Ten years of the UVA: a project of social and cultural transformation in Medellín

Jhon Fredy Zuleta is 17 years old and since the UVA de la Cordialidad was established, in Popular 1, he has participated with his two brothers in robotics incubators, geoexplorers and friends of the planet. For a decade, that place became a refuge and a safe place to develop skills and find your greatest passions.

The UVA is the Articulated Life Units, a project that arose from the need to incorporate decent public spaces in neighborhoods to carry out sporting, cultural and educational activities so that people of all ages could have meetings that contribute to inclusion with a sustainable social approach . .

Like Jhon Fredy and his family, many people have taken advantage of UVA’s benefits. According to the Planning Department of Medellín, during these ten years this initiative has managed to benefit approximately 12 million people through different experiences that have been possible thanks to these spaces that have green spaces, classrooms , computer rooms, children’s parks, outdoor theatres. and gyms, among others.

One of the things that citizens draw attention to the most is the social impact it has had on the Area’s neighbourhoods: as well as contributing to building the social fabric, citizens have shown a sense of belonging, respect and empathy for these places, characteristics that have been fundamental for social cohesion and, above all, for strengthening the positive habits of each individual.

“During these 10 years, UVA has gone through an important transformation thanks to the community taking ownership of these architectural interventions that have a social element and innovation. Today they are places that invite and allow families, women, young people and older people to enjoy moments of fun, well-being, culture and education with a spectacular offer that has been created with our allies,” says Lina Hoyos , executive director of the Foundation.

In the metropolitan area there are 14 UVAs located in the seven communes of Medellín and in two municipalities in the Aburrá Valley (Bello and Itagüí) and received different names such as Los Sueños, La Esperanza, La Libertad, La Alegría and others awarded by r neighbors connecting these spaces with the values that represent them.

Fill desolate spaces with life

“The UVA program has been very important for social support and transformation, as these are spaces that help us develop different life skills and competencies that we need to live in society (…) These places have become scenes of co-creation and in many cases almost like a second home for the community. For me, it has been a privilege to see how something uninhabitable became an area full of life,” said Juan David Pérez, a citizen of commune 1 (Popular) who attends UVA La Esperanza.

Among the most significant achievements of this project is the reduction of digital divides with the implementation of ICT (information and communication technologies) rooms with free Wi-Fi and digital training for people who do not have access to these resources, where around 22 thousand people benefit every month.

“Open the fences to be closer,” was the motto that EPM began to transform these spaces with the aim of converting them into public stages, because previously they were peripheral areas of the city without lights and where nothing but tanks were kept. drinking water storage.

The nature of these spaces, and the use that the communities have given them, decided that the UVA during these first ten years was located as protective spaces that have succeeded in redefining their infrastructure to bring pedagogical strategies and creative for different audiences. Part of the success is the fact that thousands of families like Jhon Fredy’s or Juan David’s have found places there to dream and transform reality.

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Institutional Communiqué.