- During these two days, through various spaces for reflection between representatives of civil society, international organizations, government agencies, experts in the rights of children and adolescents, they have shared their experiences and opinions as a way to identify the current impacts. and futures that the COVID-19 pandemic is having in childhood.
- What have we learned during the pandemic to rethink the decisions of governments, institutions and families? How to reduce the negative impacts of COVID19 in our life projects? How do we organize ourselves in this uncertain scenario thinking about the future?
For the fifth time the Initiative Weaving Childhood Networks for Latin America and the Caribbean, an initiative co-financed by the European Union, which seeks to contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of a platform for the defense of children and adolescents in which 26 coalitions and organizations currently participate in 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries, carried out the Latin American Thought Seminar for the Rights of the Child #NuestroFuturo in the Covid-19 Era.
During these two days, through various spaces for reflection between representatives of civil society, international organizations, government agencies, experts in the rights of children and adolescents, they have shared their experiences and opinions as a way to identify the current impacts. and futures that the COVID-19 pandemic is having in childhood.
To start the activities around the Latin American meeting, Juan Martín Pérez, Coordinator of the Initiative Weaving Child Networks, welcomed the expressions that represent intergenerational dialogue, given the need for strategies to face complications at an economic, social and health level. that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought into the lives of childhoods.
Gautier Mignot, Ambassador of the European Union in Mexico participated in the meeting. He shared some of the lines of action of the European Union Strategy in favor of children, among which stand out: justice adapted to minors, protection in digital technologies, tools for the empowerment of children, protection of all girls and boys of the world in conflict.
Izmir of the Dominican Republic, a member of different initiatives of #TejiendoRedesInfancia and a social activist, showed that the pandemic has affected children differently and has made the gaps evident, which in some cases have worsened. He said that one of the main questions that children ask themselves is what is the State doing to take care of girls and adolescents? "I am a girl and I find myself locked in with the problem."
For Virginia Murillo Herrera, President of Defense of Children International (DNI), Costa Rica, who referred to child labor, the pandemic, which has resulted in an increase in child labor figures, is also an opportunity to generate new strategies for the construction of the future that can help to find windows of opportunity in the face of a shocking and devastating scenario.
What is up with the impact of the necropolitics of the forced migration of girls, boys and adolescents? Was the issue on which Fernando de Lucio, an activist for the rights of girls, boys and adolescents, reflected. "There are flaws in the human rights discourse, a discourse that remains only on paper, why almost no one talks about situations that affect children, why is society not outraged, why so many questions and no answers?", he stated.
Through a video message, Mr. Benoit Van Keirsbilck, Member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC-UN, for its acronym in English), said that the fight against poverty should be one of the priorities of the States, however, efforts remain uneven and do not reach all girls, boys and adolescents.
Young and adolescent students of different educational levels in Mexico have formed the Collective #EvaluaciónJusta, to demand that education is not a privilege and that the quality of education is not discriminatory. Karla, a Mexican teenager, shared that it was her experience with indigenous groups that made her reflect on access to education, she questioned when the authorities are going to take responsibility for them, when they are going to take responsibility. Actions. In her speech, Camila highlighted that there is a lack of a gender focus in educational programs and in staff training, while Tamara, a young Mexican, highlighted that the pandemic has meant physical and emotional wear and tear for students. "With the current and past actions of the authorities, we will not get very far in the future", he mentioned.
Matilde Luna, Director of the Latin American Foster Care Network (RELAF) released ECLAC data indicating that the total number of poor people reached 209 million at the end of 2020, 22 million more than the previous year, of which 78 million live in extreme poverty, emphasizing that the loss of parental care is directly related to poverty in all its dimensions.
Brayan from Peru, spoke about the importance of the environment and the relevance of social commitment to nature "It is time to become aware, we cannot continue waiting for the world to give us an answer automatically, because perhaps that day will never come and if that moment does come it will probably be too late".
At the start of the second day of activities of the V Latin American Thought Seminar on the rights of the child, Yanis Quezada, from the Costa Rican Coalition of Social Organizations for the follow-up of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, presented a video to make the challenges visible that girls, boys and adolescents face in migratory processes.
The presentation by Emerson from Bolivia, a prominent activist for the defense of children's rights, presented the theme "Caring for life: environmental surveillance and control, the key to addressing climate change." His main reflections were on the need for specialized teaching spaces on caring for nature and the environment and how human beings relate to it. "Teaching how to care for nature is teaching how to value life," he said.
