‘Colombia Colores’ is the first project implemented by CCC in London, aimed at the children of the Colombian diaspora that teaches about the richness of Colombian culture through music, art and dance. We hope to reach out to Colombian born, second and third generation Colombian children between the ages of 5-12. Our projects will have a range of projects varying between food, art, myths and Indigenous cultures.
This project has arisen from a need expressed by the Colombian community in London to offer regular workshops on Colombian culture for their children. We hope to bring together the young Colombians and educate them on meaningful parts of Colombian culture and encourage them to feel connected and part of a larger community. This blog will explore the importance of ‘Colombia Colores’ and the impact it can have on young Colombians in London.
Research has suggested that Colombian migrants in the UK view social activities, such as arts and performances, as a means of maintaining their Colombian identity. During our project, we will incorporate social activities as a way to celebrate Colombian culture. We hope that our project ‘Colombia Colores’ will encourage people to connect or reconnect with their Colombian identity.
The Colombia Colores workshops take place on Saturdays throughout the academic year. They are split into three cycles: autumn, spring and summer, in line with school term times. Each cycle focuses on a specific topic:
Autumn: Art and Music
Spring: Nature
Summer: Language and Culture
Context:
During the 1970s, many Colombians came to the United Kingdom as migrant workers, and by the mid-1980s, many began to come as asylum seekers as a result of erupted violence and displacement. This peaked significantly between 1997 and 1999. Many of those that migrated to the UK as asylum seekers are from urban backgrounds with limited access to education. As of June 2021, there were approximately 16 thousand Colombian nationals living in the UK, many of which will have young children or are young themselves. It’s important for them to have the resources we can provide to maintain their cultural identity.
