“Yo opino, es mi derecho”: Listening to children and young people’s voices to build policies for early childhood and adolescence
The aim of the “Yo opino, es mi derecho” event is to listen to the opinions of children and teenagers throughout Chile in order to design a new policy for early childhood and adolescence. The event is being coordinated by the Education Ministry, the Early Childhood Council, the National Association of Childcare Centers (JUNJI) and Fundación Integra in collaboration with UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI).
Through this unique event the Chilean state is recognizing the civic rights of children and teenagers to participate in designing the policies, programs and actions that affect them, listening to their voices in order to build a more inclusive country.
How to take part
→ Activities will be taking place between March 26 and April 3 in primary and secondary schools throughout Chile. Classroom debates will be recorded and the results uploaded to a special platform which will inform the development of the new children’s policy and action plan to guarantee the rights of children and teenagers in Chile.
→ Children, teenagers and student associations from all schools in Chile can also participate by submitting their opinions directly via the website.
→ Schools can register to take part using the form that is available on the website. Schools need to provide details of which year groups will be taking part and appoint an administrator who will be able to give the teachers leading the classroom debates access to the platform. Details of how to access this platform will be provided once schools have registered. The website also has classroom resources that can be used by teachers.
→ Teachers can download classroom resources from the Yo Opino website. The results of the classroom debates can then be uploaded to the platform to inform the development of a new policy and action plan for early childhood and adolescence. Your school’s designated administrator can give you the details and password to access the platform where, with a few simple steps, you can select the corresponding year group and upload their results.
→ Student Association representatives can also register to submit their ideas and opinions to the platform. This should be done together with members of your association.
→ For children or teenagers wanting to participate independently, there is an individual form which can be accessed via the homepage of the Yo opino website where you can enter your ideas and opinions and be part of this important process.
Deadline for entries
Schools, student associations and individuals can complete the activities at any time between March 26 and April 3, but all results must be submitted by April 3.