The celebration of Benposta's fifty years has been one of the most significant events for the entire community; every moment has been exceptional. On Wednesday, April 17th, a day was held where the youth of our community and from other regions presented their offerings as a symbol of celebration and gratitude. Additionally, tribute was paid to Alejandro Acosta for his long career and dedication to our community.
Find more information about this event on our social media.
#TodosSomosBenposta
Exploring worlds among pages: Benposta youth immerse themselves in the magic of the Book Fair in Bogotá. 📚✨ Thanks to the "Dreamcatchers" program, the Mayor's Office of Bogotá, and the JEP for making this unique experience possible.
#BookFair #YoungReaders
Self-government constitutes one of the fundamental pillars in the Benposta community, with the election of our mayors and their governing board being the maximum expression of this principle. In the context of the celebration of Benposta's fifty years, a debate among the candidates was held before the entire community.
Access more information about this event on our social media.
#TodosSomosBenposta
On Saturday, April 20th, we enjoyed a sports day that served as a prelude to the artistic events scheduled to celebrate Benposta's fifty years in Colombia. We want to express our gratitude to the Sabali Foundation for their participation in these activities, as well as to the Benposta residents of Córdoba for their outstanding artistic presentation with fire. We also extend our thanks to everyone who accompanied us at that time.
Find more information about this event on our social media.
#TodosSomosBenposta
During the celebration days of Benposta's fifty years in Colombia, we offered a space where our visitors could take souvenir photos wearing the traditional costumes used in the dances and performances of our Benposta community.
Access more information about this event on our social media.
#TodosSomosBenposta
On Benposta's fiftieth birthday, we were fortunate to have the theater company La Libélula Dorada perform. This artistic group, through their puppet show, provided us with a unique moment of entertainment and reflection. We deeply appreciate their participation in this celebration and for always holding Benposta close to their hearts.
Access more information about this event on our social media.
#TodosSomosBenposta
April 21st marked the most significant day in commemorating fifty years of Benposta in Colombia. During this day, we had the privilege of witnessing two memorable artistic moments, as well as an emotional tribute to our director, Jose Luis Campo, by his family, friends, and the sister organization Coalico. Access more information about this event on our social media.
#TodosSomosBenposta
.jpg)
✨🇵🇹🇨🇴✨✨🇵🇹🇨🇴✨Two months ago we received the pleasant visit of Catarina Arruda, Ambassador of Portugal in Colombia, who toured the facilities of our headquarters, visited the different art spaces, enjoyed a presentation of the music group and finally had a chat with the Benposteños.
We appreciate the interest and support they have given us, here you will always have open doors.
@portugalencolombia
#Portugal #Colombia #Family #Benposta #Support
A few days ago, the commemoration of the International Youth Day was held in the Caranal center of Fortul - Arauca. On this day different children and adolescents of the territory participated in the creation of messages and images referring to this important date, in order to reflect and understand the importance of the protection of youth and the demand for guarantees for the development of their lives.
These spaces are possible thanks to the project Protective Environments: "Guarantees and Opportunities for the Dignity of Life of Children and Adolescents in Catatumbo" funded by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
#Children'sEducation #EducationIntegral #Children'sRights #HumanRights #ChildrenandAdolescents #ddhh #Benposta #Colombia #LatinAmerica #DignifiedLife #Future #Arauca #Youth.
✨🎥🎤✨ The voices of children and young people must be heard, that is why we were so pleased to receive the visit of the Eureka tu canal team from Canal Capital who were collecting the opinions of children and adolescents on what they understand by peacebuilding.
Very soon the Benposteños will be in one of their programs so stay tuned.
#Television #Journalism #Voices #Opinions #Youth #Peace #Truth #Truth #Reconciliation
The Peace Journalism and Audiovisual Production Diploma financed by the Arts and Humanities Reserch Council of the United Kingdom, in alliance with the Universidad del Rosario and the University of Leeds in England began with a group of young people from Buenaventura, Saravena and Tierralta who are also receiving journalistic education by and for the youth. We thank the entire team behind this project for giving their lives for a more comprehensive education for the youth of Colombia. You can know all their work on Instagram as @mihistoriaco and on their website https://mihistoria.co/.
We invite you to follow them on their social networks and learn more about this educational space.
