Ivan Dario Mendoza Benitez (Colombia) - speaker

Ivan joins the Johannesburg Afro-Latin Festival special guests line-up as a panellist and moderator for the seminar, Afro-Latin Heritage and Community, alongside Natchova Hendrik (Angola) and Angus Prince (Kenya).

Currently the Attaché for Commercial, Cultural, Protocol and Press Affairs for the Embassy of Colombia in South Africa, Ivan holds a Master’s Degree in Security, Defense and Geostrategy, and defines himself as a person with a great interest in the fields of Security and Peace, Trade, Environment, International Negotiations, Diplomacy and Corporate Affairs. He has extensive experience in the Colombian diplomatic and consular service, multilateralism, commerce and tourism.

Ivan brings knowledge and insight with regards to carnivals, culture and music in Colombia and around Latin America, with particular interest in Barranquilla Carnival which he feels is a testament to European, African and Indigenous communities engaging without discrimination in his country.