PBI-Colombia accompanied Peace Community co-founder José Roviro Lopez to speak at #NoWar2022 conference

World Beyond War will be holding their #NoWar2022: Resistance & Regeneration virtual global conference this coming July 8-10.

World Beyond War notes: “Hosted virtually through the Zoom Events platform, #NoWar2022 will facilitate international solidarity by bringing together speakers and attendees from around the world. #NoWar2022 will highlight unique stories of change-making, both big and small, around the world, that challenge the structural causes of war & militarism while, at the same time, concretely creating an alternative system based on a just and sustainable peace.”

On Sunday July 10 at 12:30 pm ET, there will be a panel called: “Resisting & Regenerating in the Aftermath of War, Sanctions, & Violent Conflict.”

José Roviro Lopez will be a speaker on that panel.

He is one of the founding members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, which has been accompanied by PBI-Colombia since 1999.

As noted on the World Beyond War website:

“25 years ago, on March 23 of 1997, a group of peasants from different villages who wanted no part in the armed conflict that was plaguing their region, signed the declaration that identified them as the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.

Instead of joining the thousands of displaced people in the country, this peasant population created a pioneering initiative in Colombia: a community that declared itself neutral in the face of the armed conflict and rejected the presence of all armed groups in its territory.

Despite declaring themselves an outside party to the armed conflict and promoting their vision of non-violence, since its creation the Peace Community has been the target of countless attacks, including forced displacements, hundreds of sexual abuses, assassinations and massacres.

The Peace Community wants to be an example of what its founding members call a “humanizing alternative”. The same notion inspires the way the Peace Community understands the importance of community work as an alternative to the dominant capitalist economic model.

For the Peace Community, the desire to live in peace is closely linked to the right to life and land. José is part of the Internal Council, which supervises the respect for the principles and rules of the community and coordinates daily tasks.

The Internal Council highlights the importance of education, both to strengthen their capacities as farmers and sustainable agricultural producers, and to teach young people about the history of the Peace Community and its resistance.”

Still from the film Chocolate of Peace.

To view the schedule for #NoWar2022, get tickets and more information, click here.