We play for our Rights - SR Rights Games Kit

Some of the main barriers that we (adolescents) face for access to sexual and reproductive rights in Latin America include:

• Lack of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE): The absence of CSE programs, or the implementation of biased and fragmented programs on sexual and reproductive health, can leave us without the necessary information to make informed decisions. In Argentina, 80% of high school students state they do not have access to Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE), and 60% of teachers say they are not adequately trained to teach CSE. This situation is replicated in other Latin American countries. Not receiving sexual education at school leads to situations of gender violence, unintentional pregnancies, and the perpetuation of gender stereotypes.

• Limited Access to Health Services: Many adolescents experience mistreatment or feel judged when approaching a healthcare facility for information or services. These sometimes unwelcoming systems lead to adolescents not returning to seek solutions or assistance. In addition, appointment scheduling practices do not align with our needs, and there is a lack of available and accessible dialogue spaces, such as counseling or specific clinics for adolescents.

• Practices that Disregard Adolescents' Decisions - Adult-centered Modalities: The healthcare system often prescribes and dictates without respecting decisions regarding which practice, resource, or method we consider most suitable for ourselves and our own bodies, without understanding each individual's story and uniqueness. A 2021 UNFPA report reaffirms the relevance of projects like the one presented on this occasion: '91% of the 104 countries declared having laws and regulations guaranteeing access to contraception services, but in some, a minimum age is established, third-party authorization is required, and marriage is a prerequisite. In 12% of the 104 countries whose legislation protects access to contraception services, the existing legal systems contradict favorable laws and regulations. Although 87% of reporting countries indicated having laws and regulations requiring users' full, free, and informed consent before receiving contraceptive services—especially sterilization—9% of them note that legal systems contradict these laws.'

• Cultural and Religious Norms in our communities can influence the information provided and decision-making regarding sexuality and reproduction, limiting access to contraceptives and health services.

• Inequality and Lack of Gender Perspective that reproduces inequalities and violent practices towards women ('the responsibility to avoid pregnancy is on the woman').

These barriers to information and rights access function inequitably and unequally, depending on place of origin, age, and the often accompanying adult-centered framework.

These barriers affect a large number of adolescents in our communities, so we believe in the importance of starting to work on access to information through horizontal implementation—peer to peer— and, above all, in a playful and enjoyable manner, free of prejudices and in favor of respect and listening. It will also be a significant contribution for teachers who are demanding resources and training to address comprehensive sexual education in their classes. 

The solution is based on a study of the main barriers faced by adolescents in relation to their sexual rights. The goal is to form a group of teenagers - those of us who have already received several training sessions on CSE through the Jakairá program- in order to develop a playful, reflective, and experiential game kit and materials on sexual rights. This kit will be used for peer to peer work with other teenagers in our communities, directly addressing the barriers identified in the survey.

In the initial stage, the games will be constructed, planned, and designed using inclusive and accessible language. This will include an instruction manual explaining the proposals and various ways to implement them, specifically addressing the identified barriers.

In a second phase, we will implement the designed games through workshops in various community spaces. The aim is for other adolescents to use, play, receive information, reflect, and share experiences about sexual and reproductive rights, addressing the specific barriers identified.

Furthermore, the proposal involves the manufacturing of multiple game kits and manuals for distribution in various community spaces (schools, clubs, neighborhood centers, health centers, etc.), to encourage replication and reach other teenagers with a multiplier effect.

Although the proposal is essentially focused on youth empowerment, its entire development and implementation will have the support of the Kaleidos Foundation, with over 23 years dedicated to the promotion and restoration of the rights of children and adolescents."

The solution is primarily aimed at adolescents between 12 and 18 years old, from the neighborhoods of CABA and Valle de Traslasierra, Córdoba (Jakairá project www.fundacionkaleidos.org/jaka...) as well as the communities from the other ten organizations that are part of the Red MAPA project in Argentina (www.redmapa.org ). 

These adolescents belong to vulnerable communities where we observe a high number of situations such as social isolation, disruption of school trajectories, lack of participation spaces, early cohabitation, unintentional teenage pregnancies, gender-based violence, and other situations directly linked to the issue we want to address.

The goal is to impact the reality of these adolescents to facilitate and promote access to information about Sexual Rights, using games as a mediator. This right is often also infringed as a result of the social fragility they experience.

The playful modalities for working with adolescents enable words to circulate horizontally and with fewer prejudices, allowing their own knowledge to be enabled and enhanced, creating possibilities for peer exchange and promoting active participation.

Providing clear and accurate information and ensuring access to sexual rights will have a positive impact on the lives of the adolescent girls targeted by the project. Those of us who have participated in similar spaces of reflection, exchange, and promotion of rights can affirm that it has been crucial for our lives in making decisions, connecting with others, reflecting on ourselves, and demanding responses to our rights from relevant authorities.

Considering that this project is part of the Jakairá Program, which works to support adolescent mothers and prevent unintentional teenage pregnancies, the idea is to incorporate innovative strategies by adolescents for adolescents.

We believe that as adolescents living in the communities to which the project is targeted, and having already participated in training sessions and reflection spaces within Jakairá, we have the knowledge and resources necessary to support other adolescents in accessing and ensuring their Sexual and Reproductive Rights (DSSRP). Moreover, we are enthusiastic and feel the need to do so.

