How do stories give new perspectives to conflict and peace? In this episode, we speak with Juanita Vélez, a journalist and political scientist. She was the editor of La Silla Sur, a regional subsidiary of Colombian news website La Silla Vacía, focused on covering the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement in southern Colombia. She researches and writes journalistic stories on illegal armed groups, deforestation, and organized crime. She is also the author of A War Later, (Spanish: Una Guerra Después) a journalistic book that tells the stories of five Colombians impacted by the Peace Agreement made between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the FARC). The book focuses not just on the former FARC combatants but also tells the stories of victims, military personnel, and government officials that weren’t covered in the broader news at the time. We discuss the framework of the peace agreement, the impacts of implementation, and the how Vélez built trust within communities to facilitate her journalism.

Watch the Pearson Institute's talk featuring Juanita Vélez on YouTube here.

You can find more information on A War Later here.

This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org

Access the transcript here.

Podcast Production Credits:

Interviewing: Paula Cadena Moreno and Hannah Balikci
Editing: Nishita Karun
Production: Hannah Balikci