Coca Talks: Futuro Coca Arrives to London

The Embassy of Colombia to the United Kingdom and Futuro Coca, in association with SOAS University of London and the International Coalition for Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice, are pleased to invite you to an academic dialogue about the alternative use of the coca leaves.

This event is part of the celebration of the 200 years of diplomatic relations between Colombia and the United Kingdom, in which we will explore the Coca plant's critical intersections with indigenous knowledge, drug policy frameworks, and environmental justice.

Panel

We are delighted to bring together a distinguished group of scholars, activists, and practitioners whose work spans indigenous knowledge, environmental justice, drug policy, and cultural heritage. Together, they will offer diverse perspectives on the coca plant and its global significance:

• Ati Viviam Villafaña, Indigenous Arhuaco activist and environmental land defender
• Diego Lugo Vivas, Indigenous- Campesino Professor of Environmental Studies & Critical Geography and Colombian Lead for the Coalition
• Anthony Henman, Anthropologist and author of Mama Coca
• Jenna Rose Atwood, Indigenous Māori Environmental Researcher
• Clemmie James, Senior Policy and Campaigns Officer for Health Poverty Action & Co-ordinator for The International Coalition for Drug Policy Reform & Environmental Justice
• Steve Rolles, Drug Policy Analyst at Transform: Drug Policy Foundation
• Diego Aretz, Colombian journalist and filmmaker with a deep focus in peace, reconciliation and ancestral indigenous visions.
• Jenny Pearce, SOAS and LSE inequalities and public policy professor

This event is hosted under CIVAD with Jonathan Goodhand, Professor in Conflict and Development Studies, SOAS Department of Development Studies.