For her part, Ana María Watson from the National Initiative Group for the Rights of the Child in Peru presented the topic "Violence in childhood and its effects." His message began with the reminder that violence not only leaves a mark on the child's body, but also on the mind and spirit, the impact is measured in the physical, psychological and neuronal aspect. One of the great types of violence is physical and humiliating punishment, which is normalized in today's societies, despite the fact that there are laws that punish corporal punishment, violence is a social problem that we face.
During confinement, for families belonging to street populations, the distance education strategy is insufficient since the vast majority do not have access to digital media. Precisely, to meet this need, during the pandemic the project was born "School of the Butterflies: An educational challenge for children", a project that began with personalized psychoeducational counseling for the populations of girls, boys and adolescents from street populations, and in the absence of support from the authorities to this sector. "When the #QuédateEnCasa strategy began, street populations were excluded, because they simply had no home to stay, losing support networks and sources of employment," as shared by María de Jesús and Fabián Iván de la Red por la Infancia y la Adolescencia in Puebla Mexico.
On the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous Children. Julia Velasco of the Bolivian Coalition for the Defense of the Rights of Boys, Girls and Adolescents, said that, despite international norms, which protects the indigenous population, in the context of the pandemic, during the confinement indigenous peoples could not stay at home, since they work the fields and productive activities related to food could not be stopped during the pandemic. The specialist pointed out the lack of prevention campaigns against COVID-19, aimed at indigenous peoples, using their native languages.
"The SDGs: Ta'hevi the pandemic, but what about the other problems, did they increase or disappear?" It was in charge of Cristián from the Dominican Republic, a promoter of children's rights. From their perspective, it is necessary to emphasize the Sustainable Development Goals that are related to quality education, gender equality, climate action, therefore, it is urgent to strengthen alliances through youth organizations that serve as a reference to other young people on leadership and entrepreneurship.
For his part, Rafael Castelán, who belongs to the Coordination of Linking and Institutional Strengthening of Services for Integral Inclusion and Human Rights AC (SEIINAC) during his speech entitled "The adult challenge to accompany processes of girls, boys and young people", He recalled that the participation of children requires a response from adults. All of us should be promoters of participation processes, from the family, institutional and civil society spheres.
Through a video message, Nashieli Ramírez, president of the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City, recognized that an agenda around childhood is of vital importance for the construction and reconstruction of the world during and after the pandemic by COVID-19. Likewise, he assured that, among the most violated rights of girls, boys and adolescents, during the pandemic, were the impact on health, lack of access to universal vaccination, effects on development in early childhood, deficiencies in attention to problems of chronic health, lack of access to contraception and sexual health services; The right to a life free of violence has been impacted, life and physical integrity have been affected, as well as the right to education. "Generalized containment policies are not enough, we need specific strategies to protect children", assured.
The presentation by Sofía, a 12-year-old Mexican girl, creator of the environmental awareness app “Cuidando a Gia”, was "Lessons that COVID makes us see to solve climate change", During his speech, he stressed that the emergency forced us to unite and take actions to combat the effects of the pandemic, from his point of view, the same should happen with the care of the environment, but unfortunately a global emergency has not been declared due to the environmental crisis.
Nadia, a young Bolivian responsible for the project for girls, boys and adolescents in the City of La Paz, reflected on what is happening with the true meaning of sustainable development for girls, boys and adolescents? During his presentation, he recalled that some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focus on eradicating poverty, eliminating child labor, protecting the environment and tackling climate change. Regarding child labor, Nadia shared that according to calculations by international organizations it is expected that by 2020, the data will increase.
The meeting was closed by Juan Martín Pérez García, Regional Coordinator of the #TejiendoRedesInfancia project. As a final message, he insisted that the future is today, this implies that reflection must lead to action, through strategic thinking for advocacy, from the perspective of Human Rights and the gender perspective.
The retransmission of the V Latin American Thought Seminar on the rights of the child is available at the following links:
We put at your disposal visual material of the event: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1v3xG6MObXV4Klg8y-OxNW5m4TdHINw2-?usp=sharing
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Ollin.TV is an Internet television channel created as part of Weaving Childhood Nets in Latin America and the Caribbean an initiative co-financed by the European Union, which seeks to contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of a platform for the defense of children and adolescents in 20 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
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