Felipe Bogotá Rodríguez, TerritoriA (Colombia)
Latin America is known to be one of the most unequal, distrustful, and insecure regions in the world. However, our capacity to generate social, political, economic, cultural and environmental change is not recognized in the same way. Moreover, we are an example of resilience to the patterns of colonialism that have historically affected our territory.
For our region, #ShiftThePower means to consolidate social, autonomous and sustainable processes in the communities. To demonstrate that we have the wealth, assets and capacities necessary to develop our own vision of progress and so-called “"development.” To achieve this, we are convinced that profound systemic changes are needed in decision-making structures through local and global movements that work to position a new way of doing things.
#ShiftThePower represents an opportunity to start conversations, establish connections and build powerful constructs. It is also a space to understand "what unites us rather than what divides us" as a global movement. With #ShiftThePower we can establish the messages and actions that we want to promote in the coming years because, as we know, this is a challenging long-term process that needs us united and cohesive.
As hosts of the #ShiftThePower Global Summit, we are excited that you can learn about the richness and diversity that characterizes Colombia. We hope that our country will contribute to further inspiring movements around the world.