Our history
ORIGINS
In 2010, our founder worked in an informal Colombian settlement housing conflict victims and former combatants, while also engaging with NGOs, religious groups,and international organizations designing interventions for these communities.
From this experience emerged the core idea underlying the Corioli Institute until today.
A few years later, our founder was awarded a £1.2 million UK Research and Innovation project grant titled "Trust After Betrayal: Global Development Interventions in the Shadow of Organized Violence (TAB)," hosted at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). This initiative established the foundation for Corioli's Research and Action methodology, enabling us to expand our networks and pioneer participative, mixed-methods research methodologies that leverage anthropological sensitivities to maximize both a program's insights and impact.
TAB developed programs alongside communities, generated original research, and organized events that bridged gaps between academia, policy, and practice—always guided by a perspective on the role of trust in (re)building social bonds fractured and tested by the lingering experience of violence. TAB's comparative approach, starting in Latin America and soon reaching across the globe, coined our "formerly armed actor" framework, which captures reintegration experiences across distinct settings to facilitate a rich institutional learning ecosystem. As the project progressed, we formulated a vision to sustain TAB's legacy beyond its funding period, refining our values and mission throughout this journey. ​ This mission is most poignantly captured in our three-part motto: Research, Reintegrate, Rebuild.
THE BRAND
Our name is derived from Shakespeare’s
tragedy Coriolanus.
This play explores themes of violence, betrayal,
and exile—central concerns for the reintegration of formerly armed actors and the broader implications
of conflict resolution.
​In the play, Coriolanus earns his name after his victory at the city of Corioli, yet despite his military success, he is ultimately exiled from Rome due to political intrigue and his personal ineptness to effectively navigate civilian governance. His journey—from warrior to outcast, and ultimately to a tragic figure caught between loyalty, vengeance and estrangement—resonates deeply with the challenges of reintegration and social cohesion after violence.
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The wolf as a symbol draws from Roman military tradition, where it adorned the chest plates of generals, representing both ferocity in battle and the weight of leadership. ​Moreover, in Early Medieval Scandinavia, the Old Norse word Vargr described both a literal wolf and someone banished from society just like Coriolanus.
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The Vargr was feared and marked as an outlaw, an individual who had been stripped of protections and forced to exist beyond the bounds of civilization. The wolf imagery, reflected in countless other cultural and mythological representations, aligns with the Institute’s focus on those who have navigated the liminal spaces between armed groups, state security forces, and civilian society.
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The green wolf ears in the Institute’s logo and symbolism represent resilience and renewal. While the wolf signifies both the predatory and protective aspects of conflict, the green ears suggest the possibility of growth, healing, and transformation—echoing the Institute’s commitment to building sustainable pathways out of violence.
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This naming and symbolism reflect the Corioli Institute’s core mission: confronting the legacies of armed conflict, addressing the tensions between warriors and societies, and fostering reintegration and reconciliation for individuals and communities shaped by the legacy of violence.
