Laura Gil is the Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs, Colombia. Ms. Gil is a foreign policy analyst and opinion leader from Colombia, with expertise in human rights and peacebuilding. She was the director of Diálogos and Estrategias, a Bogota-based firm dedicated to supporting public policies that further human rights, reconciliation, and post-conflict reconstruction. She has served as a columnist at El Tiempo, Colombia’s largest newspaper, and has also worked in radio and TV. From 2011 to 2015, she was the director and presenter of “Hashtag International,” Colombia’s only TV program focusing on the analysis of international events. In 2019, she founded a website for opinion journalism, called The Middle Line, which aims to promote civil discourse and centrist analysis of contemporary affairs. In recognition of her journalistic work, she has received a number of awards, including the Simon Bolívar Prize (2019), the Alvaro Gomez Hurtado Award (2017), the National Journalism Award (2015), and a Law and Democracy Medal from the Colombian Press Society (2015). During her fellowship, Ms. Gil intends to write an essay on how uncivil discourse and disinformation in the Colombian media affects political discourse. Her essay will offer an analysis of opinion journalism in Colombia and present recommendations for media professionals to create a more deliberative, rather than confrontational, atmosphere.
