A tireless entrepreneur, Daniel has attended four One Young World Summits to date, incorporating his learnings from each Summit into his ventures. Daniel started RECOJO, the first major youth network in Colombia with the aim of driving action and engagement among Colombia’s youth. He has driven RECOJO to become a major network of young social entrepreneurs who have contributed over 190,000 hours of volunteering. Daniel then founded BAKONGO, a summer camp that integrates underprivileged children with young people from universities.
Daniel Buritica’s BAKONGO Paz project was announced as the Grand Prize Winner of the 2016 Coca-Cola Shaping a Better Future Grant Challenge. Bakongo, representing the Bogotá Global Shapers Hub, was announced in December as one of five winners of the overall competition. The ultimate recognition was awarded at the 2017 World Economic Forum in Davos. As well as receiving $10,000, he will meet with senior Coca-Cola leaders at the Forum.
As a way to address the ongoing civil conflict in Colombia, Daniel established the BAKONGO Paz project which bridges between young changemakers and demobilised FARC fighters by working together at a camp for children from vulnerable backgrounds. By creating this immersive experience, BAKONGO has revolutionised tolerance, reconciliation and peace-building among youth in Colombia.
Daniel addressed the One Young World community from the World Economic Forum annual meeting 2017
At the 2014 Summit in Dublin, Daniel joined the Peace and Conflict Resolution Special Session along with Regis Ortiz, an ex-FARC soldier. Daniel, whose aunt was kidnapped by the FARC, joined forces with Regis to send hundreds of victims of the Colombian conflict to BAKONGO, serving as an exemplary model of reconciliation.BAKONGO has benefited over 1,500 people to date.
Daniel has grown to be considered as one of Colombia’s youngest international speakers, taking his message to more than 26,00 people in 21 countries at RECOJO-led conferences. He was the first Colombian under 30 years old to speak on a panel at the World Economic Forum. Aside from RECOJO, he co-founded, REALHERO, an app game which empowers young people to track their social footprint, and SUMAME.CO, an online collective financing platform.
Congratulations to Daniel and his team!
Watch Daniel and Regis speak at the 2014 One Young World Summit in Dublin, Ireland.