#Benposta #UniversidadRosario #Journalism #Education #Peace
Rosario University
Last Friday we participated in the School Festival of the Arts with three representative exhibitions of Benposta. Dance, music and painting were the artistic expressions that highlighted the great work of the Benposteños. Here we share with you some of the photos of this beautiful day.
https://fb.watch/fP_CyH5oyZ/
https://fb.watch/fP_E_OsiMi/
#dances #music #theater #performances #dance #art #Benposta #graffiti #muralism #ProjectofLife
Yesterday we received at our headquarters the pleasant visit of Mr. Peter Ptassek, Ambassador of Germany in Colombia and Ms. Andrea Richards, Head of Press, Cultural and Scientific Cooperation of the Embassy. Accompanied by the Mayor and a delegate of his Board of Governors, they made a short tour of our headquarters in Bogota, where in addition to appreciating the various activities in which children, adolescents and youth (NNAJ) participate, they had the opportunity to meet and share with a group of them from different regions of the country. This visit is part of the project "NETWORK OF PROTECTIVE ENVIRONMENTS: Guarantees and opportunities to dignify the life projects of children and adolescents affected by the armed conflict in Colombia" that Benposta is carrying out at its headquarters in Bogota and in Buenaventura with the support of the German Cooperation. During the exchange with the group of Benposta citizens, the Ambassador listened to the comments and some testimonies that reflect the harshness of the war and its impact on their lives, expressing their desire to return someday to their regions of origin. Once again we express our gratitude for the support that we received from Germany several years ago, highlighting KinderMissionsWerk, Terre des Hommes-Germany, Freundeskreis Benposta, Misereor and directly from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Embassy. The presence of the Ambassador and his relationship with the NNAJ dignifies their life projects.
German Embassy in Bogota #ChildrenNotSoldiers #DefendLife #ProtectiveEnvironmentsNetwork #ChildrenNotSoldiers #NoMoreViolence #Buenaventuraresiste #Music
From its foundation Benpposta has adopted the current project "Culture for life" as a way life dignification of children and young people who participate to this projects. Through art and culture they achieve resignificance of their life projects, discover their skills, strengthen their self-confidence to generate expression and participation processes, especially when reality in their home regions has caused gradation processes of their human condition.
In 2020, thanks to the solidarity support of Terre des Homes - Germany he have managed to advance a process of strengthening and systelatizing the process of formation-expression-participation in these activities of the Children and Young people that take a part of the Benposta Educational Community in Bogota. The video that we present here was made by the Communications coordinator in Benposta (Karol Benavides) and includes the most important elements of this process.
On December 7,9,10, and 11, the member of the General Assembly of Benposta (Demeber 7th) and the group of adults who live at Benposta's Headquarters in Bogota met for review-evaluation-planning sessions based on the functions (roles) that each of us assumed. The general Assembly; of which according to the statutes are part those over 18 years old who remain physically linked directly through one of its headquarters; met and virtually (delegates from the regional headquarters of Cordoba and Meta-Guaviare) and among the points discussed was the election of the Board of Directors for the period 2021-2022, being re-elected in its entirety and in the same positions the current Board of Directors.
During those days, the adults who live in the Educational Center of Bogotá assumed technical-administrative and pedagogical coordination roles, having as reference the contributions that the Children and young people made regarding the evaluation and proposals on the different activities, including a personal "evaluation" of each one of us who, as adults, accompanied them in their personal and collective processes. Consistent with our culture of community life, the exercise of reviewing each of the programs and processes was done in a respectful and proactive environment, including those aspects that refer to our functions and attitudes as references to support the Children and young people with whom we share our life projects.
Committed to the health of children, young people and adults in Benposta, we have developed a strategic plan in order to prevent the spread of this new virus as much as possible. In different regions we have tried to generate awareness through different communication strategies, all related to prudent distancing and sanitary measures, and at the level of Bogota, we have managed a preventive isolation since April.
All these measures have paid off and have allowed us to live in total tranquility. Through the use of hydroalcoholic gel, mouthwashes and other elements we guarantee the health of everyone. We invite everyone to follow these protocols with moderation so that we can reduce the number of infected people and think little by little about a return to a normalcy in which we can see our smiles.
During the first semester of 2020 Benposta, in alliance with the Institute of Cooperation and Portuguese Language of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Portugal in Colombia, carried out a pedagogical process through the area of communications with children, adolescents and young people through the project "Culture for life: Strengthening a process of communications with children and young people for the armed conflict in Colombia".
