CITIZENSHIP AND DEMOCRACY

Active citizenship workshop for children

Introduction
Children’s citizenship is a recently theorized concept. The United Nations (1989)
Convention on the Rights of the Child and its application in social policy has incited current
interest in the concept of children’s citizenship. Contemporary social theory positions
children as competent and capable of being citizens of today, citizens capable of
promoting a positive change.
Therefore, in this context, the word citizenship must be preceded by the word
“active” to explicitly articulate concern for citizen participation and not passive citizenship,
which implies simply being counted as a citizen. Active citizenship refers to being a social
agent who expresses opinions, makes decisions and indorses social actions as an
expression of civic responsibility. This vision of active citizenship contributes to the
objective of a coherent and fair society. This citizenship approach provides real scope for
real action.
The present project aims to encourage the increase of citizenship competences for
peaceful coexistence for girls, boys and adolescents, with the purpose of creating the
bases for an inclusive, conscious and proactive society. The program is based on a
pedagogical approach, which incorporates playful dynamics aimed at reflection and
appropriation of the contents, giving girls, boys and adolescents the opportunity to build
their own knowledge and make sense of it based on their daily life.

General objective
To develop and strengthen citizenship skills in children and adolescents at Sueños y
Esperanzas A.C, as a strategy for peaceful coexistence.

Specific objectives
I. To reduce perception rates of insecurity at the community and school level.
II. To increase the empowerment of girls, boys and adolescents.
III. To increase the level of culture of the legality of girls, boys and adolescents.

Methods
A two-month workshop is to be imparted to the kids, ages 8 to 13, living at Sueños y
Esperanzas A.C, a group home for abandoned and orphaned children. The workshop is
comprised of four 2 hour sessions, each with a different lesson and learning objective that
falls under the Secretary of Public Education’s Civics and Ethics learning criteria.
Every session starts with a quick review of the contents learned in the previous
session, a brief theoretical framework of the concepts to be viewed on that day, followed
by a ludic dynamic and subsequent deep analysis of the concepts learned. The precise
methodology for each of the sessions is presented below:
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SESSION 1
Who am I?

Theme. Girls and boys who build their identity and prevent risks.
Lesson 1. Changes in our body and our image.
Socio-emotional education: Self-knowledge and self-esteem.

Objective: To promote the formation of an identity in the children that guides them to
their future integral development.
Key words: Identity, self-esteem.

Theoretical framework
At each stage of life, it is possible to identify changes in our body; in the way of acting and
thinking, even these are also shown in the clothing, the type of hairstyle that is chosen,
the way of grooming and the way in which people live together. The most noticeable
changes are the physical ones. These changes are influenced by diet, family inheritance,
place of residence, and many other factors; Therefore, each person grows and develops
differently at their own pace. But emotional changes also occur, since with the physical
growth capacities are increased, new responsibilities arise and different emotions are
experienced. From the psychological and social point of view, each person continues to
mature emotionally and sexually throughout his life; improves your personal knowledge
and defines your individual needs and desires. With the passage of time, each person
learns to express himself, to live together and to build his own identity. As a result of his
vision of himself and the way he presents himself to other people, roles and values
constitute the main source of identity formation, in which reference groups play an
important role. Peers serve as emotional, model, and audience support for rehearsal of
new behaviors. Being aware of oneself and their environment is the basis of healthy self-
esteem, it is important that from an early age children have an adequate appreciation of
their capacities, abilities, and in the same way of their limitations in personal and social
sphere.

