PEACE BUILDING THROUGH THE YOUTH CAMPS PROGRAM

Abstract

This paper analyzes the Youth Camp Program as a social practice that plays a pivotal role in fostering peace among young people in Manizales, Colombia. Utilizing a qualitative approach and a complementary research design, the perspectives of program leaders and participants through interviews, field observations, and content analysis are examined using tools such as Atlas.ti. The results of the study identified seven categories deemed essential to the definition of peace: life skills training, community social work, values education, coexistence, inclusion, recognition, and the participation of young people as political subjects. These categories illustrate the transformation of the participants' social realities, emphasizing the program's impact on promoting values, fostering social leadership, and strengthening community cohesion. The research is grounded in the social constructionism approach, which serves as the theoretical framework. This approach underscores the concept of peace as a collective and dynamic process within youth contexts.