Diálogo de saberes sobre participación infantil [A Dialogue of Knowledges about Child Participation

Abstract

685 Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 17 No. 2 (2007) ISSN: 1546-2250 Diálogo de saberes sobre participación infantil [A Dialogue of Knowledges about Child Participation] Corona Caraveo, Yolanda and Morfín Stoopen, María (2001). Mexico City: UNICEF; 159 pages. ISBN 9706549811. This book is addressed to all those who act or wish to act in a wide variety of areas as promoters of child and youth participation. The two knowledges that converse in this work, as suggested by its title, are those of practical experience and that of theoretical reflection: the knowledge of those who take action, enlightened by the contributions of various authors who have made theoretical reflections on these subjects. The flap of the published book states that To establish a dialogue based on questioning and on the creation of spaces under the assumption that no path has been yet traced out, were the premises that guided the project that culminated in the publication of this book. The topic is the promotion of participation by the children and young people as social subjects in the construction of the society we want.… This book is an invitation to reflect about the construction of a plural, inclusive society, where children and young people may take their due place The book is presented as a collective product in which the creation of many institutions and people worked together. It is the fruit of joint effort between the academic world and organized civil society, since it was published by the National Autonomous University of Mexico but based on a project carried out by the Mexican Support Group for Children (COMEXANI). During 1999 and 2000, this group summoned various groups of coordinators and collaborators of participation-promotion programs in Mexico City and in the States of Morelos and Yucatan in order to learn about their experiences and discuss the programs in which they were involved. Some 40 people, most of them women, responded to the summons. Members of 686 COMEXANI also attended and were in charge of collecting and systematizing the knowledge generated as a result of a workshop named “Harvesting Our Fruits.” The long list of participating promoters and institutions is presented in an Appendix and reflects the wealth and diversity of the participation experiences gathered in this book. The authors took up the challenge of integrating the knowledge generated from practice and the theoretical information, in an attempt to establish the dialogue mentioned in the title. The Italian Committee of UNICEF contributed most of the financing for the execution of the basic project of this book, and the Children’s Program of the Metropolitan Autonomous University and the “Help in Action” association gave financial support for its publication. The book is divided into five chapters: “Why Should Participation be Promoted?”, “What Do We Mean by Participation?”, “Toward New Forms of Relationship in Social Spaces,” “The Promoter of Child Participation,” and “Participation Plans and Programs.” The structure of the book is consistent with the authors’ commitment to the dialogue of knowledges, as well as with the project on which it is based. Just as the project is based upon practice, and the testimonies generated from practice were the focal point of discussion at the workshops, the exact opinions of the practitioners who participated in the workshop play a fundamental role and appear in boxes to distinguish them from the general text in order to add fluency to the dialogue between practical experience and theoretical reflection. The chapters and one of the appendixes include inserted materials by various authors that support or show a different approach to the topics, always with the purpose of expanding the reference dialogue. Similarly, cartoons are included not as mere ornaments but with the purpose of making the reader smile and consider new approaches to the topics, whereby the possibilities of the dialogue are equally expanded. Like the cartoons with their sense of humor, the quotations at the beginning of the chapters and the various sections are one of the novel features of this book and enable us to 687 become emotionally involved. Thus the possibilities of the dialogue continue to expand. The tables, photographs and drawings—which are simple and clear but by...