This training is essential for anyone who is interested in volunteering in Colombia, although we are keen to emphasise that the focus is on the training being an orientation weekend with absolutely no commitment to travelling to Colombia. It is also a great way of learning about the situation in the country.

The training will be run by three Espacio members recently returned from Colombia, at a location in central Bristol. We request a donation of £20 (£15 low-waged) to help cover our costs (though won't turn you away for lack of funds) and are happy to provide accomodation for people coming from outside Bristol.

To register, please send the details requested to us at  espaciobristol@redcolombia.org (Red Colombia is the Red de Hermandad y Solidaridad con Colombia - Network of Friendship and Solidarity with Colombia).

ABOUT ESPACIO BRISTOL-COLOMBIA:

Espacio Bristol-Colombia is part of the Red de Hermandad y Solidaridad con Colombia (Network of Friendship and Solidarity with Colombia) which is a space for coordination between both autonomous, grassroots organisations in Colombia and solidarity collectives in other countries.
Groups in the Red de Hermandad work together around themes such as:-
• the impact of multinational corporations;
• human rights violations;
• the need for a negotiated solution to the social and armed conflict in the country.


WHY WE NEED YOU:

International collectives who are part of the Red de Hermandad not only take action in their own countries in solidarity with groups working on these issues in Colombia, but also provide accompaniment to social organisations in Colombia

There are basically three types of accompaniment work, depending on your experience. In practice, however, these are flexible and depend very much on what you want to do and feel comfortable with:

1.People who are in Colombia for the first time or who have less experience can either

(a)do several shorter periods of accompaniment and, in the process, learn about the work of various organisations and the reality in different parts of the country or

(b) work with one organisation but without being given huge amounts of responsibility.

2.People with more experience of accompaniment or political work are normally linked to one organisation during their time in Colombia, often (although not always) in rural areas.

3.People with specific areas of knowledge might be linked into relevant areas of the Red de Hermandad's activities. For example, a plumber might help displaced communities returning to their land with the installation of water and sanitation and an academic might help with a research project.

The training will be run by three people from Espacio who have just spent some time living in Colombia and working with social movements.


CONTENT:

•an introduction to Espacio, the Red de Hermandad and organisations within it
•an introduction to Colombia's historical and political context
•accompaniment with social organisations in Colombia
•cultural awareness
•safety and legal issues
•emotional issues when working in Colombia
•health, hygiene and vaccinations
•practical issues, such as how to get a Visa and what to pack

If you have other suggestions on what you would like us to cover during the training, please let us know and we will endeavour to build this into the programme.

During the weekend, you will have plenty of opportunities to hear from people who have already provided accompaniment in Colombia. You will also have the chance to ask questions and chat with them informally.
There is absolutely no requirement to commit to doing accompaniment just because you come on the training. If you decide not to go ahead with the accompaniment, we will fully respect your decision. If, however, after the training, you decide that you want to do accompaniment, we will support you all the way.


NEXT STEPS:

If you are interested in attending the training, please email us at  espaciobristol@redcolombia.org

The training will take place locally in Bristol at a venue yet to be announced from approximately 11am – 5pm on Saturday and then 10pm – 4pm on Sunday.

On Saturday evening we will cook and eat together. Accommodation will be provided, where necessary. Please, however, note that Espacio is an entirely volunteer-run group with little financial resources, and we are not in a position to subsidise travel costs. This is why we ask for a donation of £20 if you can afford it (£15 if you are on low income). The donation will cover the costs of food, room hire and photocopying and printing costs for hand-outs. Please do get in touch if the value of the donation is preventing you from attending, as we are really interested in getting as many people as we can and would not want you to be put off by this.

So that we know a little about you before the training, please complete the short questionnaire below and send it back to us at  espaciobristol@redcolombia.org

Please note that the questionnaire is not an application form. All answers given will be kept in strict confidence and will not be shared with any third parties.

Name:
Citizenship if other than UK:
Date of birth:
Permanent address:
Dietary or Special Needs:
Would you like accommodation (it'll be in the homes of members of Espacio) in Bristol on:
* Friday 19th: Y/N
* Saturday 20th: Y/N

Level of Spanish (ability to communicate without difficulty in Spanish is essential for accompaniment):
Have you been to Colombia before? If so, please provide details.
Relevant experience (activist/social movement/campaigning involvement, other experiences of accompaniment etc.):
Any useful skills (e.g. photography, carpentry, research, art, counselling):
Qualifications and professional background (not essential but may be useful for visa letter):
Anything else you want to tell us?

To cut-and-paste the following into an email, highlight the following text with your mouse, press CTRL+T (or APPLE+T on a Mac) to copy, open a new email in your email client and press CTRL+V (or APPLE+V on a Mac) to paste the text into your email.

Please send the email to  espaciobristol@redcolombia.org

Espacio Bristol-Colombia
www.espacio.org.uk

Part of the Red de Hermandad y Solidaridad con Colombia (Network of Friendship and Solidarity with Colombia) www.redcolombia.org

Espacio Bristol-Colombia se encuentra en la ciudad de Bristol, Inglaterra, y hace parte de la Red de Hermandad y Solidaridad con Colombia. www.redcolombia.org