The City of Envigado Joins Guardian Girls Colombia
As part of the Guardian Girls Colombia program, the City of Envigado and KIF Colombia hosted the first-ever Guardian Girls Aikido (GGA) seminar at the Envigado South Sports Center Stadium, welcoming over 90 local women participants. Organized by KIF Colombia in collaboration with Envigado’s local authorities, this event marked the first official launch of Guardian Girls programming in Antioquia, Colombia. Participants of all ages, many with no prior martial arts experience, enthusiastically engaged in learning about Aikido—a martial art from Japan—and its role in promoting gender equality and raising awareness about violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Distinguished guests included Mr. Raúl Eduardo Cardona González, Mayor of Envigado; Mr. Shin Koyamada, CEO of Guardian Girls International; Ms. Nia Lyte, National Chair of KIF Colombia and President of GGI; Ms. Luz Marina López Peña, City Council Member; Mr. David Ruiz Gomez, Deputy of the Antioquia Department Assembly; Ms. Yenifer Quintero Perez, Women’s Secretariat for Envigado; Mr. Diego Fernando Echavarría Giraldo, General Manager of Índer Envigado; Mr. Yasutaka Kogure, Minister of the Embassy of Japan in Colombia; Mr. Abraham Builes from the Colombia Aikido Federation, among others.
Envigado, a city of over 220,000 residents south of Medellín in Antioquia (population approximately 7 million), served as an ideal location for this empowering event, which aims to expand across Colombia to promote safe and inclusive communities for women and girls through Aikido.
In Colombia, Guardian Girls Aikido (GGA) is a nationwide project under the Guardian Girls Colombia program, managed by KIF Colombia in partnership with the Colombia Aikido Federation (COPA). This collaborative project is dedicated to empowering women and girls through Aikido, providing them with self-defense skills, promoting gender equality, and raising awareness about violence against women and girls.