My Story - News for and by teenagers. Preventing the recruitment of teenagers by illegal armed groups through participatory journalism in Colombia.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Sch of Languages, Cultures and Societies
Abstract
My Story: News For and By Teenagers is an online news service promoting a youth-based agenda in one of Colombia's most violent regions, where many under 18s have been forced or enticed into joining illegal armed groups. It builds upon a previous AHRC project which produced animated testimony and recommendations for the non-repetition of conflict in Colombia by former child soldiers in partnership with young people who have grown up since the ceasefire with the FARC in 2016. This new project applies these testimonies and recommendations in a creative and active way to cultivate deep engagement with our research among vulnerable communities, as well as among local authorities and campaigners. By engaging teenagers at-risk of illicit recruitment in this reporting project, we identify how they see their lives, their communities and their futures, and we are able to build interventions and advocacy to prevent them from joining armed groups.
As our previous research has shown, youngsters who grow up in war zones typically feel powerless, disaffected and unable to obtain basic necessities and improve their life circumstances. They can feel trapped and abused, and often experience a deep sense of humiliation. This can create a strong desire to achieve power so they can restore their lost dignity and regain a sense of personal efficacy. Joining an armed group can also offer protection in a context of physical, emotional or economic insecurity. Faced with contexts of protracted violence, many teenagers on the margins of Colombia can therefore experience negative identities, which destroy motivation and confidence, and also breed depression. This can instigate a desire and necessity for escape, and often joining an armed group can appear as the only solution to many young people.
Against this backdrop, our project builds confidence and self-efficacy among teenagers considered at-risk of recruitment by providing formal training in journalism and audiovisual production to stimulate reflection and provoke new ways of seeing the world. This also develops transferable skills, which enhance their potential for employment within the creative economy.
Through storytelling specifically, these young journalists will explore the dangers of conflict, guided by the experiences of former child soldiers, in order to challenge their sometimes glamourised perceptions of life as a combatant. The project will create a journalism that fosters resilience and supports peacebuilding through the promotion of recommendations for the non-repetition of conflict, provoking debate and discussion among the community, as well as a journalism that encourages the young reporters to question their surroundings by calling for and identifying positive change. Through additional peer-to-peer workshops in schools to promote the project, our young reporters also become peace advocates among their friends and fellow students, and in their neighbourhoods.
The stories published online will be accompanied by questions, activities and themes for discussion, creating a tool for schools and youth services in the wider community and other contexts of marginalisation to use our material for resilience-building. At the end of the project, an educational and advocacy toolkit based on the website and its content will be implemented into recruitment prevention strategies at the national and international level by our key partner in this project, Save The Children.
As our previous research has shown, youngsters who grow up in war zones typically feel powerless, disaffected and unable to obtain basic necessities and improve their life circumstances. They can feel trapped and abused, and often experience a deep sense of humiliation. This can create a strong desire to achieve power so they can restore their lost dignity and regain a sense of personal efficacy. Joining an armed group can also offer protection in a context of physical, emotional or economic insecurity. Faced with contexts of protracted violence, many teenagers on the margins of Colombia can therefore experience negative identities, which destroy motivation and confidence, and also breed depression. This can instigate a desire and necessity for escape, and often joining an armed group can appear as the only solution to many young people.
Against this backdrop, our project builds confidence and self-efficacy among teenagers considered at-risk of recruitment by providing formal training in journalism and audiovisual production to stimulate reflection and provoke new ways of seeing the world. This also develops transferable skills, which enhance their potential for employment within the creative economy.
Through storytelling specifically, these young journalists will explore the dangers of conflict, guided by the experiences of former child soldiers, in order to challenge their sometimes glamourised perceptions of life as a combatant. The project will create a journalism that fosters resilience and supports peacebuilding through the promotion of recommendations for the non-repetition of conflict, provoking debate and discussion among the community, as well as a journalism that encourages the young reporters to question their surroundings by calling for and identifying positive change. Through additional peer-to-peer workshops in schools to promote the project, our young reporters also become peace advocates among their friends and fellow students, and in their neighbourhoods.
The stories published online will be accompanied by questions, activities and themes for discussion, creating a tool for schools and youth services in the wider community and other contexts of marginalisation to use our material for resilience-building. At the end of the project, an educational and advocacy toolkit based on the website and its content will be implemented into recruitment prevention strategies at the national and international level by our key partner in this project, Save The Children.
