Bogotá, May 2025 – In early May, the GS-Foundation had the opportunity to accompany the German Federal Foreign Office on our first joint delegation visit to Colombia. The trip was made possible thanks to the close coordination with the Policía Nacional de Colombia and was part of our trilateral cooperation to support ongoing efforts in security sector reform.

Encouraging Exchange, Mutual Learning

The visit focused on understanding the current progress and priorities within Colombia’s police reform process, and on continuing the constructive exchange with our Colombian and German partners. During meetings with key departments, we gained valuable insights into both achievements and ongoing challenges

Insightful Glimpses into Public Communication Work

While we did not take part in the full seminar program, we were grateful to join selected sessions of the Public Relations module, which took place at ESPOL, the police academy in Bogota, with representatives from Colombian and German police institutions. The sessions addressed topics such as:

• Communicating in complex public safety scenarios,
• Social media and public-facing roles of police officers,
• Planning for large-scale events like EURO 2024.

These conversations underscored how critical transparent, professional communication is for building public trust, especially in the context of reform.

Strengthening Relationships Through Personal Encounters

Meeting in person added depth to our cooperation and helped strengthen relationships built over months of remote collaboration. We left with a renewed sense of purpose and a deeper understanding of the Colombian context – while also recognizing the limits of our perspective and the importance of local ownership in all reform efforts.

We would like to thank all colleagues and partners who made this visit possible- particularly the Office for International Relations and Cooperation (ORECI) of the Policía Nacional de Colombia – for their trust, time, and openness.