What would happen if a business enterprise, in addition to harvesting resources, also provided an opportunity for those previously brandishing a firearm, helping to heal and reintegrate them into the community? Professor Julián David Cortés of the School of Management and Business at the Universidad del Rosario, is trying to understand these cases better and bring help to those who dare to use entrepreneurship to weave social materials for peace. Cortés is determined to go on gathering knowledge in different disciplines in order to gain greater comprehension of the world.
Thanks to his drive, he has set about finding different ways to approach Colombia’s present realities and forge a contribution from academic abilities, and this is behind the project Entrepreneurship, Institutions, and Peace Building.
This project, based on civil and government programs that boost entrepreneurship as a reinsertion activity for ex-combatants and inclusion for victims of armed conflict, has won the backing of researchers from other universities. It also has the support of more than twelve students from the Universidad del Rosario now working as assistants, some of them even taking the subject as inspiration for their theses, thus leading to very fruitful outcomes.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP, INSTITUTIONS, AND PEACE BUILDING
The three categories involved in this project have wide-ranging significance both as separate and interrelated areas, so it is important to understand from what angle they are important for the study. “Entrepreneurship is a subject of interest on the international agenda, so many countries are busy defining it,” explains Cortés. Nevertheless, his study of entrepreneurship takes into account productive vocation, the creation of formal jobs, the generation and improvement of products and services, and the search for new markets.
Cortes’ own approach frames institutions as formal and informal rules that shape the social, political, and economic interactions in society. “The most important formal institution for a country is its constitution. Another minor example would be the behavioral guidelines laid down by companies,” the professor points out. An example of informal rules might be the interrelation between two people who set up an exchange of favors.
Finally, but no less important, is peace building, a human phenomenon that, despite always being of great interest, is today highlighted in the peace processes with the country’s guerrillas. This concept is being stymied by the communications media, which are insisting that peace was achieved through the post-peace accords, but this does not provide guarantees at all levels. Peace is understood as the absence of physical and structural violence, the latter involving several aspects such as poverty, inequality, lack of opportunities, and even corruption. For this reason, it is important to understand how the state, industry, and the civil population are working to minimise these aspects.
WEAVING THE SOCIAL FABRIC
Business initiatives, led both by the civil population and the state, seek to combat these different types of violence and offer vulnerable communities job opportunities and food security. A great example of this is found in urban agriculture projects set up around Colombia by different bodies.