Previous preparation
The facilitators should make their silhouette on a cardboard as personified as possible,
attaching their responses to the following format:

Who I am?
My name is:
What I like to do the most is:
I am very good at:
The personal traits that make me unique are:
What is most difficult for me is:
My opportunities to grow and improve are:
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Dynamic
1. Greeting and group integration. Explaining about how they are part of a group; they
share common characteristics and are linked by certain social ties. Each of you as a
particular person contributes a little of himself, having an individual role in the
group dynamics. This and other sources of socialization are a fundamental part of
the acquisition of personal identity and the strengthening of our self-esteem.
2. One of the facilitators will teach their drawing and explain it to the children,
identifying their capacities, limitations and potentials, opening a space for dialogue
in which the kids interact and share their opinion.
3. For this activity, the children will go out to the playground and their silhouettes will
be made personified with colored chalk (they can also work the dynamics inside the
room with cardboard or printing paper and various colors).
4. Finishing their drawing they will fill in the format "Who am I?" (format previously
filled in by the facilitators).
5. Voluntarily, any child is asked to verbally explain their work to us. In the absence of
volunteers, the facilitators will select the kids, always trying to respect the
comments of the person who is speaking, all the interventions and contributions
are valuable and we should thank them.
6. Girls and boys are invited to share their work, starting from the question of for
them: What is self-esteem and what is its importance in the formation of their
identity?

Final reflection
At the end of the dynamic, there will be a final reflection in a group on the importance of
having an image of themselves, their capacities and areas of opportunity, being clear about
their goals and aspirations and knowing their limitations, always looking for ways to correct
them with the support from your friends and family. Explain to them that there may be
challenges or obstacles that deviate them from the path they have set for themselves, and
this is where they should bring up their opportunities to cope with them and join the path
they want and deserve. Take the example: telling a lie does not make you a liar all your life,
the important thing is to have the will to change and be different. Day by day they will form
the identity they choose for themselves and strengthen their self-esteem.
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SESSION 2
Label it!

Theme. Girls and boys who build their identity and prevent risks.
Lesson 2. Perception of others and stereotypes.
Socio-emotional education: Empathy and sensitivity towards people and groups that
suffer exclusion or discrimination.

Objective: To understand the importance of respecting the differences of others so as not

to practice discrimination.
Key words: Discrimination, personal characteristics.

Theoretical framework
Non-discrimination is a principle that applies to everyone in relation to all human rights,
freedoms and that prohibits discrimination based on a non-exhaustive list of categories
such as sex, race, color and so on. The principle of non-discrimination is complemented by
the principle of equality, as stipulated in article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." Just as we must
enforce our human rights, we must also respect the human rights of others. In most cases,
people who discriminate against others are carried away by prejudice; prejudices are
opinions that are issued without having enough information on the subject. Precisely for
this reason it is important to carry out empathy since it is the fundamental strength to
build healthy and enriching interpersonal relationships, it allows us to know beyond the
physical traits, economic status and gender of people, but the emotions, feelings and
needs of others. Considering that the stereotype is only a set of traits that supposedly
characterizes a group, either in its physical appearance, in its way of thinking, or in its
behavior.

Dynamic
1. Greeting and group integration. In the last session, we talked about the importance
of having an identity based on our self-knowledge. Our identity is an aspect that
makes us unique and unrepeatable people within a group. Today we will talk about
the importance of respecting the differences of each one of us.
2. Before starting the dynamics, the person in charge is asked about the feasibility of
working the dynamics in the schoolyard, if so, the children are asked to take a pen
or pencil and go out to the space assigned by the person in charge. In the opposite
case, put the chairs around the room and place the children inside the free space.
3. Each of the children will be given the assigned format on the back, a format that has
been divided into two: you are good for (the format will have general qualities and
skills) and I wish you could improve (the format will have common defects), the
format found in annexes.
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4. For 5 minutes, they must walk in the playground in silence, giving space for their
classmates to fill out their ballot considering the characteristics that define or can
improve them, marking each one with a dove, it is important to clarify that the
same option can be marked several times.
5. At the end of the 5 minutes, they are asked to form a circle, all sitting down, and
remove the sheet from their back.
6. They are given 1 minute to reflect and read silently what the others marked on
them.
7. There will be a moment for 2 or 3 children to share their comments regarding the
answers given by their classmates: What do you think? Do you agree? Did you mark
any point that you had not considered?

