Elena Butti
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Bio

I currently work as Youth Empowerment Specialist at War Child Holland. I hold a doctorate from the University of Oxford, where I completed research on youth violence at the urban margins around Medellín, Colombia. I am based in Amsterdam, but regularly travel to War Child’s field offices in Africa, the Middle East and South America.


 

I am an urban anthropologist, humanitarian practitioner and participatory film-maker. I study youth, crime, activism, and migration in Latin America.

I am currently a Research Fellow  at the Geneva Graduate Institute and a Visiting Professor at the National University of Colombia. I hold a PhD and a Post-Doc from the University of Oxford. My forthcoming book is an ethnographic exploration of adolescents’ engagement into narco-gangs in Medellín’s urban margins. I am now conducting new research on the interactions between Venezuelan migration and organized crime in Colombia.

Before joining the Graduate Institute, I worked for several years in the humanitarian sector. I am also the author of several participatory films co-produced with young people.

For more details, take a look at my CV - or get in touch.

PS: I’m also a tango DJ on the side - you can follow my gigs here!