[van-announce] Fwd: VANCOUVER EVENT - Colombia, the Conflicts and Beyond: Perspectives on a Canadian Ally

[Anthony Fenton]

Colombia, the Conflicts and Beyond: Perspectives on a Canadian Ally
Full Day Public Workshop
Sunday, April 19 2009

SFU Segal Centre
500 Granville Street (Downtown) Vancouver
Free Admission and Open to the Public
http://www.sfu.ca/las/news/ColombiaTheConflictsandBeyond.html

Sponsored by:
SFU Latin American Studies Program, UBC Latin American Studies  
Program, Latin American Studies Students’ Union (SFU), Simon Fraser  
Students’ Society (SFSS), and the SFU Graduate Student Society.

Synopsis:
In a brief tour of Latin America in July 2007, Canadian Prime Minister  
Stephen Harper announced a major foreign policy shift towards  
increased Canadian engagement in the Americas. One of his stops  
included a visit to Colombia, a troubled country that has since become  
one of Canada’s closest political allies in the region.

While there has been much academic and public debate on recent  
political and social ‘left turns’ in Latin America, Colombia appears  
to have followed a diverging path. Marred by the decades of violence  
affected by government forces, right-wing paramilitary groups and  
Latin America’s longest-standing guerrilla insurgency, Colombia is the  
site of one of the world’s most urgent humanitarian crises, with 4  
million people having been forcibly displaced. This situation has not  
advanced without rising contention from below. Colombian social and  
popular movements are emerging with vibrant proposals for peace, local  
autonomy and ‘a country without owners,’ facing down violent  
repression from all the armed actors.

Drawing on the perspectives of leading academics and social movement  
activists from across North America and Colombia, this full day public  
workshop is intended as a space to inform and discuss Colombia’s  
complex history, present, and the role of Canada in its future.

Speakers include:
Jasmin Hristov (York University)
Forrest Hylton (New York University)
Catherine LeGrand (McGill University)
Micheál Ó Tuathail (Simon Fraser University, La Chiva Collective)
Nazih Richani (Kean University, NJ)
James Rochlin (University of British Columbia, Okanagan)
Manuel Rozental (Pueblos en Camino Collective, Hemispheric Social  
Alliance)
Gustavo Ulcué (Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca,  
Colombia)


Workshop Program

10:00am-10:15
Welcome and Introduction
- Eric Hershberg, Simon Fraser University
- William French, University of British Columbia

10:15-11:15
The Roots and Evolution of Conflict in Colombia
Moderator: UBC Grad Student TBA
Situating the problem of violence in Colombia historically,  
encompassing both domestic dynamics of social and political exclusion  
and the influence of the international context.
- Forrest Hylton, New York University
  Catherine LeGrand, McGill University

11:15-11:30
Brief Break
Coffee and refreshments

11:30-12:45
The Armed Conflict and Beyond
Moderator: Luis Moncayo, MA Candidate, Latin American Studies (SFU)
Colombia’s conflict in its contemporary context, outlining the  
interests of armed actors and the relationships among them. This  
session will further consider other actors involved in the conflict,  
displacement and humanitarian issues, the rise of paramilitarism and  
the contemporary decline of the armed insurgencies.
- James Rochlin, University of British Columbia, Okanagan
- Jasmin Hristov, York University, Toronto
- Nazih Richani, Kean University, New Jersey

12:45 - 2:00
Lunch break

2:00-3:30
The Converging Paths of Social Movement Actors
Moderator: UBC Grad Student TBA
The reemergence and convergence of Colombia’s invisible struggles are  
guiding trends toward a non-violent and popular resistance to  
Colombia’s status quo. Critical to these processes is the role of  
social movements, including those associated with addressing the root  
causes as well as the lingering effects of Colombia’s social and  
political crises in a dynamic national and regional context. What are  
the hopes and challenges for social movements in Colombia? How does  
this relate to the position of the current Canadian government and  
social movements in Canada?
- Gustavo Ulcué, Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca  
(ACIN), Colombia
- Manuel Rozental, Hemispheric Social Alliance, Pueblos en Camino  
Collective
- Micheál Ó Tuathail, MA Candidate Latin American Studies (SFU), La  
Chiva (Canada).

3:30-3:45
Brief Break
Coffee and refreshments

3:45-5:00pm
Final Comments and Conclusions
Moderator: Eric Hershberg, Director, Latin American Studies (SFU)