Launch of the Policarpas School in Colombia
Colombian Vice Minister of Women Támara Matea Ospina Posse was interviewed along with CLACSO Executive Director Pablo Vommaro on the program El Calentao, by Señal Colombia, on Thursday, February 26.
They presented the agreement between the Ministry of Equality and CLACSO to promote the Policarpas School in 5 territories of Colombia, an open and free training process for popular women, which seeks to strengthen organizational processes, provide tools for the prevention of gender-based violence and popular communication, among others.
Pablo Vommaro emphasized that "intense training processes are needed, which not only involve receiving content, but also co-constructing it," and stressed that political education must be approached "with an intersectional focus, that is, with a gender focus, but also an anti-racist focus, an approach that prioritizes parity and equality."
She warned about the fragility of social gains, stating that "rights are unfortunately not won once and for all, but are always contested and threatened with being reduced or violated." In this context, the goal is "to promote the leading role of women from marginalized communities, not only in participation, which is very important, but also in political decision-making," helping to break the so-called glass ceiling.
Regarding CLACSO's role in promoting critical thinking, he defined that "the Latin American Council of Social Sciences is a network of research, training and social advocacy centers, which is made up of almost a thousand centers" and that this network seeks "to produce rigorous knowledge, the government of the Republic, the reality in a sense of greater democracy, greater justice, total peace and greater equality."
Given the current situation, he stressed the need for an analytical stance: "It is important that this thinking has critical tools, that is, that it does not reproduce without rethinking, without reflecting, without criticizing."
Finally, she extended a public invitation, mentioning that "Escuela Policarpas is an open training proposal" and that the participants will be an active part of the process because "they will be able to bring their experiences, their expectations, their productions and their knowledge to be shared with others."
The “ Policarpas School: Training Process for Popular Women of Change ” is a strategic commitment to feminist political training aimed at strengthening the leadership of popular women within the framework of the project of democratic transformation, social justice and total peace promoted by the Government of Change.
The creation of the Policarpas School reflects a concrete political decision to strengthen the organizational, technical, and advocacy capacities of women in all their diversity, bringing together the State, critical academia, and social movements. The alliance between the Vice Ministry and CLACSO is not limited to a technical cooperation agreement, but rather constitutes an inter-institutional effort to democratize knowledge, broaden participation, and consolidate a substantive equality agenda in Colombia.
The School will develop virtual and targeted training programs in a hybrid format, aimed at women social and community leaders, women's organizations, and public officials, including members of the security forces. The objective is to strengthen social leadership and transform institutional capacities to prevent, address, and eradicate gender-based violence.
