Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter meets 20 young people from Colombia
Bern, 23.09.2015 - On Wednesday 23 September 2015, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter met with a group of 20 young people from Colombia who are travelling through Switzerland as part of a joint project of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They are getting to know a dozen sports that are popular in Switzerland, including ice hockey, tennis and football. The aim of the visit is to show young people from a region affected by conflict alternative prospects to a life of crime and violence.
The fifteen girls and five boys aged 14 to 17 are visiting Switzerland from 18 to 27 September. They come from the department of Nariño, a region in the south-west of Colombia that has been particularly shaken by over 40 years of armed conflict. During their 10-day visit to Switzerland, the young people are getting to know popular sports such as ice hockey, tennis and football with the help of athletes from different parts of the country. Introductions to other sports such as badminton, mountain hiking, basketball, gymnastics, floorball and volleyball are also on the programme.
The trip is intended to give young people other perspectives by encouraging them to regularly take part in sports, to keep them from being drawn into criminal gangs or illegal armed groups through a lack of alternatives or prospects for the future. The trip is taking place as part of the "Diplomacia Deportiva" (sport diplomacy) programme launched by the Colombian government in 2011. Since 2011, in total 975 Colombian children and young people have taken part in similar visits to 39 countries. This is the third time that Switzerland has been the destination of such a trip: over 60 young people from the same region have now visited the country and returned home brimming with sporting experiences and memories.
By inviting the young Colombians, Switzerland is underlining its determination to work even harder to protect children in armed conflicts and against the use of child soldiers. By supporting concrete projects locally, Switzerland wants to prevent the recruitment of children into armed forces or armed groups. It is also supporting programmes for secondary schools and vocational schools and for psychosocial rehabilitation.
The visit is being organised by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in cooperation with Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Office of Sport and several organisations from the world of sport.
Switzerland's long-standing commitment in Colombia
Switzerland has long been committed to improving the living conditions of the Colombian population – particular of those affected by the armed conflict – and to the country's sustainable economic development. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) concentrates its efforts in Colombia on emergency humanitarian aid and reconstruction assistance, protecting the civilian population and on providing access to clean drinking water and sanitation. In 10 municipalities in the department of Nariño, the SDC is supporting projects for mine victims and projects to protect communities threatened by forced displacement. The FDFA's Human Security Division is active in Colombia in the fields of peacebuilding, human rights protection and dealing with the past. The production and export of high-quality cocoa beans, which are also used by famous Swiss chocolate manufacturers, is one of the areas supported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in the context of its economic development cooperation with Colombia in the department of Nariño. This project aims to provide alternatives to migration to the cities, reduce poverty in local communities and thereby contribute to stability in the region.
Address for enquiries
FDFA Communication
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CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
Twitter: @SwissMFA
Publisher
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html
