In many conflict-affected places, young people are spoken about far more than they are listened to. Colombia’s Pacific region of Chocó is no exception. Abundant in biodiversity, culture, and ancestral knowledge, yet marked by historical racism, poverty, and armed conflict, this Pacific region is often portrayed either as a victim of violence or as a distant paradise.
What rarely makes it into the national conversation are the complex stories and political imagination of Chocó’s youth: young leaders who are already shaping peaceful paths in their communities through art, activism, and everyday acts of resistance.