The Diplomat
The Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) and the SM Foundation yesterday announced the fourth edition of the Oscar Arnulfo Romero Human Rights Award, which recognizes work in favor of human rights through education.
The award, which already has three previous editions, recognizes the work of educational centers and NGOs that “develop programs aimed at guaranteeing the right to education of girls, boys and young people, as well as inclusion, peace, awareness of the importance of education in values and human rights, among other issues”, according to the OEI in a press release. Likewise, in this year’s edition, the award will highlight those projects that “focus on the role of schools and organizations in guaranteeing the right to health in the classroom, as well as their active role in overcoming the new educational challenges produced by the COVID-19 crisis”.
This fourth edition of the Award – which is given in honor of the former Archbishop of San Salvador Saint Oscar Romero, a staunch defender of human rights who was assassinated on March 24, 1980 while officiating a Mass and who was canonized by Pope Francis in October 2018 – will be open to initiatives from 22 Ibero-American countries: Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
The deadline for submitting nominations began yesterday and will close on July 31. Candidates will be eligible for the award in two categories, for schools and civil society organizations (NGOs). The terms and conditions are available on the OEI’s website.
The award will consist of two phases. The first is the national phase, in which the jury will select two winning experiences, one in each category, for each participating country. The verdict will be announced next October and the winning initiatives will be entitled to compete in the international phase, which will select the four best Ibero-American candidatures, two in each category. Finally, each of the winners in the international category will receive US$5,000 to invest in the initiatives presented. The special awards ceremony will be held during the IV International Seminar on Human Rights Education, the date of which will be announced in the coming months.
In the previous 2019 call, in which around 600 initiatives were presented, the winners were, in the category of schools, the Centro Educativo Liceo Técnico de Valparaíso, in Chile, for the project Inclusion for social equity; and the Escuela Primaria Licenciado José María Pino Suárez, in Mexico, for the project Radio, television and school press. In the category of civil society organizations, the winners were the International Learning Institute for Social Reconciliation, in Guatemala, for the project Young people discussing the challenges of building peace in the exhibition Why are we the way we are? and the organization Proyecto Nacer, Inc. of Puerto Rico, for the project Defending what we are.
