Nuevas Ciudadanas, Nuevos Ciudadanos: Hagámosle al Cuento (New Citizens: Let's Make Up the Story)

This project engaged young people in the process of developing materials to sensitise their peers about gender equity issues in an entertaining way. The choice of this age group reflected a belief that gender equality can only be achieved by intervening early, before deep-seated patriarchal schemes are embedded in their generation. Cormujer invited different groups of young people to participate, provided them with some theoretical background on the gender perspective, and facilitated the creation of the stories they want to tell. As part of this process, they were trained in the basics of moviemaking and provided with basic equipment; in addition, teachers and tutors honed their singing, dancing, and acting skills. Based on this training, the young men and women wrote, acted in, produced, directed, and edited the materials.

The booklets and films that these young people created are designed to enable Cormujer to communicate to young people about gender-related themes in their own young language and in an amusing way. The 5 short movies include:

1. "En Edad de Merecer (Of Marrying Age)" - an illustrated conversation about the social and psychological implications of 15th birthday parties in Latin America. (Editor's note: In Colombia, a girl's 15th birthday is considered an important milestone, per the Kwintissential website).
2. "Menos Machos, Más Hombres (Less Macho, More Manly)" - an advocacy story based on real facts that tells viewers how boys grow up into men - in the process putting their health and lives at risk every day.
3. "A Que Te Acoso Ratona... (I Will Harass You, Little Mouse...)" - a musical story that exposes the drama behind sexual harassment at schools, and how to take action against it.
4. "Los Colores del Dolor (The Colours of Pain)" - an advocacy story based on real facts that explores the progressive nature of domestic violence, and that introduces a warning scale that enables measurement of the risk level a woman is at if she has a violent partmer.
5. "Ojos Pequeños, Mundo Grande (Little Eyes, Big World)" - told from the perspective of a small dog, this is the story of a group of young girls and boys who decided to participate in the local elections of a very patriarchal community.

Gender, Rights, Youth, Women, Democracy & Governance.

Cormujer is a small NGO that works in Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia, in the heart of the Amazon region. Its priority is the pursuit of equal opportunities for men and women.