Interaction Notícias De América Latina Y El Caribe • Number 19 • October/November 2006

Interaction Notícias de América Latina y el Caribe • Number 19 • October/November 2006

Program Tackling Domestic Violence Wins Innovation Award Community Defenders from the region of Cuzco, Peru, named most innovative experience of 2006

Nearly 1,000 social projects competing explained Verónica Canale, from across Latin America and the Caribbe- subsecretary of the Office of an, 7 South American countries represented the Attorney General of the by the 16 finalists and 6 winning projects Buenos Aires Supreme Court. – not to mention the possibility of sharing Third place was shared information with last year’s winners – was by two rural development, the outcome of the second cycle of the Expe- income generation and food riences in Social Innovation award, which is security projects: Sustainable organized by ECLAC (Economic Commission Trout Production, from Peru, for Latin America and the Caribbean) with and Traditional Seeds Recovery, support from the Kellogg Foundation. Tancredi, from Kellogg Foundation, Machinea, from ECLAC, and from Colombia. In fourth place The winning project from the 2005/ Pérez, from UAM, with Martha Galarza and Rocío Franco came the program Responsible 2006 cycle was Community Defenders: A Health for All, from Paraguay. community response to domestic violence, veloped a simple low-cost but high-impact And coming fifth was Pintando o Sete (‘Mis- from Peru. Created by the Legal Defense In- strategy,” she said. chief Makers’), which develops an educational stitute, an NGO, the program is designed to The second place winner was the project inclusion program for the visually impaired. tackle abuse against women and children Support System for Teens in Foster Care, from For José Luís Machinea, executive secre- within the family environment through its Argentina. This is a correctional initiative that tary of ECLAC, the second cycle of the Experi- community legal defense offices. Besides offering psychological support to the vic- Second cycle of Experiences in Social Innovation contest tims, the defenders accompany the legal rewards projects from seven different fields proceedings of the cases brought against aggressors. According to Nohra Rey Maru- seeks to rehabilitate young offenders with- ences in Social Innovation award clearly dem- landa, spokeswoman for the committee out the need for incarceration. They receive a onstrated the creative and transformational charged with evaluating the finalists and grant to cover their living expenses and edu- capacity of Latin American and Caribbean so- selecting the winners, the innovative as- cation and they are monitored by an officer cial organizations. “In all these projects, we pect of this project lies in its proven capac- appointed by the program during this pro- can note a strong desire to participate in the ity to mobilize the community and seal cess. “Since 2004, we have worked with 982 pursuit of solutions for the historic problems alliances with the public sector. “They de- young people. Of these, only four reoffended,” faced by people in the region.”

“Our Key Objective is to Reduce Aggression Against Women and Children” Psychologist Rocío Franco Valdívia, from the NGO Legal Defen- How many people have already benefited? se Institute, and a consultant for the Community Defenders in the Nearly 65,000 people, in its five years of operation. region of Cuzco, in Peru, explains the workings of the Innovation Are there any aggressors that have been arrested? award’s winning project. Yes. One such case involved a man who abused two sisters, one aged 18 and the other 15. Both got pregnant. To begin with, it Why is this project so important? was thought that making him marry the older of the two would Nearly 50% of Peruvians, according to official sources, have been be the best means of reparation. But it didn’t work out. He tried victims of abuse. In rural areas, this figure rises to 67%. The Defenders to abuse another sister from the same family, just 8 years old, and are, today, the community’s only recourse against domestic violence. was reported. The Defenders intervened and he was arrested. Interaction Number 19 • October/November 2006

Social Innovation Fair a Highlight at Mexican University Universidade Autônoma Metropolitana hosts the event that prompted debate on the region among teachers and students

The Social Innovation Fair disrupted the routine of the UAM, in of the five winning projects from the 2004-2005 cycle – which were Mexico City. During the intervals between lectures, students and pro- invited by ECLAC to share their experiences with this year’s finalists. fessors could get to know innovative social projects from Argentina, Besides raising the visibility of their projects, the winners also receive Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Running parallel a cash prize. For first place, the prize money is 30,000 dollars, and the to the fair, the projects were presented before the judging commis- runner up project receives 20,000 dollars. For third place, which in this sion that selected the winners of the 2005-2006 Cycle of the Experi- cycle was tied between two projects, the prize is 15,000 dollars, while ences in Social Innovation award. Furthermore, they got to know four fourth place gets 10,000 dollars and fifth, 5,000 dollars.