Title | Mi Historia film and audio visual database |
Description | Please see http://mihistoria.co for the multimedia content produced, which includes: 80 videos https://mihistoria.co/category/secciones/video/ 14 podcasts https://mihistoria.co/category/secciones/audio/ 5 photoessays https://mihistoria.co/category/secciones/fotografia/ 108 written articles and features https://mihistoria.co/category/secciones/leer/page/18/ 12 educational "how to" videos (for use in the classroom) https://mihistoria.co/category/periodismo-en-el-aula/ |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Impact | The films have had great reach and been taken up by other international websites, including the US Government. The project has also garnered a good deal of international and national press coverage (e.g. https://mihistoria.co/category/secciones/sala-de-prensa/ ) |
URL | http://mihistoria.co |
Description | My Story was firmly anchored within the traditions of participatory action research (PAR), which emphasise how the research process should be experienced as transformative, based in principles of social justice, non-hierarchical relationships and reciprocal learning between participants and researchers. Participative or artistic methods, in particular, are invariably considered an important space for critical reflection and for 'imagining alternative ways forward' (Crossick and Kaszynska, 2016: 118). A positive outlook among teenagers living with protracted conflict can founder in contexts of crisis and uncertainty because 'the perceived irreconcilability of intractable conflicts is conceptually tied to the lack of hope for resolution' (Leshem et al, 2016: 303). Emotions in violent settings are often dominated by pessimism and fear (Jarymowicz & Bar-Tal, 2006: 373), which can have severe and negative consequences for both the individual and the wider community. For children and teenagers, in particular, research has shown how such hopelessness, pessimism and fear has a damaging impact on a child's self-esteem and contributes to low self-efficacy (Charles, 2021). Against such a backdrop, a young person's decision to join a non-state amred group (NSAG) can be interpreted as an attempt to regain or assert control. Life in the ranks of a NSAG is perceived as providing escape, projecting power or even guaranteeing survival. The aim of My Story was therefore to challenge and transform these misguided perceptions through the promotion of what we call Peace Skills (defined specifically as self-awareness; self-management; the effective management of interpersonal relationships; social consciousness; and responsible decision-making). The project used journalism as a means to explore and build capacity to employ these skills, transforming perceptions of the self and the future among children and teenagers considered at risk. Transformation in this sense constitutes an experience in which alternative imaginaries are encouraged, formed and explored. For the young project participants, My Story and the transformative journalism upon which it was based, developed socioemotional competences, enhances employment opportunities and encourages a more positive outlook on life. |
Exploitation Route | The teaching programme and project model could certainly be developed for use in other conflict-affected contexts and the team are in discussion about the best way to do this. |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice |
Description | The programme has been used as a training tool for both students and teachers around the value of citizen journalism as a tool to prevent the radicalisation of young people in Colombia. It was also used to engage policy makers. At the national level, we trained 40 professionals from the government agency ARN, who co-ordinate recruitment prevention across Colombia. These professionals graduated with a diploma in Psychosocial Strategies for the Prevention of Illicit Recruitment of Children and Teenagers by Non-State Armed Groups, awarded by Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá. The diploma required 120 hours of study and practice, and classes were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 7 and 9pm from 5 February - 24 November 2022. The programme has also been developed into an online training programme, freely available on our project website. http://mihistoria.co |
First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services |
Description | Benposta Nación de Muchachas |
Organisation | Benposta Nación de Muchachas |
Country | Colombia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Benposta Nación de Muchachas are a CSO partner on the Building Trust for Truth-Telling Among Former Child Soldiers: Animation for Inclusion and Peacebuilding in Colombia project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Benposta Nación de Muchachas are a CSO partner on the Building Trust for Truth-Telling Among Former Child Soldiers: Animation for Inclusion and Peacebuilding in Colombia project. |
Impact | Several animation outputs. See creative outputs section. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | The Colombian Truth Commission |
Organisation | Colombian Truth Commission |
Country | Colombia |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | The Colombian Truth Commission are a partner on the Building Trust for Truth-Telling Among Former Child Soldiers: Animation for Inclusion and Peacebuilding in Colombia project. |
Collaborator Contribution | The Colombian Truth Commission are a partner on the Building Trust for Truth-Telling Among Former Child Soldiers: Animation for Inclusion and Peacebuilding in Colombia project. |