We hear the voices of other adolescents within our schools, clubs, and participation spaces. We observe with concern the way in which they often feel little support, with doubts they don't know how to resolve, or misconceptions that lead to further violation of their rights. Therefore, we affirm the importance of addressing their questions, concerns, and feelings in a careful, respectful way, rooted in empathy and genuine knowledge of their situations (basically because we have recently gone through it or are currently experiencing it).

On various occasions, we have found ourselves debating and reflecting on this unresolved issue—or resolved from an adult-centered perspective—and we believe that we can be agents of change and multipliers ourselves. Some of us have been mothers or fathers in our adolescence, so we were accompanied by Jakairá, which promoted spaces for reflection, listening, and training on the issues we seek to address today. From our experience, we believe we have a lot to contribute. Others of us have participated in debates on these topics in our schools or in Comprehensive Sexuality Education (ESI) promoter training provided by Jakairá, allowing us to rethink and promote greater guarantee of our rights.

We consider ourselves a team of creative, proactive, motivated, and empathetic adolescents, eager to learn more and to convey what we have learned to others. By coming together to think about this proposal, we began to inquire within our peer groups, colleagues and friends about their interests, needs, and the barriers they encounter when accessing their rights.

Additionally, we are capable of innovating, using our creativity to design games that enable dialogue and thus access to useful and important information.

Every year, Kaleidos Foundation works with approximately 80 teenage mothers and fathers and their children. Likewise, annually, we reach around 1500/2000 individuals, including both teenagers and adults working with teenagers, through our awareness workshops and training courses.

Finally, each year approximately XXX individuals access various resources related to comprehensive sexual education and sexual rights topics available on our website.

The solution is innovative in its aim to promote and disseminate sexual rights among adolescents and youth through a playful and peer-based approach. Identifying the primary barriers to accessing rights and subsequently creating games to address and break down these barriers will empower many adolescents to access their rights.

Information alone often isn't sufficient to bring about significant changes in behavior or effectively advocate for rights. Experience and lived engagement play a crucial role in internalizing rights, allowing individuals not only to intellectually grasp them but also to feel and connect with them on a deeper level. Experimentation provides an opportunity to engage with the concepts in a more personal and active way, thereby strengthening individuals' capacity to demand the fulfillment of their rights. It's a powerful approach to rights promotion and advocacy 

Furthermore, we understand that the solution will bring significant benefits to many teachers who lack resources and training to address these issues in their classrooms. Ultimately, we believe it has the potential to be a solution with an impact across various countries in the region facing similar challenges and needs.

Over the past twenty years, we have proven that accompaniment of teenage parents and their children allows them to build physical and emotional well-being, understand their rights as citizens and parents, navigate a complex system of social services and build the future they want.

Our new five-year strategy will continue to advocate for and safeguard the rights of children, adolescents and teen parents in
Argentina. We will focus on two key objectives:

Multiply our Reach. Supporting 550 adolescents and 350 children across our
programes. We will achieve this by:
• Direct outreach to the youngest parents who are often the most isolated.
• Building the capacity of organizations across Argentina and Latin America to support young parents in their communities through Red MAPA & Red MAPA Global.
• Working directly with local governments to strengthen policy protections for the children, adolescents and young parents.

Deepen our Impact. Expanding Jakairá, in order to more effectively share best practices and scale what works by:
• Creating a direct accompaniment programe for secondary education – increasing the rate of teen parents who finish school and find meaningful employment.
• Formalizing our comprehensive play-based, child-centred early childhood pedagogy and conducting a formal impact assessment to support other early childhood providers and organizations.
• Partnering with organizations who specialize in employment inclusion and training to improve the quality of support offered to teenage parents.

We believe that our solution, based on the successful experience of Jakairá, can make a real difference. By training a group of adolescents with a background in comprehensive sexual education (CSE) and providing them with the opportunity to design playful games on sexual rights, we aim to address key barriers faced by adolescents. We believe that by using inclusive and accessible language, along with the easy replicability of the games, we will achieve a multiplying effect when implemented in various community spaces, such as schools, clubs, and neighborhood centers. The dual horizontality, being both adolescents and active members of their own communities, strengthens the connection and authenticity of the proposal. By empowering these adolescents as agents of change and supporting their development with the experience of the Kaleidos Foundation, we seek not only to expand access to information but also to foster reflection and exchange on sexual and reproductive rights. We believe in the capacity of this proposal to generate a lasting and sustainable impact in communities, actively promoting the rights of children and adolescents.

For this solution:

- Part time: 8 

For the Foundation:

- Full time: 10

- Part time: 35

The Kaleidos Foundation has been working in Argentina for 23 years, promoting and restoring the rights of children and adolescents. Our experienced, interdisciplinary team is committed to using their diverse expertise to remove the systemic and institutional roadblocks that prevent young people at risk from accessing the support they need to succeed.
In 2003, we started to focus on supporting teenage parents and their children to build strong family bonds, access healthcare, education and employment and break cycles of violence.
Our journey has taught us that this population is often among the most geographically and socially isolated. However, with the right support at the right time, they can build the future they want.

Fundación Kaleidos is a respectful and caring organization that embraces diversity and empowers everyone to work under its shared values of excellence, community, equity, human-centered, respect and under a rights and gender approach.

We appreciate diversity and we strive to create a human centered environment in which everyone feels valued and respected.