SANIAGO DE CHILE, 4 May 2009: Youths from Argentina and Colombia will meet in Santiago on Wednesday, May 13, to explain how they have been able to diminish violence in schools, at the First Encounter for Replicating Social Innovation: “Negotiation, the secret to prevent school violence”, to take place at headquarters of UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC.
The meeting is organized by ECLAC in conjunction with UNESCO and UNICEF, and aims to disseminate and promote the creative replication of two innovative and successful experiences in preventing violence in schools.
Government officials, school directors, teachers, students, parents, experts and education NGOs will be able to exchange with those in charge of the projects, as well as teachers and students who have participated in mediation processes.
The projects are: Prevention of violence through conflict resolution and mediation of peers, in Argentina, and the Programme for conflict management “Hermes”, in Colombia. Both won the Experiences in Social Innovation Contest organized by ECLAC with support from the Kellogg Foundation -the former in 2007 and the latter in 2008.
The Colombian project is implemented in 225 schools in Bogotá and has involved nearly 700.000 people. The project in Argentina is carried out in 21 schools in Bariloche, with over 10.000 students. Both have augmented their impact by coordinating with local public policies.
A significant part of their success lies in that it is the students themselves who promote and lead mediation processes, as actors and subjects. Another key to their achievements is that teachers and school officials explicitly acknowledge that they may be the cause of conflicts, and participate in mediation processes as part of this public recognition.
As a way to internationalize the meeting, a Virtual Forum will be held May 14. Anyone interested in the issue of school violence may participate in this forum.
Kilde: www.eclac.org