Impact | Several animations. See creative outputs section. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Universidad del Rosario |
Organisation | Del Rosario University |
Country | Colombia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Universidad del Rosario are a partner institution on the Building Trust for Truth-Telling Among Former Child Soldiers: Animation for Inclusion and Peacebuilding in Colombia project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Universidad del Rosario are a partner institution on the Building Trust for Truth-Telling Among Former Child Soldiers: Animation for Inclusion and Peacebuilding in Colombia project. |
Impact | Several animation outputs. See creative outputs section for more information. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Additional journalism training |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | In addition we conducted additional journalism training with 100 "special correspondents" in: Mitú, Vaupés (14-18 Feb 2022 with 20 youths); Algeciras, Huila (16-19 March with 20 youths); Yopal, Casanare (10-12 August 2022 with 25 youths); Tumaco, Nariño (13-15 July with 20 youths) and Valencia, Córdoba (14-17 Sept with 20 youths). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Keynote talk for ICRRA annual conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | In this session I introduced a Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Programme, running in 12 countries that has explored how arts and heritage-focussed civil society organisations, INGOs have worked with young people to allow young people themselves to drive change. The aim of GCRF was to bring together researchers and other relevant stakeholders to create a new space of innovation in international development programming, and to support capacity building by generating projects rooted in equitable partnerships between the Global North and South. After providing a flavour of the work we have undertaken with partner organisations of different sizes in a range of countries with very different experiences of conflict and of social development post conflict, I pointed to the ways in which the project has evidenced the value of the arts and heritage in supporting inter-generational peacebuilding, and how young people can take a leadership role in this endeavour. I then turned to some of the structural challenges we have faced in doing this work and where our programme's findings would suggest we need to go next if we are to have any chance of achieving the SDGs by 2030. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Teacher training |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | At the local level, we have trained 1,200 teachers, social workers, psychologists and lawyers in recruitment prevention: Tierralta (50 participants) 16 Jan 2023 Puerto Libertador (20) 17 Jan 2023 Montelibano (30) 18 Jan 2023 San Jose de Ure (10) 18 Jan 2023 Taraza (20) 18 Jan 2023 Cáceres (20) 18 Jan 2023 Monteria (50) 19 Jan 2023 Yopal (1,000 teachers) 24-27 Jan 2023 At the national level, we trained 40 professionals from the government agency ARN, who co-ordinate recruitment prevention across Colombia. These professionals graduated with a diploma in Psychosocial Strategies for the Prevention of Illicit Recruitment of Children and Teenagers by Non-State Armed Groups, awarded by Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá. The diploma required 120 hours of study and practice, and classes were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 7 and 9pm from 5 February - 24 November 2022. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | The Mi Historia Film Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | The Mi Historia Film Festival was held in order to promote the website and the work of the youth journalists. As part of the festival, we held audiosvisual workshops and provided basic camera and photography training for 212 "at-risk" youths: Tierralta (40 youths) 16 Jan 2023 Puerto Libertador (50) 17 Jan 2023 Montelibano (30) 18 Jan 2023 San Jose de Ure (12) 18 Jan 2023 Taraza (30) 18 Jan 2023 Cáceres (50) 18 Jan 2023 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Training workshop for young reporters |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | My Story: News for and by teenagers trained 80 youth journalists in some of Colombia's most marginalised communities where young people live with the daily risk of being recruited by non-state armed groups. The young reporters were trained in writing, audio and video production skills and were awarded a diploma in Peace Journalism and Audiovisual Production by Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá. In order to obtain the diploma, the students were obliged to complete 120 hours of study and practice. The workshop schedule was as follows: The Andes newsroom (Bogotá, D.C.) x 15 students Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays from 3-5pm weekly 2 March - 28 October 2022 The Pacific newsroom (Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca) x 15 students Monday - Friday, 2-5pm weekly 25 July - 28 October, 2022 The Plains newsroom (Saravena, Arauca) x 15 students Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 7-10am 18 July - 28 October 2022 The Carribbean newsroom (Tierralta and Puerto Libertador, Córdoba) x 30 students Wednesdays 7-9pm Saturdsays 8am-5pm 1 August - 30 November 2022 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |