Born December 25, 1961, in Colombia, Ingrid Betancourt is a French-Colombian activist in the cause of freedom. She was a politician and presidential candidate in Colombia, celebrated for her determination to combat widespread corruption. In February 2002 she was taken hostage by the FARC, a communist guerrilla organization. For six and a half years, the FARC held her hostage in the Amazonian jungle. She was rescued on July 2, 2008.
Since her release, Betancourt has become a memoirist and fiction writer. Her first book, Even Silence Has Its End, which lyrically recounts her six years in the impenetrable jungle, was published in 2010. In 2016, she published a second work -- this time of fiction -- called The Blue Line, about the disappearances in Argentina during the Dirty War from 1976 to 1983.
Betancourt has received multiple international awards, including the French National Order of the Légion d’Honneur, the Spanish Prince of Asturias Prize of Concord, the Italian Prize Grinzane Cavour, and was nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to democratic values, freedom and tolerance.
En el año 2002, Ingrid Betancourt estaba haciendo campaña para convertirse en presidenta de Colombia cuando fue secuestrada por los guerrilleros. Ella estuvo en la jungla durante seis años. Con miedo como su compañero constante, aprendió a usarlo y a crecer.
Continue readingIn 2002, Ingrid Betancourt was campaigning to become president of Colombia when she was kidnapped by guerillas. She was held in the jungle for six years. With fear her constant companion, she learned how to use it and grow.
Continue readingIt’s a historic moment for TED. On Tuesday, we officially launched TED en Español with the first-ever full TED session in Spanish. Curated and hosted by TED’s Spanish curator, Gerry Garbulsky, six speakers covered a wide range of topics, from how the detection of gravitational waves opens a new window to understand the universe to […]
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