• These projects were part of the 474 proposals for this year´s call and shall be implemented in 2024. External juries were used for each of the four categories.
• A total of COP 950 million will be distributed among the 5 proposals chosen to build citizenship and democracy in Colombia, thanks to an alliance between Grupo SURA and the Davivienda Bolívar Foundation.
• These projects shall have a consequent effect on communities in Medellín, Necoclí and Cúcuta, in addition to reaching urban and rural audiences throughout the country, this through different media and formats.

In an emotional event held at the National Museum of Colombia in Bogota, Grupo SURA and the Bolivar Davivienda Foundation announced on Tuesday night the 5 projects that were selected as a result of the 2023 #PensarConOtros call for proposals for building citizenship and democracy in Colombia.

These initiatives, to be implemented in 2024 stand out for the plurality of their organizations, formats and creative approaches for raising awareness among different audiences regarding the role of citizenship.

In this, the third annual call for proposals, Grupo SURA's alliance with the Bolivar Davivienda Foundation was highlighted. This joint participation in this initiative stems from the common interests of both organizations in strengthening the sense of the public sphere as well as democracy as a shared purpose on the part of society.

"For us at the Bolivar Davivienda Foundation, it is a source of great pride to be part of the Pensar Con Otros initiative in alliance with Grupo SURA. Here, we are driving democratic values, the rights and duties of citizens and the social rule of law, strengthening the social fabric of communities, project environments that promote dialogue, consensus building and the common good of our citizens, as is our purpose at the Foundation," explained Fernando Cortés, Director of the Bolivar Davivienda Foundation.

In all three of its annual versions, this call for proposals has received a total of 2,060 projects from 29 departments throughout Colombia and has allocated more than COP 2,000 million for supporting and implementing a total of19 selected initiatives. 

"We thank more than 470 individuals and organizations that submitted projects in this year's call for proposals. It is very gratifying for us to be able to learn all about and participate in implementing these initiatives which are so diverse in terms of formats, ideas and territories. We shall continue to promote the strengthening of democracy, in line with our purpose of contributing to the harmonious development of society and our responsibility as corporate citizens," stated María Mercedes Barrera, Manager of Corporate Citizenship Manager of Grupo SURA.

Initiatives selected for implementation in 2024

Category: "Training in civic culture for living in a democracy”:
The roots of democracy among the rural population

This project presented by the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters of Northern Santander is salvaging community radio as a training vehicle for radio producers and their audiences in that Department. The intention of this project is to train these audiences in producing content that drives public conversation and debate.

Anti-rumor  mongering school network. This is an initiative on the part of the Corporación Región para el Desarrollo y la Democracia aimed at promoting democratic coexistence, respect for diversity, non-violence, the common good and the protection of life by preventing rumor-mongering in six educational communities in Medellín. 

Category: "The voice of civil society. Expressions and civic mobilization":
No Passport Required: First cross-border festival of arts and culture aimed at driving integration.With this initiative, the cultural corporation El Totumo Encantado seeks to raise awareness regarding positive conflict transformation and the drama of being a migrant through a local festival that, through theater, the exchange of knowledge and conversation, proposes creative solutions to realities relating to migration.

Category: “Journalism that builds democracy in Colombia"
Medellín hacked: young city editors. This initiative proposed by Fundación Casa de las Estrategias is aimed at advancng a process of training, creating and producing journalistic content to be published on the alternative platform Ciudad Morada, which brings together adolescents and young people who are outside the educational system as well as others in school, around concepts such as xenophobia, oversight, memory, feminism, corruption, as well as participating in cultural events as well as a pedagogical process in educational institutions.

Category: "Research into Institutionalism and Democracy in Latin America".
Closing gaps for accessing energy transition in the countryside. This project presented by Conservamos S.A.S. Is aimed at analyzing access barriers to energy transition in rural sectors in Colombia as well as two other countries in the region, this in order to design enabling tools and carry out a pilot project to validate their application.

These projects were part of the 20 pre-selected projects, 5 per category, which were announced between November 15 and 18 at events held in alliance with Consejo de Redacción, Fundación Ideas para la Paz, Museo de Antioquia and Museo La Tertulia (Cali). It is because of all the participating individuals and organizations, that every year #PensarConOtros can continue to drive conversations, interventions and knowledge around civic participation and the collective construction of democracy.

Learn all about the experience of the projects selected in the two previous calls for proposals which were implemented in 2022 and 2023.