This process allowed children and young people from different parts of the country who currently live in Benposta's main office in Bogotá, to participate in a creative writing process where they freely expressed the situations of violation of their fundamental rights, due to the absence or weakness of the social state of law and the impact of the armed conflict in its different expressions.
The final product was a publication called: "Our voice matters, today I raise mine - Stories of children, adolescents and youth. We invite our readers to be part of this text and to know first-hand the stories that have been the result of the immeasurable effort of children and young people to express their feelings and express their discontent in the face of the injustices we see daily in society.
In Benposta, the children and young people take the opportunity once a month after various meetings ( whether general assembly, partial, by stages, district, among others) to light a candle. Its purpose is to pray for someone. Such actss serve so that they can realize the different situations that human beings go through and that need to be changed. For example, this day we try to ask for the well-being of families, for the welfare of the community, for the health of humanity, for the environment or even for themselves.
These acts that are generated in a space of respect and solidarity serve to, in a symbolic way, demonstrate the importance of existence. Through the passage from person to person of this candle, the anguishes, the worries, the desires, the objectives and the hopes that at some moment can be solved or faced in group are shared. All this to say that the spirituality and the importance that are carried out that day of each time strengthen the bonds of brotherhood that so much promotes our community.
.jpeg)
On October 31st, the community of Benposta enjoyed various activities as part of the celebration of the well-known "Halloween" night. The children, young people and adults of Benposta lived this celebration properly.
In the morning and afternoon each of us put our creativity to work to dress up, we spent a few hours painting our faces representing different characters or personalities. Also in the afternoon we enjoyed a wonderful "Asado" together. Later, in the evening, we had a party in our theater, with the surprise that the atmosphere made us dance and enjoy the music for a few hours. Thus, we spent this wonderful day together.
In the next few days we will be announcing the new face of our website. After a few adjustments we want to show in a more modern way all the processes that are taking place within the educational community of Benposta. We would like to show from this portal all the events, the news, the history, the work in the different regions that surround the work of Benposta.
With this new change in our virtual image we also want to show the opinions of the people who have gone through this project. Making Benposta's work known through social networks also represents an adjustment to the institutional image that will continue to work for the well-being of children and young people in Colombia.
Art is a genuine process in Benposta's history and it is born in a framework of illusion and dreams as part of his pedagogical proposal.
In Colombia, children live very complex situations related to the social and armed conflict in the regions. When they arrive at Benposta they find a place where art somehow allows them to dignify their lives, because through these spaces children find themselves, discover their potentials and have the opportunity to create together with others guided by various teachers.
During the entire year 2020, dance, music, singing, creation of mustard handles and sewing groups worked as every year in the preparation and accompaniment of this artistic process with the children and young people of Benposta. Last November 20th, they delighted the community with their representative presentations of the Colombian culture and tradition and once again the capacities and skills that identify all the girls of Benposta and the importance of the accompaniment of their teachers became evident.
From November 24th to 27th the children, young people and adults of the community, enjoyed the last trip of the year that took place in the municipality of Girardot, in this space they enjoyed and played making proper use of their free time and taking the security measures against COVID - 19 for the welfare and care of all.
As a community, we assume the importance of recreational spaces in which the children allow themselves to release their emotions and live moments of happiness. This space was the farewell of the year 2020 and after it the children return to their territories where they will be reunited with their families.
During the second semester of 2020, the children and young people who are part of the communications group of the community, participated in a creative audiovisual process known as animation. This process allows the animators (in this case the children and young people) to give the sensation of movement to images, drawings or other types of inanimate objects.
This process was supported by a multidisciplinary group of professionals, including several visual artists, a sound designer, an international journalist in charge of the process and the social communicator of the community of Buenos Aires. The initial process focused on writing, here the children and young people told their life story accurately, stories that speak in detail of the various violations of their fundamental rights, because of the armed conflict in our country.
On November 29th, 2020, the Benposta community, parents and graduates met at the Benposta headquarters in Bogotá to formalize the graduation of the last year's students in order to grant the title of " Academic Secondary School with emphasis on Community Development".
As a community we are happy to participate in the achievements of our young people and we are sure that their mark will be unforgettable, since in Benposta we want them not only to be good professionals for life and society, but also to be people who seek equal conditions for their communities and respect for the rights of the most vulnerable, especially children and young people.
