About Us
The German-Colombian Peace Institute (CAPAZ, in Spanish) is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, in German) with financial resources from the Federal Foreign Office in Germany (Auswärtiges Amt). The institute aims to accompany the peace process in Colombia from a perspective that combines research, teaching and outreach. The CAPAZ Institute seeks to establish itself as a cooperation platform for disseminating knowledge about peace studies in order to contribute to the consolidation of a society that transcends the post-conflict stage. The Institute will be established in three phases, starting with a three-year development phase (2016- 2019), followed by a four-year institutionalization phase and a three-year consolidation phase after mid-term evaluations.
Download the CAPAZ brochure to learn more about us (in Spanish)
Erfahren Sie mehr über uns in der CAPAZ Broschüre (auf Deutsch)
Vision
“Instituto CAPAZ is a cooperation platform involving Colombia and Germany, promoting the exchange of knowledge and experience in topics related to peace building, through the formation of networks between universities, research centres, civil society organisations and governmental entities, whose actions focus on the territorial area. The consolidation of such networks allows interdisciplinary academic analysis, reflection, and debate on the lessons of the past and the challenges of sustainable peace building”.
CAPAZ promotes research activities, teaching and consultancy, allowing new approaches to understanding peace and conflict, which transmit knowledge to society and set out answers to the multiple challenges inherent to a society in transition”.
Partner Institutions
The successful consortium on the German side consists of Justus Liebig University (Giessen) as lead agency, Georg August University (Göttingen), Freie Universität Berlin with the Institute for Latin American Studies and the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt; an additional partner is the clinic for psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy of the Albert Ludwigs University (Freiburg).
In Colombia, a parallel consortium – the Colombian Alliance of Universities for Peace (Alianza Universitaria por La Paz) – has been established and will be coordinated by Universidad Nacional, the Universidad Externado de Colombia, the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, the Universidad de los Andes and the Universidad del Rosario, additional institutions as well as individual partners have already and will be taken on board, including regional universities in Colombia (such as Universidad Industrial in Santander (Bucaramanga)).The two lead partners have entered into a cooperation agreement and the consortia will provide the necessary stability to serve as a foundation for the establishment of the CAPAZ.
Objectives
Linking research, teaching and consultancy
The CAPAZ will be unique in linking research, teaching and consultancy in the midst of an ongoing peace process and an evolving post-conflict situation. This requires sustainable academic structures addressing Colombia’s violent history and aiming at a peaceful future.
Contributing to peace and a post-conflict society
The CAPAZ will be based upon experience, challenges and expertise in Colombia. Its work will be enriched by lessons learned in Germany and embedded in a broad international discourse. The CAPAZ will thus contribute to build robust peace in a post-conflict society.
Establishing joint academic activities
While its main activities will take place in Colombia, the future CAPAZ will also be of benefit to German partners and the broader international community. It will perform and support cooperative research projects, staff and student exchange, summer schools, graduate programs for peace studies and transitional justice, and knowledge exchange.
Achieving practical effects & building bridges
The CAPAZ will not be purely academic but aims at practical effects. It operates on an interdisciplinary basis and builds bridges between academia, organized civil society, government institutions and other relevant actors. Based upon the above-illustrated focus, it will primarily build upon the disciplines of law, political science and education, accompanied by others on a needs-based assessment. It will employ various approaches: research, graduate teaching (Master’s and PhD level), transfer of knowledge (including consultancy) and further education.
Offering consultancy & organizing outreach activities
This includes consultancy and various outreach activities. Beyond existing academic communities, it aims to allow students from marginalized groups of society to access its study program. This will enhance the distribution of knowledge, strengthen multipliers and thus contribute to capacity building. It will promote ownership of all aspects required for sustainable peacebuilding, in all parts of the country, thereby meeting demands from particularly affected regions.
COORDINATING SCHOLARS
Thilo Marauhn
Justus Liebig University Giessen
Professor of Public Law and International Law at Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany, and head of the newly established International Law Research Group of the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt. He chairs the German National Committee on International Humanitarian Law, is a member of the Advisory Board on United Nations Issues of the German Foreign Office and First Vice-President of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission.
Thilo Marauhn has held visiting professorships at the Universities of Bergen, Madison (Wisconsin), Rovaniemi, Tromsø and California Western School of Law, San Diego; he holds a permanent visiting position at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland. Among the various externally funded research projects, the most recent one addresses “UN policing – legal basis, status and directives on the use of force” (German Foundation of Peace Research).
Camilo Alberto Borrero García
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Camilo Borrero studied Law at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, specialized in Family Law at the Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), finished his Graduate Studies on Sociology at the KU Leuven (Bélgica) and obtained his PhD in Law at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
He is Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and works in the fields of Sociology of Law, Human Rights, Community Justice and Transitional Justice. Currently he is also coordinator of the PhD Programm in Law, and is member of the Peace Research Center “Centro de Pensamiento y Seguimiento a los Diálogos de Paz“ at the same university.
