing the issue of Action against Poverty and the commitment to MDGs on the main national newspapers.
In cities like Medellín, the Debate carried out about the Campaign for the fulfilment of MDGs achieved the commitment of the Municipal Administration to make the public policy on Action against Poverty be publicly debated and agreed at a Citizen Seminar in which the city's plan to advance in the eradication of poverty and the implementation of MDGs is to be arranged.
In the Antioquia Department, and as result of the work carried out by the Campaign and several social networks in terms of incidence, the process to set up a Public Fund for Equity and Social Inclusion in the Department has been started.
Agreements have been made for the promotion of the Campaign's national mobilisations, in coordination with the Global Call to Action against Poverty next July 1, September 10 and December 10.
(Report drafted by the Campaign's coordinator, Alberto Yepes Palacio.)
