Last Monday, July 20, 2020, El Universal (a newspaper with national circulation in Venezuela) published a report on a goodwill initiative, led by our Regional Coordinator, Dr. Enoé Texier, in times of pandemic.
We share the review:
“The idea that the solution to many of the problems of our contemporary societies lies in education is more than widespread. I also agree with that premise provided, that the term education is understood in a broad sense, which goes beyond the mere incorporation of data.
Inescapable reference documents, such as Aprender a Ser or the Delors Report, have long emphasized that the purpose of education in the contemporary world should be to empower the learner to manage their own learning, given knowledge is generated exponentially, and obsolete at an unexpected speed. But it should also be directed, with as much or more force, to develop essentially human values that modify the quality of people life. Otherwise knowledge would become a dead letter.
That is why an initiative that has benefited me not only among those who are subjects of the learning process, but also among those who facilitate it. I am referring to Children in a World of Peace, a project that involves university students in counseling low-income children or in situations of risk from the Luis Dolan Chair, at the UCV's Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences.
For this, young people dedicate 120 hours of their academic load to the care of children between 6 and 11 years old. They receive training to do so, and carry out the activities with support and supervision. Both their performance and the result of the intervention are evaluated, taking into account the children's response according to the programmed activities.
The Luis Dolan Chair was created by an agreement between the UCV and the NGO Initiative of United Religions, which promotes "daily and lasting cooperation to end violence, creating cultures of peace, justice and healing for all forms of life on our Earth community "
For its part, the Civil Association Rescue, his City, has donated 1,300 copies of Heading to the city we want, a teaching material that includes 5 coloring books, each of which includes a story, the values that must be highlighted and a guide of work directed to parents and teachers. The purpose of the material is to put the various members of the community in contact with their environment, inviting them to analyze their characteristics and to generate changes that translate into a better quality of life.
This project stands out for several reasons: it strives to impact people's daily reality, it fosters co-responsibility, by operating through university students, and it involves learning not only the children who are the subject of the process, but also others community members, creating a multiplier effect.
The initiative, led by Enoé Texier and María Eugenia Cavalieri from the UCV, has been joined by people who have decided to raise funds mainly in Europe, so that coloring books can be delivered along with the corresponding colored pencils. This movement, launched by María Elena Toledo Burrell from the United Kingdom, also has the support of other personalities linked to the artistic and editorial world in other cities around the world, such as María Eugenia Manrique and Irene Savino.
It is stimulating to see how it is possible to arouse the good will of the people around projects that seek to make this a better world. We wish you success.”
A report by Linda D’Ambrosio
If you want to join this initiative please write to [email protected] to continue adding wills.
