At its heart, this project is about listening to and working with young people to understand and address the root causes of violence, develop more effective and rights-based local security strategies, and strengthen institutional accountability through youth-centred evidence and actionable knowledge.
About the Project
A Participatory Approach to Urban Security
This project aims to tackle urban violence and enhance local responses by co-producing knowledge with young people. We focus on communities affected by poverty, marginalisation, and the presence of gangs or criminal networks in Medellín and Cape Town.
By centring the voices of youth and working alongside local actors, the project seeks to generate practical insights into how cities can become safer and more inclusive - without undermining the rights and wellbeing of their youngest citizens.
Research Questions
Our work is guided by four core questions:
- What are the local dynamics that make young people vulnerable to violence and criminal group influence?
- How do current violence reduction strategies affect youth rights and their exposure to harm?
- What interventions can reduce vulnerability while protecting the rights and wellbeing of youth?
- Which indicators matter to young people when assessing local security policies and prevention programmes—and how can these be used to increase institutional accountability?
Who We Are
This collaborative project is led by researchers and practitioners from three countries:
Alexandra Abello Colak
London School of Economics and Political Science
Alexandra is the UK Co-Investigator on the project and works with the team in developing the methodological strategy for co-producing knowledge with young people in both cities. She contributes to data analysis and facilitates knowledge exchange across case studies and with broader audiences.
Alexandra brings extensive experience in participatory methodologies, peace research, and complex systems thinking, which she has applied to the study of violence, human insecurity, and urban crime in Latin America, the Caribbean, and South Africa.
Gareth A. Jones
London School of Economics and Political Science
Gareth is the Principal Investigator (PI) on the project, and will be focused mostly on the research design, knowledge exchange and impact. His previous ethnographic research has focused on young people in Mexico, including work on urban violence and gangs, and in South Africa on whiteness and elites.
Julián Muñoz
Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia
Julián is co-researcher to the project. A lawyer who specialises in criminal law, with a master’s in political science and doctorate in social science, Julián is Professor in the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the Universidad de Antioquia where he directs the Masters in Conflict, Peace and Human Rights and is part of the research group on conflict, violence and human security.
His research interests focus on critical security studies and crime policies, themes on which he has published widely including most recently (with J. Acosta) Seguridad humana y paz total. Análisis y prospectivas. Bogotá: Tirant lo Blanch.
Natalia Maya
Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia
Natalia is the local researcher in Medellin with the Project. Natalia is a journalist, a specialist in theories, methods and techniques of social research, and holds a Masters in Political Science. She is academic coordinator at the Peace Unit (Unidad Especial de Paz) at the Universidad de Antioquia and member of the research group on conflict, violence and security in the Faculty of Law and Political Science.
Natalia has been a researcher and adviser at the National Centre for Historic Memory (Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica) and to the National Commission for Truth, Coexistence and Non Repetition (Comisión para el Esclarecimiento de la Verdad, la Convivencia y la No Repetición), working on themes linked with the armed conflict, urban violence, memory and peacebuilding.
Ashton Botha
University of Cape Town, South Africa
Ashton is studying for a Masters at the University of Cape town and a committed decolonial African feminist. Her research centres around trauma and healing with a particular focus on the lived experiences of women affected by gender-based violence. Ashton is passionate about amplifying community voices and reclaiming space for their stories within academic discourse. Ashton is the Local Researcher in Cape Town.
Julián Zapata
Julián is the Youth Community Research Facilitator with the project. He is a social leader, peacebuilder, and community researcher with particular interest in vulnerable youth in Medellín. A specialist in human rights, peace and coexistence. Through his work with the Human Rights Committee of the Valle de Aburrá where Julián created and has led the Youth Section he advocates for the defence and promotion of human rights in the region.
Rivonne Valentine
Rivonne is the Youth Community Research Facilitator for the project. He is a youth leader with a passion for advocacy, empowerment, and building sustainable communities.
Rivonne serves as the National Youth Representative of the South African YMCA, where he plays a key role in shaping youth-led initiatives across the country, ensuring young voices are heard at grassroots and national levels.
With experience rooted in leadership development, programme coordination, and social impact work, Rivonne has worked to advance youth participation through initiatives such as the National Youth Camp, Y-Justice, and the National Youth Exchange Programme. Rivonne is especially committed to transforming the way young people engage with policy, leadership, and civic responsibility, and he strives to create safe, empowering spaces for youth to thrive and bring a fresh, solutions-oriented voice to national conversations.
We work closely with local institutions, community-based organisations, and young people themselves to shape the research and inform future strategies.
Funding & Support
This project is funded by the .
Contact Us
Are you working on youth inclusion, local security, or violence prevention?
We welcome opportunities for collaboration, learning, and exchange.
Contact:
Alexandra Abello-Colak – A.L.Abello-Colak@lse.ac.uk
Gareth A Jones – G.A.Jones@lse.ac.uk