Vargas and Cordoba, long-time Afro-Colombian activists in the Choco region, will speak about what's happening in their native land: racism, corruption fueled by foreign investors, a plague of assassinations, and a civil war now funded in large part by the United States tax-payer. They will describe their work in grass-roots community development and discuss the challenges faced by human-rights defenders and peace activists in Colombia.

Further information about this subject can be obtained from the Latin American Alliance; the Office of the Americas; the World Conservation Monitoring Centre; a speech by Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia, a former governor of Choco; and an article by Miguel Hernadez for planeta.com.