From 31 October to 1 November, Arigatou International representatives had the opportunity to visit some of the nine ethics education implementation projects carried out by GNRC El Salvador.
LTLT is being implemented in El Salvador in a systematic and sustainable way with the collaboration of strategic partners, who have incorporated the content of the manual within different educational settings, as part of the Monitoring and Evaluation process lead by Arigatou International Geneva office.
During the first day visit, at the Juan Calvino school in Soyapango, children who participated in the ethics education programme expressed that the programme allowed them to learn about values; provided them with spaces to reflect; to develop team-working skills; encouraged them to better understand each other; and also to exchange ideas and thoughts. The children were able to share the activities of the manual they enjoyed the most, and the way in which those activities allowed them to find commonalities within the group.
The second day visit took place in Popotlan and Montreal with the communities of practice who have implemented LTLT. In Popotlan, the ethics education implementation is carried out with the collaboration of the Casa de la Junventud Ángel de la Guarda (Youth House). During the visit, facilitators shared their implementation experience with 500 youth of four different schools. It was an opportunity for them to assess the impact, to approach the challenges along the way, and to get to know the motivations in continuing to implement the programme.
In Montreal, the ethics education programme was implemented in collaboration with Urban Matters in the Colonia San Simón School. LTLT was implemented with 116 children of the 4th grade. During the visit, Arigatou International representatives had the opportunity to spend time with some of the children who participated in the systematic implementation and to get to know about their learnings and activities they enjoyed the most. LTLT facilitators in Montreal also shared their experience and lessons learnt from the process.
On the last day representatives joined a session with the members of the LTLT communities of practice. It was a one-day journey to connect with one another; to reflect on where they come from, where they are, and where they want to go. This session was focused on them as individuals and the challenges they face when working in such complex contexts.
In addition to the implementation visits, an introductory meeting at the Pedagogical University of El Salvador took place to introduce the LTLT and the DPAC, with first year students of the Basic Education programme. The Vice Dean of the Faculty opened the meeting and welcomed the initiative to introduce ethics education to the students as well as opportunities for collaboration in the future. Students engaged in discussions about ethics, values and spirituality, practical activities on the educational approach of the manual and learned about experiences implementing the manual, as well as about the DPAC. After this seminar a meeting was held at UNICEF El Salvador to discuss possibilities for collaboration between the national office and GNRC El Salvador in the framework of ethics education and DPAC with concrete ideas to initiate work together.
Heartfelt gratitude goes to GNRC El Salvador for their commitment and inspiring work, as well as for the preparation of the three-days visits. Arigatou International Geneva remains committed to continue supporting the work of GNRC El Salvador on ethics education and developing the communities of practice in implementing the Learning to Live Together Programme. ¡Gracias!
