 |
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
 |
USAID Information:
External Links:
|
|
|
|
|
Play Teaches Children About Colombia's Justice System
FrontLines - August 2009
By German Acevedo
|
The play Pataplin Rataplan, Children for
Justice, is educating Colombian children
about the country’s justice services and
peaceful conflict resolution
|
Bogota, Colombia —Colombian children are learning
about an effective justice system through a play that stresses fair and impartial justice for all Colombians.
About 40,000 elementary schoolchildren from Bogota and smaller municipalities of the surrounding Department of Cundinamarca have seen the play Pataplin Rataplan, Children for Justice. Surveys show that the students
are not too young for what may seem like grown-up lessons about fairness and integrity.
A 2007 poll of Colombian boys and girls ages 6 to 11 found that from a very early age they acquire a negative image of justice
institutions.
Over 60 percent of children mistrust these institutions. Some of them have said: “I don’t like them because they are corrupt,” or “Innocent people go to jail,” or “The guilty go free.” These are perceptions that the children likely absorb from the mass media or from comments made by adults in their homes and communities.
Contributing to this negative perception is the virtual non-existence of civic education on the Colombian justice system. Many believe the lack of education
perpetuates widely held notions of ineffective and corrupt justice institutions.
To combat the children’s poor image of the justice system, USAID’s justice program
in Colombia supported the Fundación Teatro de la Carrera—Foundation for Career Theater—to develop the play to teach young children about the positive role that justice institutions
play in the country.
One of the program’s key strategies is to include young people in initiatives that promote concepts of justice and peaceful
conflict resolution given the country’s experiences with conflict
in past decades.
“Through this play, children are taught basic concepts of justice
while learning about justice houses and the services they provide
and how people can resolve their differences peacefully,” said Stephen Pelliccia, a democracy and governance senior advisor in USAID’s Colombia office.
The play has proved popular
with youngsters, and post-play surveys of children ages 6 to 11 show that confidence and credibility in justice institutions
increased as a result of the program.
“We noticed that children attending this play became very engaged and interested in the justice concepts it conveyed,” said Orlando Muñoz, USAID’s justice program manager in Colombia.
USAID’s initial contribution for the project was $32,000. Due to its popularity and its positive educational
message, the Bogota City government, Bogota Philharmonic, and various private sector
contributors have raised an additional $180,000 to stage the play for 40,000 more schoolchildren over the coming months. .
★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
To have FrontLines delivered
to you via postal mail, please subscribe.
Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
To view PDF files, download
the Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
Back to Top ^
|