Final reflection
It will be commented to them that, just as it is important to know ourselves, it is also
important to give us the opportunity for the rest of the people to know us and we to know
them. In many occasions people can have erroneous ideas about us, or us about them and
this can generate misunderstandings.

Annexes
You are good at… You could get better at...
Listening Being less aggressive
Being honest Not being jealous
Being fair Being more responsible
Being hardworking Not being so proud
Being friendly Being greedy
Being optimist Not being selfish
Being respectful Being more patient
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SESSION 3
Be careful not to fall!

Theme. Girls and boys who build their identity and prevent risks.
Lesson 3. What am I like and how do I want to become? Who tells me how to take care of
myself?
Socio-emotional education: Self empathy: well-being

Objective: To identify the risks or dangers in which we can find ourselves, how to prevent
them and with whom to go.
Key words: Help, prevention and risks.

Theoretical framework
A situation at risk is understood as all those events or events that reach a certain burden
that affects us in the biopsychosocial, the ideal would be that each subject had certain
tools to face these events of everyday life, children and adolescents are a vulnerable
group that is more prone to certain situations such as: bullying, knowledge of your own
emotions, unexpected or dysfunctional behaviors, dangerous family situations,
identification groups not suitable for them, physical and emotional abuse, consumption of
substances, etc.
Therefore, and as already mentioned, it is important to encourage the child to use his
tools to cope with dangerous situations, the fact that a child can identify the emotions
that these situations can cause makes him prone to speak and want to be listening, asking
for help, sensitizing and generating openness which also fosters the willingness to listen to
others, empathize with them and combat these risks.

Dynamic
1. Greeting and group integration, in the past dynamic we talked about characteristics,
people, and the citizen's commitment was to write about the experience by talking
to a person whose interests are different from their own (sharing experience).
Today we will talk about the risks that can be found in our daily life, how to help
each other and how to prevent these risks from affecting our dreams, commitments
and projects.
2. For the dynamics, we will divide the children into groups of ten people and we will
give 10 pieces of foami paper to each of the teams.
3. Each of these teams will have the goal of crossing a river, using only the rocks
(pieces of foami that have been provided to them), but we will mention that it is
important to always be touching the piece of foami, which will be our rocks,
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because the crocodiles that live in the river can steal it! The facilitators will play the
role of crocodiles.
4. The facilitators will mark the start line and the finish line with a chalk, calculating an
average of 4 and a half meters between them.

Game rules
- No piece of foami should be left alone or untouched by a
part of their body (the facilitator must explain or act it).
- If the foami paper is not being touched by a part of the body
of the kids must be removed by crocodiles.
- If they step outside the foami paper, the entire team must
start again.
- Teamwork is essential.

5. The facilitator should encourage that, even if the room is divided, others can
verbally help their peers who have not yet finished the challenge, with positive
words and comments regarding the dynamic.
6. Each time a team completes their challenge they will sit down to observe and
encourage their teammates, this will help them to gain control and allow them to
move on to the reflective question in an orderly manner.
7. Once the challenges of each team are finished, the children must be seated to start
with the reflection segment, they will be asked to remain silent and allow
interventions to the kids who want to share their experience and how the challenge
made them feel. Just as you will be asked: What do you think the rocks can mean
and reach the goal?

Final reflection
Children must understand that foami paper can work as our dreams, projects or even
commitments, we must protect them and know how to use them, since there are many
crocodiles in the world that will want to take them from us. Can you imagine who these
crocodiles can be? (Allow children to comment on the risk situations they may face, such as
addictions, vandalism, dropping out, etc., in case the children do not identify any of these,
encourage their reflection. However, not only do these situations depend on others, but
also on ourselves, since we will always have the power that will allow our personal
initiative to say what is right or wrong for ourselves.

