The long hard road of reconciliation: Prefiguring cultures of peace through the transformation of representations of former combatants and identities of urban youth in Colombia

The Colombian peace accords of 2016 involved a formal commitment to between the Revolutionary Armed Forces Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP in Spanish) and national government. Despite this advance, societal reconciliation sustainable remain key challenges. Through longitudinal qualitative design, we investigate encounter former guerrilla members urban university students community-based educational space rural Colombia. Drawing on social representational approach, focus youth's representations self (students), remote other (former members) as they are produced before, during after encounter. Participants were 24 enrolled service-learning course at an Bogotá. Data collection included written narratives, audio-visual material, groups interviews. Thematic analyses show that youth meet, spend time, share common activities with combatants, both identities transformed. These transformations self–other understandings unsettle hegemonic narratives supporting ethos conflict introduce alternative prefigure consolidation peace-supporting counternarratives. Our results highlight resilience long-term effects small-scale knowledge encounters for producing agents peace, recognising prefiguring change. Reconciliation process must be thus understood uneven development meaningful interactions recasts fabric interdependent builds shared intentionality achieving peace.