In the framework of the Ibero-American
Week celebrations, the Cooperation Fund for Technical Assistance Missions of
the OAS Inter-American Program on Education for
Democratic Values and Practices provided support to the work of the Week
for Youth Rights in Argentina
and Bolivia .
The participating institutions in the cooperation mission were the SocialFoundation Uramanta and Youth Group Csi-miento of Bolivia , the SES Foundation, the
Civil Popular Alternative Association, the Youth Group Murga Sol de America and
the Roldan Youth Council of Argentina. The technical assistance activities took
place in Argentina from
April 14 to 18, 2012 and in Bolivia
from April 26 to May 2, 2012.
The Bidirectional Cooperation Mission’s
objective was to strengthen the work processes of the Week for Youth Rights in
Argentina and Bolivia in the framework of the Ibero-American Week by recovering
the practices of both and installing a working methodology that promotes
political and social participation of young people living in poverty.
“We have to let others know what it is
like to be young” - young
participant
The work began in Argentina with
the specific aim of raising awareness of youth promoter groups to make a
commitment to actively participate in a space that promotes a democratic
culture, freedom of expression and cultural diversity. Several activities took
place in Buenos Aires
to exchange experiences with the various groups and organizations involved in
the Week, and to learn about their local work, and its objectives and contributions
to the Network for Youth Rights. Visits were also made to the cities of Rosario
and Roldan, providing the possibility to learn about the work of Popular
Alternative and Roldan Youth Council with the Youth Group Murga Sol de America.
These activities contributed to adopting the perspective of the Week’s regional
cooperation, understanding this week as a space of training, empowerment and
advocacy among youth groups from different countries.
Video: Youth Rights Week 2011 in Chapadmalal,
The mission has been
extended to the city of Cochabamba , Bolivia , where both delegations strove to
transform the Week in Bolivia
into a social setting of advocacy, knowing about, and valuing the construction
of local social ties achieved through the Bolivian experience. The objectives
of the activities in this country were tied to strengthening the work of the Csi-miento
Uramanta Social Foundation using the lessons learned and knowledge of the
Argentinean team to improve the planning and implementation process of the Week
for Youth Rights. It was also an opportunity to learn about the reality and
cultural aspects of Bolivia ’s
youth. The Csi-miento youth group managed to implement the Week for Youth
Rights taking into account the working guidelines outlined in the framework of
the technical assistance given the established central themes: youth identity,
gender and sexuality and public policies for youth.
Video: Csi-miento Group, Cochabamba, Bolivia
This experience of
exchange and technical assistance serves as a model for strengthening regional
and local work for each of the week initiatives, by installing a new
cooperation model based on knowledge and learning.
“At first we cared about being many; our goal was that: to be
more. Now we want to be more active, more organized, and do things the right
way. – Young from Csi-miento
Seeing the success of
the activities, several institutions and companies were interested in carrying
out this type of technical assistance and support the Week for Youth Rights in
the coming years.