Children, Youth and Environments 17(2), 2007 The Country of Boys and Girls: A Model for Participation and Child Leadership Luz Helena Monje Nancy Stella López Mora Plan International, Colombia Program Foundation for Dance and Life Citation: Monje, Luz Helena and Nancy Stella López Mora (2007). “The Country of Boys and Girls: Model for Participation and Child Leadership.” Children, Youth and Environments 17(2): 170-186. Abstract This report describes the Country of Boys and Girls Project in the city of Santiago de Cali, in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, which was supported by Plan International, and executed by the Foundation for Dance and Life. The project was a real exercise in child participation through which boys and girls had the opportunity to become recognized social agents and visible subjects of development who interact with other community agents to transform their reality, starting from the perspective of children’s rights. The intervention process was based on four strategies: Approximation of the MicroReality ; Education on Children’s Integral Development; Organization for Action; and Inter-Institutional and Community Involvement. The project relied on youth-child interaction and a “learning by playing” pedagogical process. Keywords: children’s rights, child-centered community development, Colombia, child leadership, organizational processes, child participation, youth participation© 2007 Children, Youth and Environments The Country of Boys and Girls: A Model for Participation and Child Leadership 171 Introduction The following paper reports on The Country of Boys and Girls Project which was carried out in the city of Cali, in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia from March to November 2004. The project was supported by Plan International and the Foundation Dance and Life. Plan International is an organization working at a worldwide level towards community development focused on children. The organization has been developing organizational processes in marginalized communities in 46 countries around the world, including Colombia. As a result of the closing of the Plan International programs in Cali, after 24 years accompanying and strengthening youth processes in Northern and Western rural and urban areas through the Program Unit Cali, a new idea arose about undertaking activities that would promote child organization and participation, as well as strengthen youth groups in order to prepare the next generation to act effectively in their communities. The project was guided by a Child-Centered Community Development approach, the same model of intervention used by Plan International. This is an effective strategy for developing processes of organization and community participation that recognize children and youth as main characters in the development processes within their own communities. The Country of Boys and Girls Project’s proposal was to enable children and youth to become agents in their communities, to contribute to their own benefit, to plan by themselves and to participate in processes of decision-making affecting their communities. The Project’s Context The project described in this report was developed in Santiago de Cali, the second largest city in Colombia with a population of more than 2.2 million. The city is located in the flat area of the Valle del Cauca Department. On the west, it is bordered by the Western Mountains where, since the 1970s, many settlements have originated. The area is well-known as the “Hill Zone,” and its population represents about 25 percent of the total in Cali. The barrios located in this area sprung up in disorder with no urban planning at all. After numerous civic campaigns and demonstrations, their inhabitants were able to gain access to water, electricity and basic sewage infrastructure, though they still lack many public services and are still burdened by poverty. Even though some of its residents work as secretaries and technicians in different trades, most of its inhabitants work in the informal labor market. Violent gang disputes over control of this sector are common. Administratively, the city is divided into 22 districts or sectors. Each one of these districts consists of several neighboring barrios with similar social and economical characteristics. The “Hill Zone” includes four sectors. The Country of Boys and Girls Project was carried out in three of them: Sectors 1, 2, 20. We selected them because they were Plan International working areas. The Country...