It’s mid-summer and Victory Institute’s Global team has been dreaming and scheming in our mission to build LGBTQI+ political power, this time from Colombia! On Wednesday, July 31, Victory Institute’s Global team closed out three days of intense programming with our Colombian partners, Caribe Afirmativo, in the country’s capital city, Bogotá, where we held the National Gathering of LGBTQI+ Elected Officials.
In our 7th of Global trainings we’ve held in less than a year, our team joined trainees and partners in the capital city after an unprecedented and crucial election cycle last fall. The numbers are telling:
- In 2023, 202 openly LGBTQI+ candidates participate in Colombia’s territorial elections.
- This constituted an increase of 152.5% in LGBTQI+ candidacies when compared to the 2019 territorial election cycle!
- Victory Institute Global and Caribe Afirmativo’s efforts were integral in following the trajectories of last year’s candidates, including holding a training in October 2023 right before elections and monitoring results. Of the 202 total candidacies, 33 of these successfully went on to become elected officials.
For this training cycle, we had a total of 32 participants from across Colombia, distributed among the following roles:
- 10 – Municipal Council Members
- 4 – Local Administrative Board Members
- 18 – LGBTQI+ Liaisons to Local Mayor’s Offices
–> Did you know that many mayors’ offices in cities and towns across Colombia have an official LGBTQI+ Liaison role?
Their main priority is to ensure the implementation of LGBTQI+ policies and protocols at the local level.
–> What’s the catch/challenge?
They often have no compensation for the role, budget for programs or real authority.
THE AGENDA: Our team worked to provide trainees with an agenda that most addressed their needs as newly elected officials. It was PACKED and included the following:
- 1 opening Panel with Colombia’s Rainbow Caucus.
- This caucus, represented by Congresspeople Andrés Cancimance and Carolina Giraldo, opened up the training space and set the tone for the following days.
- 2 presentations
- Presentation of the Post-Electoral Report
- Presentation of the Trans Vote Protocol Monitoring Report
- 1 working breakfast with the Integral (Comprehensive) Trans Rights Law Platform
- 4 training modules
- 1) Monitoring the implementation of Territorial Development Plans from an LGBTQI+ perspective
- 2) LGBTQI+ cybersecurity from a territorial perspective
- 3) Negotiation and conciliation in local government contexts
- 4) LGBTQI+ Advocacy in the Territorial Development Plans
- 1 public event and discussion
- This event centered on analyzing what Colombia’s Territorial Development Plans include in terms of LGBTQI+ priorities
–> What are Territorial Development Plans (TDPs)?
The TDPs are a planning instrument coordinated between Colombia’s federal and territorial governments, through which mayors’ offices and governorships establish the actions, means, and resources that will be executed during a government period. In the approved TDPs, governing budgets are assigned and distributed, allowing local governments to build and implement public policy that responds to the needs of the territory.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, our training program centered LGBTQI+ priorities within the implementation of these TDPs and challenged our participants as to how they could effectively work to prioritize LGBTQI+ needs in the implementation of the plans in the upcoming governmental period.
THERE’S ALWAYS A PLUS!
Our training came to an incredible close as Deputy Director of Global Programs Mateo de la Torre and I, along with partner staff and participants, joined a coalition of Colombian activists and civil society members to attend the official filing of the Integral (Comprehensive) Trans Rights Law Project in Colombia’s House of Representatives. This historic filing comes after years of activism and tireless efforts by trans and non-binary collectives, seeking to enshrine in law a guarantee of rights and a dignified life free from violence, with opportunities and justice for trans and non-binary people in Colombia.
Stay tuned to the coming months as Victory Institute’s Global team will continue to accompany these elected officials in their work and efforts to promote and strengthen LGBTQI+ political participation in Colombia’s territories!
