The First Summit of Children and Youth of the Ecuadorian Amazon

Maria Femanda Espinosa
El Programa del Muchacho Trabajador
Quito, Ecuador

Citation: Femanda Espinosa, Maria (1994). "The First Summit of Children and Youth of the Ecuadorian Amazon." Children's Environments 11 (3): 54-62. Retrieved [date] from http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/

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Abstract

The background purposes, organization, and results of the first conference of children and youth in the Amazon region of Ecuador are described. The event is placed within the larger context of the goals of El Programa del Muchacho Trabajador, a national program to involve working children in defense of their rights. The special considerations of the Amazon region which made this summit necessary are reviewed, paying particular attention to the exchange of perspectives across cultures and across generations. The paper concludes with impacts of the conference and subsequent developments of the environmental program. These include municipal environmental commissions involving child representatives and a long-term proposal for demonstration centers for environmental learning and the intercultural exchange of environmental knowledge in the Amazon region.

Keywords: Amazon, Ecuador, children's conference, indigenous knowledge, sustainable development