Home › Highlights › 2025 › Youth voices from across Colombia came together to propose action aimed at improving policy for young women

Youth voices from across Colombia came together to propose action aimed at improving policy for young women

November 20, 2025 | Activity

Photo Credit: Congress of Colombia

What happens when young leaders from across Colombia come together to reimagine politics? They bring fresh ideas, bold perspectives, and a commitment to shaping decisions today and for future generations. This was the spirit of Impacto Legislativo Joven – Colombia, an initiative hosted by ParlAmericas and the Congress of Colombia that convened more than 30 young women between the ages of 18 and 30 for two virtual sessions and a two-day in-person workshop, creating a space for dialogue, learning, and collaboration.

The first virtual session invited participants to reflect on what leadership meant to them. Discussions highlighted inspiring pathways from activism to politics as powerful avenues for representation and transformation. With the participation of local parliamentarians, civil society and parliamentary staff, the group exchanged knowledge and experiences, allowing the participants to learn from diverse leadership trajectories and to reflect on their own motivations, aspirations, and challenges as young women leaders.

Building on these reflections, the second session focused on the challenges young women faced in their communities and strategies to overcome them. Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from Argentina, Guatemala and Chile shared practical insights on promoting gender parity in the workforce, fostering cultural diversity, and strengthening collaboration between Indigenous communities, women’s organizations, and civil society. Participants also explored how to professionalize advocacy through clear objectives, measurable progress, and effective monitoring.

The in-person workshop, held November 19–20, 2025, offered various opportunities for meaningful exchange with national and international parliamentarians, including during the welcome dinner, where the young leaders engaged in close dialogue with them. Representative from Colombia Elizabeth Jay-Pang Díaz, ParlAmericas Board Member, shared her personal journey, highlighting how the allies and connections she built along the way were instrumental in achieving her goals. Similarly, Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic Brenda Ogando Campos, Vice-President for the Caribbean for the ParlAmericas Parliamentary Network for Gender Equality (PNGE) emphasized the importance of staying true to one’s values and leading with transparency, integrity, and personal courage.

Through interactive dialogues and co-creation exercises, participants generated ideas for a new Open Congress Action Plan focused on transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and public ethics. Colombian Senator German Blanco, President of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network (OPN), emphasized how these conversations underscored the value of intergenerational collaboration where experience provides continuity and youth brings renewal.

The young leaders also experienced democracy in action by attending the Public Hearing of the First Committee of the House of Representatives, by invitation of Colombian Representative Catherine Juvinao, Vice-President for South America for the ParlAmericas OPN, which examined the bill Proyecto de Ley Estatutaria No. 301 de 2025 Cámara, aiming to establish gender parity in the composition of candidate lists for popularly elected bodies.

As part of their final project, the participants created videos addressing challenges and proposals for change in areas such as environment, health, education, and work. Supported by communication specialists and advocacy experts, the young women crafted messages designed to inspire action and strengthen legislative engagement, incorporating data and insights presented by workshop panellists from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Extituto de Política Abierta, UN Women – Colombia, and NIMD Colombia.

The video proposals included measures to reduce female dropout in higher education through scholarships and support programs to reduce social and economic barriers; initiatives to expand sexual education and mental health care, creating judgment-free listening centers and care networks; strategies to promote economic independence through innovation, entrepreneurship training, and legal assistance; and actions to open inclusive job opportunities in environmental careers through policies that strengthen environmental education in schools and provide equitable access to the labour market for environmental workers, as well as offer targeted scholarships.

Upon receiving their certificates, Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico Antares Vázquez Alatorre, President of the PNGE concluded the meeting by reflecting on how poverty often bears the face of a young girl, shaped by intersecting societal and systemic factors that create differentiated vulnerabilities. For that reason she emphasized that representation and programs like these are essential to ensure that, through collective and intersectional action, communities can lift each other up.

Photo Credit: Congress of Colombia
This ILJ-Colombia program was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.