A chance encounter outside Merton College, Oxford, in 2023 led Abingdon Peace Group to invite Gwen Burnyeat and her husband Andrei Gomez-Suarez to talk to us about their peacebuilding work in and for Colombia. Andrei is a Colombian writer, international relations scholar, and peace practitioner who specialises in conflict resolution, peace negotiations, transitional justice, reconciliation and dialogue. Gwen is a political anthropologist who has been working on peace and conflict in Colombia for over a decade as both an engaged scholar and peacebuilding practitioner. Both are part of Rodeemos el Dialogo (Embrace the Dialogue) a transnational network of Colombians and friends of Colombia.
Their lively, fascinating talk gives an insight into the struggles and triumphs of civil society involvement in peacebuilding, from the peace process with the FARC, to the peace community of San José de Apartadó; from the struggle to combat disinformation in the peace referendum, to how things are today under President Petro. A truly inspiring evening!