WINNING PROJECTS 1�� place��: �C��ommu�nity�� D�efenders��: A com com�� 3�� place��: �T��raditional �S��eeds �R��ecovery to munity response to domestic violence Add Value and Improve Living Standards (Peru) – A program to tackle abuse against for the Rioblanco Indigenous Commu�� women and children within the family envi- nity (Colombia) – Indigenous leaders, with ronment. It consists of 38 legal defense offic- the help of the most senior members of this es that are staffed by members of the com- community, convinced their people to sub- munity who liaise with victims of violence stitute the cultivation of illicit plants for an- and jurists – which has enabled the judiciary cestral produce with a high nutritional value, to follow the cases more closely. such as quínua, that can command a good Contact: Rocío Franco Valdívia and price on both the national and international Martha Galarza (president) markets. 1 E��mail: [email protected] and Contact: Angel Aníbal Obando [email protected] E��mail: [email protected]

2�� place: ��Su��pport �S��ystem for �T��eens in 4�� place��: C �omm��u�nity�� Health Program Foster Care (Argentina) – An alternative – Responsible Health for All (Paraguay) model of punishment for young offenders – A health model administered in a decen- adopted in the city of La Plata, whereby in- tralized way and with the help of the com- stead of incarceration youth receive educa- munity, the municipal district and the health tion maintenance grants. The youth must service, assuring the population from the sign a contract that spells out their rights district of Fram quality healthcare. The sys- and their commitment to rehabilitation and tem is partially funded by a pre-payment 2 integration into the job market – and they system at a cost that is affordable to low-in- 1 Bernardo Raimondi and Verónica Canale, are assisted in this process by an officer ap- come communities. from Support System for Teens in Foster Care pointed by the program. Of the 982 youth Contact: Dr. José Rolón Pose (Argentina). 2 Martha Galarza and Rocío Franco, involved since the start of the program, only E��mail: [email protected] from Cuzco’s Community Defenders (Peru). four reoffended. 3 Silverio Huayapa and Pedro Ramos Jara, from Contact: Verónica Canale 5� �� place��: ��Pintando o �S��ete (��‘M��ischief �M�a�k�� Sustainable Trout Production project (Peru). E��mail: [email protected] ers’) (Brazil) – A program for visually impaired children aged 2 and upwards devel- 3 3�� place��: Su ��stainable�� T�ro��u�t�� Produ�ction�� in oped by the Youth Welfare Group of Senhor Extensive/Intensive Systems in Ponds do Bonfim, a municipal district from inland and Cages (Peru) – The innovation of Bahia state. The town, of 60,000 inhabitants, this project lies in the organization of trout has nearly 3,000 people that suffer from this breeding techniques at high altitude (4,000 type of complaint. Participants receive incen- meters) and the supply of new fry to produc- tives enabling them to develop their skills ers, enabling families to raise their income within the regular teaching system. Contact: Pedro Ramos Jara Contact: Eliana Conceição E��mail: [email protected] E��mail: [email protected] Interaction Number 19 • October/November 2006

SPECIAL HONORABLE MENTIONS

Expanding and Strengthening the Indi�� in the Minas Gerais state capital of Belo genous Communication Network (Ar�� Horizonte, the Community Image Associa- gentina) – This project uses the radio to tion, an NGO, created this communication promote indigenous culture both among network in which all the content is produ- the indigenous population and the white ced by the youth themselves. majority, training people from the com- Contact: Rafaela Pereira Lima 4 munity to produce radio programs and to E��mail: [email protected] work as network correspondents. The program is broadcast by 135 radio stations in Preventing Home Runaways. An Ex�� the Chaco region. perience in Social and Human Deve�� Contact: Jorge Frías lopment (Colombia) – A program that E��mail: [email protected] applies strategies to engage youth with their schools, their family and their com- Phoenix Program: Integrated Develo�� munity to avoid home runaways and to pment and Opportunities for Youth in keep youth off the streets. Situations of Conflict and Social Risk Contact: Adriana Mantilla Rey 5 (Colombia) – A program for underprivile- E��mail: [email protected] ged youth from the city of Medellin that improves their chances of integral develo- National Handicrafts Production Chain pment and social inclusion. Program (Colombia) – An income genera- Contact: Diego Alberto Ruiz Velásquez tion program for artisans from 70 of the E��mail: [email protected] country’s municipal districts that raises the productivity and competitiveness of HONORABLE MENTIONS the participating production chains. This Pasture Improvement and Eradication is achieved, for example, by training the

of Kell��Kellu, a Toxic Plant from the artisans to take part in trade fairs (natio- 6 Content Photos ECLAC / Milton Bellintani/Cross Bolivian Altiplano (Bolivia) – This pro- nal and international) and seminars on 4 Juan Carlos Arboleda, from Phoenix Program gram aims to stamp out kellu-kellu, a the latest market trends. (Colombia), with a visitor, during the Social poisonous plant that causes high death Contact: José Fernando Iragorri López Innovation Fair. 5 José Luís Machinea, executive rates among cattle and camelids from E��mail: [email protected] secretary of ECLAC, speaks at the Experiences in the municipal district of El Choro, De- Social Innovation award’s final meeting. partment of Oruro. The program mo- Northeast Pronature Program: A Com�� 6 Reporters from Youth Citizen Network bilized the affected communities (773 munity Experience for the Sustainable interview young people (Brazil). families), drawing on collective efforts Development and Environmental Con�� and both mechanical and manual tech- servation of the Pacaya��amiria Natio�� export-quality alpaca goods – enabling niques to combat the plant. nal Reserve (Peru) – An income genera- them to support their families with Contact: Rodrigo Condarco Castellón tion program grounded in a sustainable earnings of up to 300 dollars per year. E��mail: [email protected] development model that protects a lar- Contact: Victoria Quispe Achata ge area of the Peruvian Amazon, invol- E��mail: [email protected] Guardian Angel Program (Brazil) – This ving the community and government project helps reintegrate young offenders authorities. Promover Program (Uruguay) – A project into the education system and the job Contact: Javier Noriega Murrieta that supports female heads of families li- market. As an alternative to incarceration, E��mail: [email protected] ving on the street. It provides them with a a designated officer from the community roof over their heads, food and an educa- monitors their progress. Hand Knitted Alpaca Clothing from the tion allowance for children of school age. Contact: Elizabeth do Rocio M. Santos Peruvian Andes (Peru) – An income ge- The assistance given the children is an E��mail: [email protected] neration project for indigenous artisans incentive for their training and entry into from the municipal district of Manã- the job market. Youth Citizen Network (Brazil) – To com- zo that has resulted in the opening of Contact: Adriana Abraham bat the social invisibility of at-risk youth a company that produces hand-made E��mail: [email protected] Interaction Number 19 • October/November 2006

