Political, social and economic conditions in the civil war-torn South American country of Colombia will be closely examined at a two-day conference at DePaul University, April 25 and 26.

The conference, entitled “Colombia: Democracy and Peace,” opens at 6 p.m. April 25 with a panel discussion, “Current Affairs in Colombia,” on DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus, in the Schmitt Academic Center, 2320 N. Kenmore Ave., Room 154.

The discussion will center on Colombia’s culture, politics and North American relations. Panelists are: Eduardo Domínguez Gomez, associate professor of communication, University of Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia; Michael McIntyre, associate professor of international studies and director of the International Studies program at DePaul; Diego Garcia Moreno, Colombian filmmaker and instructor of film and television; and Alfonso Monsalve Solórzano, professor of social sciences and humanities, University of Antioquia.

Gomez and Solórzano are co-directors of the International Seminar of Colombia Peace and Democracy. Gomez is author of “The Construction of the Image” (Medellín, 1997), while Solórzano has written a book entitled “State, International Society and Human Rights in a Global World.”

Panelists will be introduced by Astrid E. Suarez, a native of Colombia and a community organizer affiliated with the Coalition of African, Asian, European and Latino Immigrants of Illinois. An informal reception will follow the panel discussion.

A roundtable discussion on “Social Justice, Cultural, Political and Human Rights Concerns in Colombia” will take place April 26 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the university Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., Rooms 312 and 313. Gomez and Solórzano will participate in the discussion. They will be joined by Douglas Cassel, director of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University, and representatives from the local political community.

“Colombia: Democracy and Peace” is free and open to the public. This event is sponsored by DePaul’s Latin American/Latino Studies program as part of its annual Celebración de Nuestra América series; DePaul’s Center for Latino Research; the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago; and Colombia Vive.