Social Leaders in Colombia in their efforts to defend their territories and communities have been victims for years of threats, violence, and assassinations by some of the power structures present in the country. After the signing of the peace process Between the FARC and the government of Colombia in 2016, the situation has worsened. Social Leaders are catalysts for sustainable development and guaranteeing their protection is fundamental to the country's sustainable development goals. To analyze the situation the methodology applied was a critical discourse analysis, in which the thesis pursed was to understand the government's position and why this social wrong persists. With this aim, the thesis critically analyzed the texts of the government's development plan, tweets of the main channels of the national government, and the congressmen of the ruling party. The analysis indicated that the ideologies of the ruling party make it difficult to find solutions to wicked problems. In addition, the ideology of the governing party presented a combination of neoliberal, neo-conservative, and “caudillismo” discourses that make it difficult to see Social Leadersas potential solutions to problems and stigmatize them. Thus, increasing the risk of Social Leaders being attacked, threatened, or assassinated. The discussion indicates that the path to change requires a change in the polarized vision that the country has had in its history. It is discussed that change can be pursued through pluriverse. The pluriverse is required for the construction of a country that puts in the dialog different ontologies. The analysis proposed components of ontological politics as an option for the transition from the actual model to this pluriverse.

Designing in a world of cultural diversity demands a break from traditionally Western-centric paradigms. This project explores a more respectful approach to design, deeply rooted in participatory methodologies and acknowledging the coexistence of diverse realities—a "pluriverse." The research journey delves into the complexities of participatory and decolonizing design, emphasizing the importance of recognizing multiple worldviews. The ongoing development of the CHAMPS cultural heritage mapping platform stands as a testament to these principles in action. The Kuching, Sarawak community in Malaysia actively participated, enriching the platform with their unique insights and lived experiences. The culmination of this work offers a reflection on design that bridges theory with hands-on practice, emphasizing cultural respect and inclusivity.

[pt] A modernidade e o neoliberalismo foram reproduzidos e construídos na América Latina de uma forma diferente daquela tida como original. Isso porque a partir da compreensão de conceitos de Nestor Garcia Canclini, Veronica Gago e Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, enxergo que todo discurso ou racionalidade sempre vai ser transformado, distorcido, na medida em que é reproduzido, especialmente se essa reprodução ocorre alhures ao berço dessas racionalidades, mesmo que exista um desejo ativo por parte dessas sociedades de reproduzir essas categorias seguindo modelos Europeus ou da América do Norte. Dessa forma, a impossibilidade de integridade de toda reprodução acaba por criar fraturas na superfície desses discursos, com um grande potencial desestabilizante que tem a capacidade de fazer surgir um novo cenário, não somente apesar dessas racionalidades, mas justamente a partir das ruínas imprimidas nas sociedades que foram atravessadas por essas racionalidades. Daqueles que tiveram seus corações empedrados pela dureza dessas racionalidades. A partir disso, utilizando da metodologia do recorazonar, pensarei ao lado de intelectuais e artistas com o objetivo de estimular nos descolarmos de categorias hegemônicas, forçando as fraturas evidenciadas pelas crises eco-socioeconômicas, para surgir novas possibilidades. Paralelamente, busco resgatar aquelas racionalidades que foram sufocadas e tratadas com desdém pelo ambiente moderno e neoliberal. Essas fraturas podem ser provocadas e aprofundadas ao nos debruçarmos sobre as formas como esses processos se deram, ao mergulharmos e também ao pensarmos ao lado de certas obras de arte politizadas e artefatos estéticos críticos a esses mundos que habitamos. Assim, meu texto no que tange à mobilização desses artefatos estéticos funciona de uma maneira dupla: potencializar as erosões dessas falésias da modernidade e do neoliberalismo da forma que se deram na América Latina, mas também pensar em conjunto com as obras, ao ter meu pensamento por elas guiado para um lugar de pensamento crítico que elas suscitam. / [en] Modernity and neoliberalism have been reproduced and constructed in Latin America in a different way from that taken as original. This is because from the understanding of concepts by Veronica Gago, Nestor Garcia Canclini, and Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, I understand that every discourse or rationality will always be transformed, distorted, to the extent that it is reproduced, especially if this reproduction occurs outside the birthplace of these rationalities, even if there is an active desire on the part of these societies to reproduce these categories, following European or North American models. In this way, the impossibility of the integrity of all reproduction ends up creating fractures on the surface of these discourses, with a great destabilizing potential that has the capacity to make a new scenario emerge, not only in spite of these rationalities, but precisely from the ruins imprinted in the societies that were crossed by these rationalities. Those who had their hearts turned into stone by the harshness of those rationalities. From this, using the methodology of Recorazonar, I will think alongside intellectuals and artists with the objective of stimulating us to detach from hegemonic categories, forcing the fractures evidenced by the eco-socioeconomic crises, in order to emerge new possibilities. In parallel, I seek to rescue those rationalities that have been suffocated and treated with disdain by the modern and neoliberal environment. These fractures can be provoked and deepened by looking at the ways in which these processes took place. But also, if we think alongside certain politicized artworks and aesthetic artifacts critical to these worlds we inhabit. Thus, my text in terms of mobilizing these aesthetic artifacts works in a twofold way: to potentiate the erosions of these cliffs of modernity and neoliberalism in the ways that they have occurred in Latin America, but also to think alongside the works by having my thinking guided by them into a place of critical thinking that they elicit.

The ongoing digital transformation of our societies impacts all aspects of our lives aswell as the international development and the design for social change. Having said that,in this paper I studied whether the design of participatory ICT4Ds can engage the localend-users/beneficiaries in the processes of knowledge and identity creation, and thus,achieve their self-representation in order to break the colonial-based stereotypes. Moreover, I examined whether the locals’ participation can emancipate design, development,and ICT4Ds from their colonial heritage and the related universalisms, and thus, achievethe construction of a postcolonial pluriversal world.To examine all of the above, I combined the approach of comparative case studies with aseries of interviews. As my research context I investigated the participatory dimensions oftwo ICT4D initiatives, namely UNICEF’s U-Report Yunitok Kenya and Map Kibera, thatoperate also in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Because of this area’s colonial historyand influence I used postcolonialism as my theoretical framework.The results of this study suggest that the design of participatory ICT4Ds can be influentialin the knowledge and identity creation of the Global South and this has the dynamics tocreate a postcolonial pluriversal world. Similarly, locals’ participation seems to have thepotential to emancipate design, development, and ICT4Ds from their colonial heritage.Nevertheless, this study advocates that the postcolonial rejection of universalisms mightbe problematic as it seems that the concept is not inherently negative but it rather hasstrong connotations due to its connection with the colonial history.