Los Diálogos Panamericanos: Paz y Pandemia

English | Spanish (actualización próximamente)

Los Diálogos Panamericanos: Paz y Pandemia is an international bilingual debate, dialogue, and deliberation series addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and its ramifications for the Colombian peace-building process. Organized by The George Washington University Debate & Literary Society, the George Washington University Peace Studies Program, Universidad de los Andes, and Universidad del Rosario, the program brings together undergraduate and graduate students from the United States and Colombia to engage, research and discuss the challenges raised by the pandemic to peace and unity in Colombia. Los Diálogos Panamericanos: Paz y Pandemia is a follow-up to last year's pilot program, What We Owe.

Stage 1: In the first stage of Los Diálogos Panamericanos, over 20 U.S. and Colombian students representing the three participating schools collaborated to identify the primary research questions relating to the topic of peace and the pandemic in Colombia. Specifically, bilingual roundtables were organized in which Colombian graduate and undergraduate students were invited to address the question: "What is the greatest challenge to Colombian peace and unity raised by the COVID pandemic". Following the the roundtables, members of the GWU Debate & Literary Society collected the thoughts and research of these students into the summary document provided here.

Stage 2: Over the course of the Fall 2020 semester, U.S. and Colombian students engaged the research questions identified during the roundtables with the goal of developing the questions into an online resource collecting, surveying and engaging the best available evidence on the most important questions relating to the topic of peace and the pandemic in Colombia. This included identifying the most important points of controversy relating to these research questions to be used as topic areas for future deliberations and debates taking place on the Atrévete App.

Stage 3: At the end of the Fall Semester, GWU students participated in online deliberations on the Atrévete App addressing the most important points of controversy relating to the research questions identified in Stage 2. On Atrévete, an algorithm sorted participating students into deliberation rooms based on their initial opinions on the points of controversy identified in Stage 2. These collaborative discussions protected anonymity so students could voice their beliefs without fear, judgment, or backlash.

Stage 4: In Spring 2021, Colombian citizens will participate in online deliberations on the Atrévete App addressing the most important points of controversy relating to the research questions identified in Stage 2.