Round Table Debates Role of Journalism in Regional Development Specialists advise social projects to invest in quality of communication to raise visibility

The Social Innovation Fair, held in Mexico Gabriela Frías, who presents a program City’s Universidade Autônoma Metropolita- on finance and economics for Latin Ame- na (UAM), opened with a round table debate rican audiences on the CNN Spanish-lan- on The Role of Journalism in Latin American guage network, considers it natural that the and Caribbean Social Development. Guest Third Sector’s own means of communication speakers discussing the topic were Gabriela should place more emphasis on subjects of Frías, a Mexican journalist from the television interest to the sector. “This does not mean to network CNN en Español, and the Brazilian say that we should abandon efforts to open journalist Engel Paschoal, a columnist for the Francisco Tancredi, from Kellogg Foundation, space in the mainstream press for social to- Internet content provider Universo Online and with Gabriela Frías, journalist of CNN network pics,” she said in her address. the newspaper O Globo. They were joined by Towards the end of the discussion, the at- Antonio Paoli Bolio, professor at the Xochimil- The panelist Engel Paschoal, meanwhile, tending public – made up of representatives co Unit of UAM, who spoke about the Human submitted some figures about the Brazilian of the finalist projects participating in the Development program run by the university in press. He drew attention to the growing co- Social Innovation Fair and students and pro- the Mexican state of Chiapas, and by Francis- verage of topics associated with social res- fessors from UAM – asked the panelists what co Tancredi, the Kellogg Foundation regional ponsibility and development by the country’s social organizations can do to convince jour- director for Latin America and the Caribbean, traditional media over the past decade. Ne- nalists to cover their work. “It’s necessary to who moderated the discussion. vertheless, he still considered the amount of cultivate a medium to long-term relationship Journalism was considered by all of them space allotted to news from the social sector with the press as information sources,” ex- as being strategically important for the suc- as being modest. “NGO publications, commu- plained Gabriela Frías. “Good reporters place cess of social projects. “You can only lend vi- nity radios and, primarily, the Internet have a value on sources that offer broader topics sibility to a social action if you know how to performed the role of informing audiences of interest for society – not just for specific communicate it competently,” explained the what social organizations are involved with,” audiences. It’s a relationship that is built on professor Antonio Paoli. said Paschoal. patience and mutual trust.”

Third cycle of Innovation NEWS contest now open Registration is now open for the 2006- Kellogg Foundation Board of Trustees Visits Brazil 2007 cycle of the Experiences in Social The Kellogg Foundation Board of with leaders and youth from Alternative Innovation contest, organized by ECLAC with Trustees in October paid a visit to Technology Service (SERTA), whose work support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. three states from Northeast Brazil focuses on education in the countryside Projects interested in participating may that are home to some of the regional and incentives for family farming. The register until January 12, 2007. The third cycle development projects it supports. final leg of the trip took the board to the lends continuity to this annual award that Each year, the board visits institutions Bahia state capital of Salvador, where was created in 2004 and whose first two and projects that receive grants from they met with representatives of projects cycles received 2,600 entries. The award the Foundation; this year, the chosen working with youth leadership and socio- is designed to identify, analyze, recognize country was Brazil. Their trip began in environmental studies. and promote the creative replication of the Baixada Maranhense region of the “It was important to share with the innovative social initiatives rooted in active state of Maranhão, where the Board Board the progress we have made with community participation to strengthen of Trustees visited the Young Citizen these projects, as well as learning about citizenship and democracy. Eligible for Project, which promotes youth leadership the strategic liaisons being developed participation are social projects from and digital inclusion, while fostering in the region,” said the Latin America the 33 nations of Latin America and the entrepreneurship among the region’s Program Director Andrés Thompson, Caribbean. More information on the award youth. They then continued on to Bacia do who is responsible for the Foundation’s can be found at www.cepal. org/dds/ Goitá, in the state of Pernambuco, to meet work in Brazil. Innovacionsocial..

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