Brain Trust for the Colombian Transition

IFIT’s Brain Trust for the Colombian Transition brings together 30+ leading national and local experts to strengthen peace implementation. Created in 2016 and expanded in 2020, and using a purpose-built “horizontal peacebuilding” method, the Brain Trust provides unparalleled interdisciplinary analysis and advice on peace and reconciliation issues in Colombia.

Colombia

IFIT’s Role in Colombia

IFIT played a key role directly inside the Havana peace talks and has played an influential national peacebuilding role ever since. IFIT has convened dozens of high-level events, built bridges across polarized sectors and helped translate Colombia’s peace architecture into evidence-based solutions, while drawing on IFIT’s global network of 400+ experts.

A Global Peace Lab

Colombia has become one of the world’s frontier laboratories for peacebuilding, negotiation and transition. The 2016 peace deal with the FARC and its ambitious reforms have made the country a global reference on disarmament, transitional justice, and more.

Why Colombia Matters Today

Colombia is a country with scores of valuable lessons from its own past and present. It offers a powerful setting to responsibly test innovative new approaches to depolarization, narrative change, and peacebuilding.

A Unique Value Proposition

IFIT was the first organisation to systematically engage political actors opposed to the 2016 peace accord. Today, it is trusted across political parties and sectors to convene diverse voices, reduce polarization, and generate locally grounded policy proposals for peace, and security.

Colombia’s Regional Relevance

Colombia is a reference country on peace, mediation, conflict resolution and reconciliation issues in Latin America. Through a Regional Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean as well as through Brain Trusts in neighbouring countries, IFIT fosters mutual learning, civic diplomacy, and informed approaches to preventing and resolving violent conflicts and crises.

Our Bet on Depolarization

For 10 years, IFIT has been building bridges between opposing sectors. Its latest commitment? To transform vicious cycles of polarization through ‘Depolarizing Circles’.

What If the Problem Isn’t Disagreement Itself but How We Handle It?

Depolarizing Circles is a structured dialogue methodology developed by IFIT to address the absence of space for meaningful encounters across differences. 

The Circles bring together deeply diverse perspectives to engage on issues that are crucial to Colombia’s future. The methodology focuses on habits of respectful disagreement without the pressure of reaching consensus. 

Selected commentary

Public Commentary / 13 April 2021

Colombia’s Shaky Peace Deal Needs Biden’s Support

By Andrés García Trujillo

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