Transformation of Community Councils into Territorial Entities

The project ＂Community Councils become Territorial Entities to improve Development Planning, Public Management and Land Management of Black Communities＂ addresses a key issue in the framework of the right to political participation of Afro-Colombian communities. Despite being recognized as the highest administrative authority according to Law 70 of 1993, community councils are not included as territorial entities in Article 286 of the Political Constitution of Colombia, which limits their full participation in regional planning and public management. This research, framed in the Universidad Libre Seccional Cali, focuses on the Colombian Pacific, an ancestral Afro-descendant territory with cities such as Buenaventura, Tumaco and Quibdó, where these communities have developed a rich cultural and territorial dynamic. The study seeks to strengthen the cultural identity and promote the resilience of these peoples, highlighting the need to recognize community councils as key actors in development and territorial planning, to ensure a more inclusive and effective public management.