Colombia has long been a country in trouble. Plagued by terrorism from drug lords, guerrillas, and paramilitary forces, plus widespread corruption that has reached into the highest political levels, the country's problems seem almost unsolvable.

But many Colombians are now more hopeful because of a one-day conference scheduled for May 7 at Harvard. The "Law and Democracy in Colombia" forum has generated a huge amount of interest among Colombian officials, even becoming a subject in the country's presidential race. Top supporters of some presidential candidates have been calling to ask that their candidates be allowed to take part in panel discussions. The panelist spots were filled long ago, but some candidates have indicated they may travel to Harvard for the conference anyway.

That level of excitement is unusual for an academic conference, especially one that hasn't even happened yet, but then it's an unusual group that is the driving force behind "Law and Democracy in Colombia." The Colombian Graduate Students at Harvard, one of the conference's four sponsors, is a virtual "Who's Who" of young standouts in Colombian politics, law, and journalism. The 35-member group includes a current senator, two former ministers, an award-winning investigative reporter, an influential law professor, and a human rights specialist.

"Colombia needs the world's help to stop the vicious cycle of violence in order to allow the young people to develop the country's huge potential," said organizer Maria Cristina Caballero, the investigative journalist. "This conference is important because it can be a first step to bring together key professors from one of the best universities in the world with policymakers and professors from a country that is confronting a hugely complex combination of social, criminal, and political problems. This conference could generate new ideas to solve the problems."

Besides the Colombian Graduate Students, sponsors are the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, the Program on Criminal Justice and the Graduate Program of the Law School, and the Kennedy School of Government. The conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, at the Ames Moot Courtroom at the Law School. It is free and open to the public. The four panel discussions will focus on the citizen's role in keeping politics clean, interpreting Colombia's constitution, the problems of violence and drug trafficking, and U.S.-Colombia relations.

Both Colombia's prosecutor attorney general, Alfonso Valdivieso, and Colombia's ambassador to the United States, Juan Carlos Esguerra, will take part in panel discussions. Valdivieso is considered a strong candidate in Colombia's upcoming presidential race, though he has not yet declared his candidacy. Ana Maria Salazar, who next month will assume the post of special assistant for Latin American affairs at the White House, will be the highest-ranking U.S. official at the conference.

Harvard professors and affiliates on the panels will be Merilee Grindle, Edward S. Mason Professor of International Development at the Kennedy School; Fernando Rojas, president of the Inter-American Legal Services Association and a visiting scholar at the Rockefeller Center; Richard Parker, a law professor; Jorge Esquirol, academic director of the Law School's Graduate Program; Philip Heymann, James Barr Ames Professor of Law; Dieter Koch-Weser, former associate dean for the International Program at the Medical School; and John Coatsworth, director of the Rockefeller Center.

The panel discussions will also include a number of prominent professors from Colombian universities and researchers from think tanks that focus on Latin American issues. A workshop on the legal theory behind the issues will be held on Thursday, May 8, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Law School, Hauser Hall, Room 101. Jorge Esquirol of the Law School Graduate Program will moderate the panel discussion, which will bring together six Colombian law professors.

The Colombian Graduate Students at Harvard include:

* Augusto Galan, former minister of health and the brother of Luis Carlos Galan, who was the leading candidate for the presidency of Colombia when he was assassinated in 1989. Augusto Galan plans to run for the Colombian Senate as soon as he finishes his M.P.A. degree at the Kennedy School.

* Sen. Eduardo Pizano, who was forced to flee his homeland because of threats against his life by drug traffickers, and is also a graduate student at the Kennedy School.

* Marta Lucia Ramirez, former deputy minister of trade in Colombia, who is now a Fellow at the Center for International Affairs.

* Diego Lopez, a law professor who is studying for a Ph.D. at the Law School. Lopez is an expert in constitutional law issues.

* Liliana Obregon, a lawyer who is a specialist in human rights. Obregon is studying for a master's degree at the Law School.

* Maria Cristina Caballero, a Nieman Fellow and director of investigations for news magazine Cambio 16.