Democracy and Ecology Secondary School: “A week that transformed us”
Between January 13 and 17, 2025, the Democracy and Ecology Secondary School was held, a civic education initiative jointly promoted by the Millennium Institute Research on Violence and Democracy (VioDemos) and the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity.
The intensive program lasted five days, during which 32 students from public and private schools in 14 municipalities in the Metropolitan Region participated in workshops and classes at the Faculty of Social Sciences at UC, located on the San Joaquín Campus. Each day focused on one of the competencies for sustainable development (UNESCO), while each student worked on designing a social project to implement in their school or community. The participants arrived at the secondary school with a proposal that was enriched during the week and could be eligible for funding at the end of the week. Thus, six of the projects will be chosen to be implemented in the first semester of 2025.
Agustina Dagnino,a student at Liceo Arturo Alessandri Palma, spoke at the closing ceremony of the Secondary School and said: "Today we conclude a week that will be remembered by all of us, not only for what we learned, but for how it transformed us. This first edition of the school has been a very beneficial and much-needed space."
He emphasized: "We arrived with many ideas, concerns, and questions, and now we are leaving with tools that will always be useful to us and with much clearer and more concrete projects. These days gave us the opportunity to share with People own age who are also interested and concerned about current issues and who want to have a positive impact on society. We were able to get to know each other, many of us formed friendships, and we were able to collaborate with our peers."
Catalina Salazar, a secondary school teacher and history education student at USACH, explains that "during the school, it was very important to foster bonds between the participants. They were nervous at first, but by the end of the week, we saw a transformation that made us very happy because the kids realized that projects not only require financial resources, but also work in a network, and they are collaborating with each other."
Nélida Pohl, Director of Communications at IEB, comments that "this School could not have been possible with just one institution. It was vital that VioDemos and IEB came together, because from an ecological perspective we cannot fully grasp how important politics is in driving change, and VioDemos wants to learn more about the environmental problems facing the planet." She adds: "From a scientific perspective, it was a challenge to work with secondary school students, and we are very happy with the result. This is definitely something we want to do again so that we can involve more and more students."
Gabriela Piña, VioDemos researcher and Academic Director of the Secondary School, points out that "it was very intense work and we are very happy with the result because the students were very motivated and willing to learn. For us, the task is not over because we must finish the evaluation of the Secondary School, a process that was carried out in parallel, and finance and follow up on six student projects."
The secondary school covered three blocks of content: "Democracy, ecology, and citizenship: How do we organize ourselves?", "The crisis of the commons," and "Security in an uncertain future."
It also held various workshops for reflection and tools: "Debates on Feminism Today," "Human Rights in the 21st Century, " "The Problem of Misinformation and the Superpower to Combat It," "Social Media Content for Social Projects," "Climate Change and Activism: Student Performances in Chile," "Allies: Citizenship, Power, and Negotiation," "The Price of Nature: What Are We Willing to Lose?", "From Imagination to Images: Poster Workshop," "Environmental Journalism and Democracy Workshop: Transform Your Voice into Action!" and "What Did You Say? Keys to Oral Communication."
Rodrigo Mardones, professor of Political Science at UC, María Paz Trebilcook, professor of Sociology at UAH, Gabriela Piña, professor of Education at Universidad Mayor, Milena Grass, professor of Theater at UC, and Hugo Rojas, professor of Law at UAH, all of whom are VioDemos researchers, participated as speakers. Also participating were Nélida Pohl, Director of Communications at the IEB, Matías Guerrero, researcher at the IEB, and Sergio Toro, professor at the School of Government at Universidad Mayor and researcher at the Millennium Institute Data Millennium Institute (IMFD).
The workshops were led by: Fabián Padilla, PhD student at the IMFD and creator of the fastcheck.cl platform; Rosario Valenzuela, anthropologist at the Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CEDEUS); Tamara Vidaurrázaga, researcher at Anillo Disonancias, Comunidad, Universidad e Irrupción Feminista; Maria José Cot, professor of history at UC; Valentina Aravena, journalist at the Millennium Institute ; Paula Vivallos and Colores García, both graphic designers linked to the IEB; and Scarlet Barra, journalist at La Senda de Darwin.
During the week, there were also "Breakfasts with Activists," events in which students talked with activists to learn about their experiences and dreams. The school was visited byJulieta Martínez, founder of Tremendas.cl;Marcos Muñoz, environmental activist and promoter of urban gardens;Lucha Venegas, activist for the human rights of children and adolescents; andCatalina Silva, biology student, science communicator, and environmental activist.
The Democracy and Ecology Secondary School was organized by the Millennium Institute Research on Violence and Democracy (VioDemos) and the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), and was sponsored by the UNESCO Office in Santiago, the Children's Ombudsman, the Millennium Institute Data Millennium Institute (IMFD), the Faculty of Education of the Universidad Mayor, and the Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CEDEUS). It also received support from the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Catholic University.
Source: Viodemos