The Institute for Deep Ecology, Centro Cultural Latinoamericano & Addi Road Community Organisation present ...

Héctor Aristizábal

“From Wounds to Wisdom: Lessons from Colombia’s Journey Toward Reconciliation”

Centro Cultural Latinoamericano
located inside Hut 47, Addison Road Community Centre
142 Addison Road, Marrickville, Sydney. 2204

6.00pm doors open Columbian snacks from Centro Cultural Latinoamericano

7.00pm Hector's talk

8.00pm talk finishes, Q&A, post-event socialising

9.00 venue closes

Across Latin America, communities are healing from histories of violence, exile, and colonization. Colombia’s current peace process offers not just a political agreement but a collective initiation—a chance to transform trauma into wisdom, and separation into community.

Drawing from his experience accompanying Colombia’s Truth Commission through Re-Conectando, Héctor Aristizábal will share stories, rituals, and insights from The Work That Reconnects, Theatre of the Oppressed, and community-based healing processes that helped victims, ex-combatants, and displaced people find new ways of seeing and relating.

This conversation invites the Latino community in Australia to reflect on our own stories of migration and belonging, and to recognize the vital role South America can play in a world longing for reconciliation with itself and with the Earth.

“De las Heridas a la Sabiduría: Lecciones del Camino de Reconciliación en Colombia”

Por Héctor Aristizábal

A lo largo de América Latina, nuestras comunidades están sanando historias de violencia, exilio y colonización. El actual proceso de paz en Colombia ofrece no solo un acuerdo político, sino una iniciación colectiva: una oportunidad para transformar trauma en sabiduría y separación en comunidad.

A partir de su experiencia acompañando a la Comisión de la Verdad a través de Re-Conectando, Héctor Aristizábal compartirá historias, rituales y aprendizajes del Trabajo Que Reconecta, el Teatro del Oprimido y los procesos comunitarios de sanación que ayudaron a víctimas, excombatientes y personas desplazadas a encontrar nuevas formas de verse y relacionarse.

Esta conversación invita a la comunidad latina en Australia a reflexionar sobre nuestras propias historias de migración y pertenencia, y a reconocer el papel vital que América del Sur puede desempeñar en un mundo que anhela reconciliarse consigo mismo y con la Tierra.

Héctor Aristizábal is a Colombian-born psychotherapist, theatre-maker, and human-rights activist who alchemizes trauma into communal courage. Drawing on Playback Theatre, experiential deep ecology and ritual, he invites people to speak the unspeakable, witness one another, and transform pain into creative action. Torture survivor, storyteller, gentle firestarter, Héctor builds spaces where dignity returns and agency grows. His workshops stitch psychology, art, and justice so communities can metabolize grief, confront violence, and reimagine futures together. I’ve seen how this kind of truth-telling changes the weather in a room: hearts steady, eyes lift, and the next right step appears. Healing that moves our feet—this is Héctor’s craft.

Please help spread the word about this amazing opportunity to learn from Hector, please share the Facebook event. https://www.facebook.com/events/838422111884972/

Here’s a bio of Hector https://imaginaction.org/our_team/hector-aristizabal/

And here’s his TED talk:

How to Transform Your Wound into the Medicine the World Needs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtagPr-kI7M&t=1s