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Inter-American Children's Institute |
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1.
Introduction With
the financial support of the State of Qatar, the Inter-American Children’s
Institute produced a video on the Right to Education, entitled “I Want
to Learn.” This video is part of a series intended to promote and
publicize the children’s rights enshrined by the Convention. Ing.
Julio Rosenblatt, Coordinator of the IIN’s Inter-American Child and
Family Information Program, was responsible for the original idea of the
video. “I
Want to Learn” is an animated video, 1.22 minutes in duration, in
Spanish (lyrics) and English (subtitles), with music performed by Mariana
Ingold and Eddie Peñalvez. Walter Tournier directed production of the
video. 2.
Content a.
Some
initial considerations Education
is a basic children’s right recognized by the Convention on the Rights
of the Child. However, in developing countries, 130 million school-age
children (21% of the total number of school-age children in the world) do
not have access to quality basic education.[1]
In
Latin America, access to primary schooling, even in rural areas, has
increased. However, there are marked disparities in the quality of the
education received by children according to factors such as socioeconomic
background, sex, ethnicity and geographical origin. This impedes the
ability of the region’s educational systems to retain children, and
results in higher school repetition and dropout rates.[2] According to The State of
the World's Children 2004, 13% of children in Latin America and the
Caribbean do not reach the fifth grade of primary education. According
to illiteracy data for the region, 15% of adults in Latin America and the
Caribbean cannot read or write.[3]
The concept of “illiteracy” has changed significantly in recent years.
In 1958 UNESCO defined as illiterate an individual who was unable to read
or write something simple. Twenty years later, it adopted the concept of a
functional illiterate: a person who, even knowing how to read and write
simple phrases, did not have the basic aptitudes to satisfy the demands of
his or her daily needs nor to develop him or herself personally and
professionally.[4] The
right to education is a basic right of all children and thus equal
opportunities must be ensured for all, in an environment that is safe and
free of any form of discrimination. Article 28 of the Convention states
that all children have the right to freely-available basic education, and
that States must encourage the development of secondary education to make
it available to all and take appropriate measures to promote regular
attendance at schools and reduce dropout rates. Article
29 of the Convention specifically addresses the objectives and content of
education, recognizing the need to prepare children for a responsible life
in a free society, in a spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance,
equality and solidarity. It also states that education should be directed
to the development of children’s “personality, talents and mental and
physical abilities to their fullest potential," and should instill in
children a sense of respect for themselves, for their family, for their
country, and for civilizations different from their own. Based
on the concepts outlined above, we sought to create a video through which
children could see and understand all of the benefits of education. This
is no easy task; most children view going to school as something that
adults impose on them. You have to
go to school, you have to study
before you can go outside to play: this is what they tend to be told.
We must transform this “obligatory” concept of education into
something positive for children; they must learn – in their own way and
without impositions by adults – the advantages of going to school
regularly. Play and recreation are tools that must be used in the learning
process. Children must be able to enjoy activities that are aimed at the
objectives of education. With
this in mind, we tried to create a video that would promote the right to
education as one of the fundamental components affecting children’s
development and their future opportunities. The governing principle upon
which we created the contents of the video was that of the best interests
of the child. 3.
Target
Audience “I
Want to Learn” is aimed at all the children and adolescents in the
region, seeking to generate a communication strategy that highlights the
importance of children’s right to education. We
seek to show children that this is a right they should exercise, so that
they understand the importance of having access to education. As part of
the strategy for reaching out to the Target Audience, we have used
communicational and visual language that is familiar and engaging while
also being didactic. 4.
Broadcasting We
live in an increasingly media-oriented society in which the media (chiefly
radio and television) reach everyone, even the most marginalized sectors
of the population. The rational use of those tools is a good way to
promote the rights of children and adolescents in the region. In
order to reach its target audience, it is suggested that the video “I
Want to Learn” be broadcast at times when children and adolescents are
likely to be watching television. 5.
Dissemination ·
The
video "I Want to Learn" will be shown by open-access and cable
television channels in the different countries of the region. ·
The
video can be used by public and private schools in the different countries
as an education tool conceptualizing the rights of the child. · Workshops will be organized for people involved in child-related issues to discuss the topic addressed by the video. 6.
Lyrics:
“I Want To Learn” WHERE
ARE THEY GOING? WHAT
ARE THEY GOING TO DO? WHAT
IS IT? I DON’T KNOW AND
WHY? I WANT TO KNOW WHAT
ARE THEY TAKING, WHERE ARE THEY OFF TO? I
WANT TO BE ABLE TO GO FURTHER 7.
Information
on the Inter-American Children's Institute The
Inter-American Children’s Institute (IIN) is a specialized organization
of the OAS founded in 1927 in Montevideo, Uruguay. At
its 75th Meeting, held in Ottawa, the IIN’s Directing Council
approved the Strategic Plan 2000-2004, which proposes to promote promotion
of tools for the dissemination of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child by means of communications strategies. To
implement this, for the last two years the IIN has been promoting the
development of short videos. of approximately one minute in duration, on
issues related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These videos
are being shown on open-access and cable television channels all over
Latin America. The
work of the Inter-American Children’s Institute revolves around three
important programs:
a.
Program for the Integral Promotion of the Rights of the Child The
Program for the Integral Promotion of Children’s Rights (PRODER), based
on the development of a Prototype of Targeted Public Child Policies, is
engaged in promoting actions and intervention projects to address the
problems and needs of children and adolescents in situations of
vulnerability, risk and social exclusion. PRODER
has developed its Prototype of Targeted Public Policies to address the
problems mentioned in the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
specifically Article 23 (Disability), Article 32 (Child Labor), Article 33
(Drug Abuse) and Article 34 (Sexual Exploitation). b.
Inter-American Child and Family Information Program (PIINFA) PIINFA’s
main objective is the production and promotion of information systems
aimed at persons and institutions working in the field of child and
adolescent affairs, in order to create pools of comprehensive information
that will help achieve change in the living conditions of children and
adolescents in the Americas. PIINFA’s
projects provide focused services to deal with the primary needs of
institutions, decision-makers and planners working with children and
families. The Program has also developed flexible tools for processing
information, which generate data on the system itself, thus facilitating
continuous evaluation, adaptations and change. All the projects are
tailored to the specific needs of each country, avoiding the rigidity of
solutions which would seek to provide a generic answer to wide-ranging,
diverse realities. PIINFA’s
activities are centered on: -
The
Inter-American Child Information Network (RIIN) -
The Information System for the Monitoring of Rights -
The updating, professionalization and computerization of the civil
registries of the region, to ensure that, among other rights, the right to
identity is upheld and respected. c.
Legal Program The
Legal Program (PROJUR) provides OAS Member States with services such as
training, information, monitoring, research and specialized technical
assistance to reinforce and support national child protection systems in
the hemisphere. It
also seeks to provide governing bodies on child affairs with key legal
information, facilitate research, train persons responsible for
institutional development and enforcement of rights, and provide technical
assistance in the still-unfinished task of harmonizing national
legislations with the principles of international law in the field. 8.
Production:
“I Want to Learn” Credits General
Coordination
Julio Rosenblatt Direction
Walter
Tournier Animation
Pablo
Turcatti Puppets
Lala
Severi Structures
Martín
Da Rossa Models
Diego
Vidal Music
and Sound
Leonardo
Croatto Singers
Mariana Ingold Editing
Guillermo Casanova Lighting
Diego Velazco WALTER
TOURNIER – Director
Uruguay
(1944)
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