July 20-08 Colombia’s Second Independence

Colombia’s Independence Day from the Spanish Monarchy was on  July 20, 1819 but this year’s celebration has come in a time of hope and change for the country. After more than 40 years of violence, Colombian citizens are finally seeing a clear future where peace and prosperity will be synonyms for our country’s name.  A group of young leaders decided on February  to create a Facebook group  to call a massive rally to protest against FARC,  violence and kidnappes in the country.  The group gathered more than 6000 members and quickly spread across the web with a massive response of more than 13 million persons taking the the streets in 183 cities and towns across Colombia and  countries around the world. A staff of online volunteers of 1650 persons joined the effort. That group of young leaders was called the 4F Group and has evolved into an organization called Colombia Soy Yo which has launched a second initiative. In July 20, 2008 colombian citizens across the world will be rallying once again to celebrate the Independence Day, this time led by young voices claiming and indepence from violence. In Washington will be at Lafayette Park at 1 pm.