Cooperation and Partnerships, Analysis and Intelligence

APC Colombia & eLankidetza – Urban Agenda for Peace and Non-Violence (2023–2025)

Involved organizations

Year

2024, 2025

City, country

Colombia, Colombia

Lines of work

Networking and Alliance Building, Networking and partnerships

About the project

The project supported the participatory design of an Urban Agenda for Peace and Non-Violence, aimed at connecting the territorial challenges of urban peace with international agendas, knowledge, and cooperation opportunities. Through international seminars, focus groups, and dialogue processes involving local, national, and international stakeholders, the project developed the agenda framework and supported its localization in Buenaventura through the formulation of a public policy on urban peace. The process culminated in a practical guide to facilitate the adaptation of the Agenda in other cities and territories across Colombia, Latin America, and beyond.

Challenge

In contexts shaped by different forms of violence—including conflict, inequality, and social fragmentation—building peace increasingly requires approaches that can be translated into concrete territorial action. Yet peace agendas are often developed within broad national or institutional frameworks, leaving the role of cities, local governments, and territorial stakeholders in the background. In Buenaventura, this challenge was particularly acute due to the persistence of urban violence, longstanding inequalities, and governance constraints, highlighting the need to translate peace into a place-based territorial agenda rooted in local capacities while informed by international experience.

Approach

PHARE facilitated a participatory process to design, refine, and localize the Urban Agenda for Peace. The project combined international seminars held in Colombia and Europe, focus groups with national and international stakeholders, collaborative working sessions with local institutions, and co-creation processes. This approach connected global experience with Buenaventura’s local priorities, supported the development of a public policy on urban peace, and generated practical knowledge that can inform similar processes in other territories.

Impact

The project contributed to positioning urban peace as a strategic priority for local governments and strengthened Buenaventura’s institutional capacity to address peace as a key pillar of territorial resilience. It resulted in an Urban Agenda for Peace framework, a pilot experience demonstrating its localization through public policy, and a methodological guide to support its adaptation in other contexts across Colombia, Latin America, and beyond.

Associated resources

Web Agenda Urbana para la Paz
Video Final PHARE - Montevideo

Multimedia
Return

Cooperation and alliances

Solutions we offer

Networking and alliance building:

Engagement with networks, platforms, and strategic partners to advance shared agendas and strengthen territorial cooperation.

International cooperation and resources:

Identifying and managing cooperation, funding, and other support mechanisms to strengthen territorial initiatives.

Project design and implementation:

Formulation, management, and support of international projects and initiatives.

ATTRACTIVENESS AND PROJECTION

Solutions we offer

Territorial positioning:

Designing territorial positioning strategies and tools to strengthen the identity and projection of cities and regions.

Attractiveness and identity:

Building narratives, city branding, destination vision, and territorial promotion strategies.

Projecting opportunities:

Attracting investment, cooperation, tourism, culture, and talent.

Strategy and Public policies

Solutions we offer

Territorial strategy and planning:

Designing strategies and tools to strengthen territorial development and consolidate international engagement as public policy.

Public agendas and governance:

Participatory methodologies, policy labs, and collaborative processes for building public agendas.

Technical assistance:

Technical support for implementing territorial development and international engagement strategies.

KNOWLEDGE AND innovation

Solutions we offer

Knowledge and analysis:

Diagnostics, studies, applied research, and forward-looking analysis of international trends.

Training and capacity building:

Training programs, workshops, and tools to strengthen institutional and technical capacities.

Exchange and learning across territories:

Peer-to-peer learning spaces, experience-sharing, and collective knowledge building.