PROGRAM FOCUS

The School for the Common Good: IDEAS works to promote positive principles and values for the common good by engaging young people and adults in community meetings and sessions. The meetings focus on self-development, nutrition, improving community communication, social advancement, and many other topics relevant to their participants. When the series of meetings conclude, the participants will lead one or more community initiatives to bring awareness to the common good. Some previous examples have included activities focused on addressing gender, interculturalism, and intergenerational barriers.

Women, Gender & Audiovisual Narratives: Through this program, IDEAS offers workshops and sessions where women from different generations share experiences about identity, self-esteem challenges, and human rights. The purpose of the narratives is to 1) build equal relationships between men and women, 2) promote the exercise and usage of women’s rights, 3) raise awareness and prevent gender violence. The activities include art workshops with drawing, painting, and photography, as well as forums for conversations on storytelling, photography, and the importance of gender. The art pieces produced in the workshops are displayed in audiovisual exhibitions to raise awareness of gender topics. Since the program’s inception, over 300 women and 160 men have participated in the activities.

Community Communication: IDEAS offers resources and opportunities to young people so that they are able to create communications materials centered on equity, gender, food sovereignty, and other issues of interest to them. IDEAS’ services include software training, photograph and image workshops, and sessions that reflect on challenges related to equity and autonomy. The participants are given the artistic space to create their communication materials and are able to publish informational materials on dissemination platforms including on IDEAS’ Radio en Bola show.

Healthy Food and Learning Collective: The purpose of this program is to promote learning and provide spaces for food production in urban and rural communities. The IDEAS team conducts workshops that allow community members to come together to exchange knowledge about food preservatives, fermentation, vegetable cultivation, compost, fertilizers, pesticide reduction, etc. Through these sessions, IDEAS aims to cultivate stronger relationships and more collaboration amongst their community members that will lead to more effective and sustainable agricultural practices.