Say Yes To Technology Contest
10th February 2010, Mexico – With the presence of more than 50 media representatives, a press conference was held, in which Save the Children and the Chicos.net civil society organization, with support from Google and ECPAT International, awarded the three winning Regional and Mexican video clips of the SAY YES TO TECHNOLOGY contest. Dulce María, the contest´s official spokesperson in Mexico delivered the awards to the winning children.
Among the panel members were: John Farrel, Google Mexico’s CEO; Alberto Arévalos, Google Mexico’s Communications Director; Hans Lind, Save the Children Sweden´s Regional Director for the Latin America and the Caribbean region; Gaby Reyes, Save the Children Sweden’s Regional Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean region; Pilar Fernandez, Save the Children Mexico’s Responsible for the Fundraising Department; Marcela Czarny, President of Chicos.net; and the famous Mexican actress and singer Dulce María, the competition’s spokesperson.
The first regional version of the SAY YES TO TECHNOLOGY Regional contest -in which approximate 400 videos were produced and 1,500 children from 7 countries in Latin American region participated- sought to encourage adolescents between 12 and 18 years to explore together the mechanisms through which they can protect themselves from the eventual risks they may be exposed to, as a result of their use of new Information and Communication Technologies. Sexual abuse and exploitation, game addiction, bullying, grooming, and the protection of private data are some of the topics explored by the videos.
During 2009, Save the Children together with Chicos.net civil society organization made a call for submissions in the countries that make up the Latin American Network for the Rights of Boys, Girls and Adolescents to the Safe and Responsible Use of Information and Communication Technologies, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela.
To reward the winning teams or groups, their productions will be reformatted by a professional team (including the young video-makers themselves) and disseminated throughout Latin America.
At the end of the event, all the partners that belong to the network Latin American Network for the Rights of Boys, Girls and Adolescents to the Safe and Responsible Use of Information and Communication Technologies gathered altogether to evaluate the contests carried on, and established the route to follow for the 2010 coming contest, in which SAY YES TO TECHNOLOGY will reach more Latin American and Caribbean countries, such as Peru.
Source: Save the Children
