Shrinking Space
In 2020 and 2021, we engaged with KIYO and their local partners in Brazil, Se Essa Rua Fosse Minha (SER), and in the Philippines, Cordilleran Youth Centre (CYC), on the challenges of'shrinking space'. Literally translated, this means 'shrinking space': a term used to mean the curtailment of (human) rights. In it, we also see that there is less and less space for youth participation, and that millions of young people face discrimination on the basis of gender, orientation, origin, religion and skin colour, among others.
The challenge
While discrimination and the curtailment of human rights is a global problem, additional challenges exist in Brazil and the Philippines. A lot of children and young people grow up in a situation of poverty that results in structural exclusion. More than 31% of Filipino children grow up in severe poverty and the corona pandemic pushed that figure even higher. Public schools face a chronic lack of funding in both countries, leading to rising study inequality. In Brazil, this takes on a racial dimension. Children and young people of colour are overrepresented in public education, which is often of lower quality than private education. For instance, public schools often offer only half-day tuition, leaving young people hanging around on the streets and more than once recruited by the drug mafia. People of colour face harsher police brutality there than white people. Black and brown people there earn on average only half as much as white people. In the Philippines, racial inequality manifests itself mainly (but not only) in the form of discrimination against different groups of the indigenous Filipino population. Young people of indigenous origin, girls and LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Transgender & Queer) youth, often face severe forms of discrimination.
The approach
With this project, KIYO, SER and CYC are helping young people reclaim their rights. Young people may, or rather should, have more #impACT in society. KIYO does this by focusing on strengthening youth participation. On the one hand, they support the operations of their partner organisations in Brazil and in the Philippines. On the ground, they work with young people on, among other things, traditional dance and circus acts around the challenges they face and teach them about influencing policy. On the other hand, KIYO brings young people from Brazil and the Philippines into contact with each other and with Belgian pupils via a digital 'Action4Rights' platform. This is a platform where young people can exchange actions and information about tackling global challenges.
What we do
In Rio de Janeiro, KIYO has been working with Se Essa Rua Fosse Minha (SER), literally translated 'If this were my street'. Their main activities, supported by YOUCA, are the following:
- A schools operation offering informal education for young people at risk of ending up on the streets.
- A circus operation where young people learn more about their rights. This teaches them important skills such as self-expression. They debate issues that concern them: social exploitation, racism, gender,.... . They then express this message to the general public in an artistic way. To this end, young people specialise in circus techniques.
- Policy influence by young people, taking responsibility in campaigns and youth councils, to actively defend their rights.
The Philippine partner KIYO is working with within this project is Cordilleran Youth Center (CYC). They too are committed to youth participation, and do so through the following activities:
- A school operation where work is done to incorporate children's rights into school culture. Youth participation is central to this.
- A culture operation where young people highlight their indigenous culture through dance and theatre performances, raising public awareness of their rights.
- Policy advocacy by empowering young people through training to engage in dialogue with local politicians and other policymakers themselves.
Watch the project film!
Educational package
To deepen and make the YOUCA Action Day live broadly at school, we developed, together with KIYO, a curriculum around Brazil and the Phillipines and the themes shrinking space and non-discrimination. The lessons are suitable for different subjects, making YOUCA Action Day a school-wide concept.
