Manos Visibles

Susannah Dibble: Manos Visibles 

This summer, Susannah worked with Manos Visibles in Bogotá, to address issues of race, gender, and class in Colombian society. Manos Visibles is a Colombian non-profit that defines itself as a think tank, a social innovation laboratory, and a cultural space. The organization empowers communities to come up with their own solutions and gives them the tools and knowledge to receive an education, run for office, or work for greater inclusion. They pride themselves in their work with vulnerable populations such as women, afro-Colombians, and indigenous populations that are often marginalized from regular society. 

Susannah worked on two different projects while in Bogota. Half of her time was spent learning about a new area of social justice at Manos Visibles. She assisted the communications team with English translations for the website, social media, and videos and created a directory of partner organizations for the AfroInnova project team. The other half of her summer was spent doing primary research for her senior thesis on the transition of rebel groups to political parties in Latin America. She had the chance to conduct interviews, do archival work, and just experience the climate of a country that is undergoing vast political changes. She loved getting to make connections between the two topics and my experience emphasized how important it is to give a voice to marginalized groups throughout the political process.