How partnership opens airwaves for Bolivian youth
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Related case study: Right to Identity -
Turning schoolchildren into citizens |
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to Transforming Partnerships in Bolivia
 Image courtesy of Tom Weller
DFID
Andes is supporting
Bolivia's Electoral Court and the Consortium of Citizen Participation (CPC), organisations that work to tackle the root causes of conflict that are identified as discrimination, poor
communication and intolerance. In a country
where newspaper readership is limited by low literacy levels, radio is a
particularly important medium for indigenous groups.
Which is partly why we help these organisations help to fund Eco Jovenes - the Bolivian Youth
Centre for Education and Communication, which is helping Bolivia's young people
find their voice in the media is part of the trend towards increasing
inclusion and participation.
 Corte
Nacional Electoral
Getting vocal
 Led
by Carlos Mamani, an Ayamara radio broadcaster and director, ECO Jovenes is a
rights and citizenship awareness cum media workshop for young people and
children.
Eco Jovenes website
According to Carlos, Eco Jovenes is about "working in the national and local
environment to provide the children and adolescents with the tools and
confidence they need to express their opinions about how they live, and what
they think and feel". The group of
young writers and broadcasters (pictured) working with Carlos in late 2005 are
serious about becoming voices for change as journalists. As well as learning
practical skills in the studio, they spend some of
their time analysing Bolivian radio and newspapers and are vocal about how young
people engage with the media.
Meet Marilena, who is part of this group. She said:
"We monitor the media for stories and articles that involve young people, and
we measure how young people are described and involved. Every year we write a
report, and send it to influential journalists and broadcasters.
"When we
graduate, we all hope to get jobs as journalists - we want to change things.
Here, we are learning how."
Voices
for Change: Tuning into community radio (ID21, 2004)
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Key facts
- Eco Jovenes was founded in 1997, and is a
member of several Bolivian and Andean radio networks
- The level and persistence of inequality and exclusion are major obstacles to
poverty reduction in Latin America. In urban areas, poverty is highest among
female-headed households, with children bearing the brunt of poverty. For more
about how we plan to tackle this, read our
Regional
strategy for Latin America
 (298
KB)
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