Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrived in the Colombian capital of Bogot\u00e1 on Thursday, for a visit to support initiatives that protect children from online harm. <\/p>\n
The four-day visit came together following an invitation from Vice President Francia M\u00e1rquez, the first Afro-Colombian to hold executive powers. <\/p>\n
The couple were warmly greeted to Bogot\u00e1 by M\u00e1rquez and her partner, Rafael Pinillo. The meeting lasted around 30 minutes, during which the group had drinks and pan de bono (Colombian cheese bread) before exchanging gifts. <\/p>\n
The two parties held talks at the residence of the vice president, who said that the \u201cSussexes share the same ideals and goals when it comes to championing a better, safer digital future and mental health landscape for our children and the world,\u201d according to a journalist traveling with the Sussexes. <\/p>\n
M\u00e1rquez, who also serves as the nation\u2019s minister for equality, told reporters Thursday: \u201cThis is their first visit to Latin America. The goal is to build bridges and open doors to attend an issue that affects the whole of humanity: cyber harassment and online discrimination.\u201d <\/p>\n
She pointed to her own background – as an environmental defender of African heritage \u2013 as part of the reason she is pushing for a safer digital landscape. <\/p>\n
\u201cCyber harassment is a problem that doesn\u2019t affect us only around racial issues, but also for gender and political issues. Women who want to do politics today are exposed to a level of violence on social media that affects us as human beings, affects our dignity,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd this is not only happening to women, but the most worrisome aspect of cyber harassment is also that it\u2019s affecting children and teenagers.\u201d <\/p>\n
Marquez also reiterated the importance of the Invictus Games, launched by Prince Harry a decade ago, saying the couple will meet the Colombian delegation on Friday. <\/p>\n
\u201cColombia is the only country in Latin America taking part in these Games and we\u2019re preparing for the next edition to be held in Canada in 2025,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n
Because of over 60 years of almost permanent civil conflict, Colombia has hundreds of thousands of military veterans, some of whom suffer from long-term injuries or chronic condition at the result of their services. <\/p>\n
During their stay in the South American nation, the couple are expected to travel beyond the capital and visit the cities of Cartagena and Cali in the days ahead. <\/p>\n
Prince Harry and Meghan will see these \u201cvibrant locations,\u201d while engaging with \u201cleaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress,\u201d the vice president\u2019s office said when announcing the visit earlier this month. <\/p>\n
While the trip could bare a resemblance to a traditional royal visit, it is not an official state visit as the couple are not visiting on behalf of the UK government. The Sussexes stepped back as working royals in 2020. <\/p>\n
The couple\u2019s visit to Colombia \u2013 their third international trip this year following Canada and Nigeria \u2013 comes ahead of the first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in November. <\/p>\n
The vice president has previously emphasized the need to confront \u201cissues such as cyberbullying, online exploitation, and the mental health impact of these threats.\u201d <\/p>\n
Youth online safety is a key priority of the duke and duchess\u2019 Archewell Foundation and the royal couple will be keen to learn about Colombia\u2019s efforts in that area. <\/p>\n
Harry and Meghan recently launched \u201cThe Parents\u2019 Network,\u201d a support network for those whose children have been negatively affected by social media. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrived in the Colombian capital of Bogot\u00e1 on Thursday, for a visit to support initiatives that protect children from online harm. The four-day visit came together following an invitation from Vice President Francia M\u00e1rquez, the first Afro-Colombian to hold executive powers. The couple were warmly greeted to Bogot\u00e1 by M\u00e1rquez <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6483","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}