1. The beginning
This week was an introduction to Colombia, where we started to learn about the history and culture of the country and the city of Medellín in particular. Alongside my fellow scholars, I was also able to introduce myself to the organisation that I will be working with in the coming weeks, Picacho con Futuro (dubbed 'Picacho' for short by our group), located in Comuna 6. To get there, I had to explore the brilliant public transport network, which includes a daily commute on the metro train and cable car, up the steep mountains that surround the valley where the central city is located. Upon arrival, my beginner Spanish skills were already being tested as we interacted with the community that we aim to serve over the course of this placement. We met with a group of children who are taken care of by the foundation while their parents are at work, as an activity of the incorporated group Asociación de Madres Comunitarias El Triunfo. Meeting with these important members that make up the community will be an integral part of the Picacho team's central project for the upcoming weeks: to design and outline a proposal for a cultural cafe (called 'Barrio Mio'; 'My Neighbourhood')that will be located at the Picacho Corporation and serves its members.
2. Exploration
After meeting with Picacho, the Laidlaw group was taken on a journey throughout the city as we were taught the history of this city with a fraught past. This included an insightful meeting with the Sora Foundation, a social organisation that another group of scholars will be working with here in Medellin, in the famous Comuna 13 area. We learned that they have similar goals of improving community ties and connectedness through a cultural cafe. It became clear how these initiatives can be vital to building and maintaining community strength, which, in a place that still suffers the consequences of a recent past of major strife, makes the outcome of these spaces have huge social effects, as well as providing a good cup of coffee. As we continue to visit more cultural cafes throughout Medellin, we will understand better which elements can bring this 'cultural' aspect to the fore. UN Sustainable Development Goal #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities is clear in the work that we are hoping to achieve here, therefore.
2. Looking forward
My character and values were challenged this week. This was most obvious to me in my interactions with the children at Picacho. The children did not at any point lower their expectations or chattiness; it was up to me to keep up and not the other way around. As I gain more familiarity with the setting, its culture, our organisation and their goals, I hope to contribute more of a decisive presence--to be an instigator rather than a simple follower of ideas. To do this, I will draw on the leadership training that the Oxford Character project has equipped us Laidlaw scholars with. For example, I plan to utilise my humility by recognising that a necessary prerequisite to this type of action is to listen more and learn about the specific past and current needs of the community that I hope to serve. A tangible goal that I have for the coming week, therefore, is to understand what limited Picacho's attempts to develop commercial services in the past; we learned in our meeting that they had a restaurant in the corporation space a few years ago that unfortunately failed. Before we can suggest how to create a successful cultural cafe, we need to understand why the previous effort did not succeed.