The Interreligious Council of Colombia, the World Council of Churches, the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM Colombia), the Evangelical Confederation of Colombia (CEDECOL), the Baptist Church of Colombia, the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), the National Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (OPIAC), the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN), the Gaia Amazonas Foundation and DeJusticia actively participated in the quarterly meeting of the IRI-Colombia Advisory Council, where they ratified their willingness to articulate efforts for the protection of the Amazonian tropical forests and the defense of the rights of indigenous peoples, as well as peasant and Afro-descendant communities that inhabit the region.
During the meeting, held on April 30 at the Radisson Hotel in Bogotá, the Initiative presented the most relevant advances in the implementation of its 2025 Action Plan, highlighting the territorial work with the 42 local chapters, as well as the strategies developed in terms of training, political advocacy and communications.
He also socialized the programming of the next semester, which includes key actions such as the scientific immersion days in Bogotá, the holding of the Political Forum “Congressmen for Life in the Amazon” in the Congress of the Republic, and the installation of the local chapter IRI-Bogotá, among other activities aimed at strengthening the role of faith communities in the defense of tropical forests.
In addition to learning about the progress of IRI-Colombia, the members of the Advisory Council made valuable strategic contributions that will promote the scope of activities of the Initiative and consolidate the objectives established for this year.
The session was attended by representatives of the organizations that make up the Advisory Council, including Monsignor Francisco Duque, bishop of the Anglican Church and president of the Interreligious Council of Colombia; Pastor Lyda Elena Arias and Gabriel Pérez, from CEDECOL; Juan Felipe Martínez, from REPAM Colombia; the Rev. Vilma Yañez, of the World Council of Churches; Pastor Edgar Castaño, of the Baptist Church; Herney Zuluaga, from the ONIC; Mauricio Holguín, from OPIAC; Silje Marie Haugland, from the Norwegian Embassy; Mauricio Bedoya, of UNEP; David Ricardo Flórez, from RFN; Natalia Escobar, from DeJusticia; and Juan Felipe Suárez, from the Gaia Amazonas Foundation. Pastor Eduardo Gómez, Commissioner for Religious Freedom in the Americas for the Organization of American States (OAS), also participated. The final balance of the day shows the collective commitment of all the actors convened by IRI-Colombia and their willingness to continue articulating efforts to face, from an ethical and spiritual vision, the crisis of deforestation and climate change in the Amazon.
Read the full edition of the April IRI newsletter in Spanish here.
