Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and El Salvador are the winners for their initiatives regarding human rights

On December 1^st, the Ibero-American Human Rights Education Award "Óscar Arnulfo Romero" from the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) was awarded in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia with the support of the SM Foundation, an educational institution that is responsible for improving education in all Latin American countries.

This year, 300 projects from 19 Ibero-American countries participated. The educational projects of Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and El Salvador were awarded for their respective projects, which were:

In the category "Educational centers and schools" with "Our socio productive project" which focuses on the teaching of human rights and women's rights in the educational units of Caleria and Cohana, Bolivia.

For this same category, the second prize was for Colombia with the project "Mediation as a conflict resolution mechanism: primary school mediators", this one developed at the Juan Ladrilleros de Buenaventura School. Likewise, an honorable-winner award was given to IES Almina de Ceuta, Spain for its "Capaces" project, which aims to promote an inclusive, supportive education free of any prejudice.

The first prize was won by Peru in the category recognized by the efforts and actions of civil society organizations in favor of human rights, the Institute for the Training of Adolescents and Working Children (Infant) won the award thanks to eco-technologies.

El Salvador followed in the same area with the program "Generational relay for human rights education", the same carried out by the Museum of the Word and Image.

The mention of honor was also awarded to the Chilean historical memory project "Villa Grimaldi Park for Peace Corporation" which has compiled and disseminated the history of this region, it is necessary to have a memory so as not to commit the mistakes of the past, so it must be constantly to resort to the history of each country, only in this way will it be possible to avoid IGNORE INTOlerance and war again.

The Secretary-General of the OEI Paulo Speller was present, who in turn said that he was rewarding experiences in schools and communities in human rights education. "These are projects that are shared, networks are structured, experiences are shared, and they are carried out in a country to another in Ibero-America" affirmed Speller; also, the ex-president of Colombia, Ernesto Samper, was present and expressed his opinion by saying that Colombia is beginning to build peace.  

The winners were given $ 5,000 USD and are already part of a large group of people in Latin America, who, rather than winning a contest seeking to change the educational situation in Latin America, are starting these projects that encourage nations to be better every day.

Created in 2015 by the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), through the Ibero-American Institute of Human Rights Education (IDEDH) and the SM Foundation, the award recognizes the work of educational institutions, NGOs, and members of civil society that have acted in an exemplary manner in the defense and promotion of human rights through education.

For the OEI, the delivery of this award means recognizing the effort and initiatives that arise from civil society to achieve a change in the communities. This year it had a special meaning for Speller and in his speech, he stated that delivering the prize in Colombia showed the change that the region has had and the progress that the country has made in terms of human rights and peace.

Latin American Post  | Cristina Torres

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