ACADEMIC STAFF
Stefan Peters
Academic Director – German-Colombian Peace Institute
Academic Director of the German-Colombian Peace Institute – CAPAZ and Chair of Peace Studies at the Justus Liebig University Giessen (Germany). He studied Political Science at the Philipps-University Marburg and Universidad Complutense de Madrid and obtained his PhD in Political Science at the University of Kassel (Germany).
Stefan Peters works in the fields of Neo-Extractivism and Rentism, Social Inequalities, Education, Memory Studies, Development Theory and North South Relations. He has been visiting professor and researcher at universities in countries such as Cuba, Argentina, Ecuador and Puerto Rico.
Juliette Vargas
Scientific Collaborator – German-Colombian Peace Institute
Juliette Vargas has a Law Degree of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and a Law Master’s Degree (LLM in German) of the Humboldt-Universität (HU) in Berlin. Her academic and professional experience has been focused on international public law, as well as international criminal law, international human rights and international humanitarian law and on topics of environment law. She has worked in strategic litigation research with organizations such as the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights – ECCHR and the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective – CCAJAR. In the last years she has been working in topics related to transitional justice and the challenge of its implementation in Colombia. Additionally, she pursued Music Studies in Colombia and Germany. Mrs. Vargas’ position is financed by the University of Göttingen.
Juliana González
Scientific Collaborator – German-Colombian Peace Institute
Juliana holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and a Master’s Degree in Political Theory from the Goethe University in Frankfurt and the Technical University in Darmstadt, with studies of Political Science at the New School for Social Research in New York City. Her main research areas are peace and conflict studies and contemporary feminist theory, and her current work focuses on memory and social inequalities. Juliana teaches political philosophy and theory at university level in Bogotá, and has experience in research and consultancy on gender and transitional justice for governmental institutions and NGO’s in Colombia. She also has experience as editor and as English and German translator of academic publications.
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Carlos Nupia
Administrative Director – German-Colombian Peace Institute
PhD in Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin-FUB. Magister in Urbanism, Universidad Nacional de Colmbia. Bachelor in Communication Sciences and Journalism, Universidad Externado de Colombia. Researcher in topics of scientific international cooperation, international organizations, international transfer knowledge and institutional change in public policies. Advisor in policy design and strategies of international relations for promoting education, science, technology and innovation. Teacher of public policy in science, technology and innovation (STI) and international cooperation in differetn Colombian universities: Universidad Externado de Colombia, Universidad del Norte, Universidad Industrial de Santander y Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellin. Carlos Nupia was research leader in the area of science policy and international relations in the Colombian Observatory of Science and Technology (OCyT, in Spanish) (2013-2017), and director of international offices in Colciencias (2000-2003 and 2007-2008) and in the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He served as communication advisor in the former Colombian Agency for International Cooperation (today APC) and in agencies of the United Nations System such as United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and World Food Program (WFP). Currently works on the dialogue between scientific communities, government and civil society, and in the construction of the interface between science and policy to face the post-conflict stage in Colombia.
Carolina Cerón
Administrative and Financial Coordinator – German-Colombian Peace Institute (CAPAZ)
National University of Colombia graduate majored in German Philology. With more than 5 years of professional experience on Academic and scientific International cooperation projects between Colombia and Germany, she is acquainted with the main stakeholders, decision making actors and organizations involved on the field of international higher education and scientific management on both countries.
Claudia Maya, M.A.
Assistant of Communication and Public Relations – German-Colombian Peace Institute (CAPAZ)
Master of Arts in Media, Communication and Cultural Studies, University of Kassel, Germany and Stendhal University, Grenoble III, France. Claudia Maya has worked in the fields of communication and public relations, quality management systems, educational projects, culture and international cooperation, specifically in the cooperation between Colombia and German speaking countries. She has worked as a German teacher in Colombia and Switzerland, where she has been engaged in cultural projects and work integration, mostly for Spanish-speaking immigrants and refugees from conflict areas in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Academic and Administrative Staff
This illustration shows an overview of the Academic and Administrative Staff of CAPAZ Institute.
Institutional Structure
Seat and Staff in Colombia
The CAPAZ Institute is based at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in the Claustro de San Agustín (Carrera 8 # 7-21). Core staff of the CAPAZ include the Academic/Scientific Director, the Administrative Director, the Administrative and Finacial Coordinator, the Assistant of Communication and Public Relations and two Scientific Collaborators.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is in charge of decisions concerning the strategic performance of the CAPAZ Institute. It includes representatives of the 10 founder members of the consortium.