What is self-empathy? Is it important?

Self-empathy is that we can understand how we feel, the emotions we have towards a
situation or even towards a person, if we can be aware of it we could facilitate the way we
understand others and thus help each other For example: within the dynamics, it was
important to understand that we could feel confused or frustrated, even with a little fear, if
we managed to understand this, we could see that the other members of our team could
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feel the same, knowing this, we created an identification and a common goal, forging and
promoting teamwork.

SESSION 4
My rights form my story

Block 1. Girls and boys who build their identity and prevent risks.
Lesson 4. Respect and good treatment.
Socio-emotional education: Empathy: Well-being and dignified treatment of other
people.

Objective: To understand the importance of the rights of children and adolescents as a

guarantee of personal and social well-being.
Key words: Children's rights.

Theoretical framework
People who were born or live in democracy often forget that rights are the result of a long
struggle of those who committed themselves to their ideals and that, even today, they
continue with demands for justice, equality and solidarity. It is unimaginable what life
would be without a name, a nationality, our right to education and health. As people, we
have a lot in common, starting with the fact that we all have the same rights and are just as
valuable. The Human Rights of girls, boys (under 12 years old) and adolescents (12 to 18
years old) are provided for in the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States in
international treaties and in other applicable laws, essentially in the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and in the General Law of the Rights of Girls, Boys and Adolescents
(published on December 4, 2014), which recognizes children and adolescents as rights
holders and in its article 13, by way of example and not limiting, indicates the following:

-Right to life, survival and development
-Priority right
-Right to identity
-Right to live as a family
-Right to substantive equality
-Right not to be discriminated
-Right to live in well-being conditions and
to a healthy integral development
-Right to a life free of violence and
personal integrity
-Right to health protection and social
security
-Right to the inclusion of girls, boys and
adolescents with disabilities
-Education rights
-Right to rest and recreation
-Right to freedom of ethical convictions,
thought, conscience, religion and culture
-Right to freedom of expression and access
to information
-Right to participate
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Dynamic
1. Greeting and group integration. Today we will talk about discrimination, as we
know, today many people suffer from discrimination by society and we must bear in
mind that these situations violate their rights humans.
2. Sitting on the floor, each kid will be given a white sheet for the activity and they will
be told that they can use their materials for the activity (colors, markers, etc.).
3. The activity consists of representing, through drawings, events in your life that refer
to the exercise of your rights. For example: a doll that symbolizes the day they were
given a name by registering them in the Civil Registry, assuming that all boys and
girls have the right to an official identity registered in a birth certificate, as well as
the right to acquire a nationality.
4. They will make these representations of each of the rights that have been offered
to them until today: right to food, right to care, right to have a family, right to
education, right to health, right to vote and be voted, etc. As a result, each of the
kids will have a graphic tour of their life in rights.
5. Children will be told that we will be assessing who is the one who identifies the
most rights in their lives, so we will ask them to do a conscientious exercise about
them (if possible, carry a small incentive for the child who has recognized more
rights). They will be given 20 minutes to complete the exercise.
6. Once the time is up, there will be an exhibition of all the stories, giving a moment
for the children to present what they have volunteered. The facilitators at the time
of the exhibition will keep track of the rights identified by the kids.
7. Kids will be asked to raise their hands to those who consider that the human rights
they have expressed in their drawings are fundamental to living our day to day.

Final reflection
It is very important that you know your rights, but also recognize that we must respect the
rights of others. As we saw in today's session, all children like you have the right to have a
name and a nationality, to have a family that takes care of them, pampers them and
provides them with all the love they need, to eat, to be able to go to doctor when they are
sick and receive an education and know a culture.
All of us, due to being human beings, deserve care, attention to our needs, seeking and
defending the human rights of people is an indispensable condition for the well-being and
dignified treatment of other people, being empathetic with the needs of the rest is to
recognize their value as human beings.