For 52 long years, Colombia was in turmoil due to a protracted civil war between the Colombian government and the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). When the warring sides signed the historic Colombian peace accord in 2016, Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies became responsible for verifying and monitoring its implementation—making Notre Dame the first and only university in the world to play such a direct role in maintaining peace.
In the 11th episode of For Good, Josefina Echavarría Alvarez, professor of the practice and director of the Kroc Institute’s Peace Accords Matrix, explains how Notre Dame has become an internationally recognized leader in peacebuilding around the world, how she addressed the U.N. Security Council on resolving disputes peacefully, and how her team is preparing a peace accord to end armed conflict in the Philippines.
New episodes of For Good: Stories from Notre Dame drop on select weekdays at giving.nd.edu/stories and the ND Loyal YouTube channel. You can also listen to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
A sincere thank you to the Notre Dame Family for making stories like these possible! It’s because of you that Notre Dame is such a powerful force for good in the world.
Originally published by Michelle McDaniel at giving.nd.edu on April 17, 2024.
