Re-imagining children’s identities through informal education: the role of local libraries in peacebuilding

The impact of Colombia’s intractable conflict on children has been profound; this includes forced recruitment, bereavement, displacement, and the imposition of limited and war-like views on their identities and futures. The exacerbation of violence and fixed dichotomies has shaped children’s language, playground, and predispositions. Educational sites have been paramount in counteracting such rigidities and effects, including local libraries. Using a continuous ethnographic approach over a 5-year period, this study examines the initiatives of a local library in Putumayo, Colombia, in response to violent conflict. The first ethnographic encounter took place in 2019 for a two-month period and a second one in 2024 for two weeks. Participant observation and unstructured interviews have been used to understand the experiences of local libraries when facing conflict. The study included 15 participants and traced connections with other members of the ecosystem (e.g. social movements). This study shows how local libraries promote non-violent modes of existence, dynamic notions of peace and responses to emerging challenges in the face of conflict and cycles of violence. Local libraries mobilise peace strategies such as theatre, games, cultural activities and everyday encounters, challenging the emergence of new cycles of violence and responding to emerging challenges.