Inclusive Religious Organizations Report Featuring Affirmation Colombia Wins Award

An August 2019 El Tiempo investigative report titled “Inclusive Religious Make Up the Resistance” and featuring Affirmation Colombia won a 2020 Ortega y Gasset Award. The report highlighted several religious organizations inclusive of sexual and gender minorities in contrast to the efforts of conservative politicians and organizations in Colombia marginalizing this community.

In the report, Affirmation Colombia President Carlos Castillo Casas highlighted Affirmation’s suicide prevention initiative as a ket activity in Affirmation, saying that suicide is one of the most pressing problems linked to religious rejection. Affirmation International Vice President Jairo Fernando González Díaz shared that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through its charitable arm, provided a $25,000 grant to support Affirmation’s suicide prevention efforts, saying that while the Church may not acknowledge their contribution to the problem, it does recognize the need for the work Affirmation is doing on this issue.

The Ortega y Gasset Awards were created in 1984 by El País. Named after the Spanish thinker José Ortega y Gasset, these awards seek to highlight the defense of freedom, independence, and rigor as essential virtues of journalism and give recognition to those works that stand out for their quality.