Cecilia Iglesias
Asociación Civil Red Ambiental
Argentina
I was born in Argentina,
a country full of beautiful places…
although some of these
ecosystems are under significant
pressure from various types of
human activities.
Despite the abundant
available resources, millions
of people survive daily life in
extreme poverty.
This situation causes a social,
economic, cultural, political
and environmental crisis.
Everything was
falling apart.
I wanted to help, but
organizations did not
take me seriously.
I was compelled to start my own small projects at school.
Through these experiences, I found my purpose and decided
to pursue a career in the environmental field.
In 1999, during my last year of college,
I was working as a intern for an environmental consulting firm.
I wasn’t really making a difference, not even a tiny one.
“Every single one of us
has to do their part to
plant the seed for change”
Agustina, 11 years old, Argentina.
It was clear to me that I
needed to find my “part”
I believed that education was the key to sustainable development
And suddenly the Internet arrived like an earthquake,
transforming the way everything was done.
I was enamored with ICT!!!
I could not resist exploring what could happen
if I used these new technologies for environmental education.
I registered the ecopibes.com domain and the project was born.
After graduating with honors, I got laid off!
It was both a challenge and a opportunity: I could either seek a
similar job or I could devote more time to my project.
“Let's get to work!!!!!”
Juliana, 9 years old, Argentina.
What is Ecopibes?
Environment
EcoPibes is
an educational project
SD
for sustainable development
(environmental, social, and economic),
Education
for Spanish-speaking
children and adolescents
based on the use of information
and communication technologies.
ICT
Accessibility
What are we trying to achieve?
The objective of the project is it to enrich the
education of children and adolescents so they can:
understand local, regional, and global environmental problems,
take part in community development,
assume leadership and construct their own future,
respect and value diversity in all ways possible,
be honest, creative, open-minded, critical, peaceful and solidary,
and commit to a sustainable development for all.
Why is it important?
Today we have sufficient evidence of the degradation
we are causing to the planet, and furthermore, how this
degraded environment is affecting our daily lives.
We need to commit to a different path, one that
works for everyone, everywhere, and for all time.
Change is certainly necessary and
I believe education is the ultimate enabler of change.
Old problem…
Environmental education in Latin America has many barriers,
among them is the lack of educational resources.
We had 2 choices:
Use traditional natural science books, or
Use environmental books developed in the global north.
Neither of them adequate to fulfill the need.
Old problem… new opportunity
The Internet arrived providing unparalleled access to
information with better tools to share it. It’s arrival changed
the role people have on their own educational process.
Even though we had access to a gigantic library,
resources were not locally relevant.
We were learning about problems that they
were not causing nor being affected by.
We were not learning about the issues that
have consequences in all of our lives.
Schools are teaching about the Panda Bear!
Environment
Old problem…
different approach
Through ICTs, I could
promote change, in order
for concerns to evolve into
local action.
SD
Education
ICT
Accessibility
Locally relevant contents
Capacity building
Equal access
Equipment and softwares
Global team, worldwide partners
By using ICT we can pool together the knowledge, experiences,
and commitment necessary to achieve sustainable development.
We use ICT to create a unique team as well as to find our partners.
Content
Photos
Images
Photos
volunteers
volunteers
volunteers
Content
volunteers
Sounds
Support
Funds
Content
Content
Funds
Support
Content
Photos
Content
How else are ICTs enabling our work?
Let me tell you what I think EcoPibes would be without ICTs…
We have invested less than UDS 3,000 in 6 years.
(Creativity and networking can be extremely cost-efficient!!!)
With that kind of money we could probably
have enough to print a few copies of a nice
gigantic book that only certain children in
the area would be able to buy.
Instead, today EcoPibes…
...is the largest sustainable development website
it exists for Spanish-speaking children and adolescents;
...has more than 30,000 users a month, from 29 different countries,
(1 of every 4 of them includes our website to his/her Favorites);
...is a network for intercultural exchange of information and experiences;
...is a channel through which we promote
other organizations and projects;
...is a living and evolving project
that can reinvent itself if needed;
EcoPibes also…
...received several safety labels and awards;
...has attained a great presence in search
engines (number 2 of 15,100,000 results)
...is highly recommended by intergovernmental
organizations, governments, NGOs, schools,
the media, environmental networks, etc.;
In 2004, I received the
Outstanding Young Persons of
Argentina (TOYP) Award, which
“recognizes young people who
excel in their chosen fields and
exemplify the best attributes of
young people.” In my case,
I received this award for
environmental leadership.
Challenges during our inception
For the first couple of years, EcoPibes was my contribution to environmental
education, and my primary donor was my own wallet…
However, I increasingly started having time conflicts.
I needed to work in order to pay for the project, which in
effect left me with no time to work on the project.
I realized that I was not achieving a core competency
of a successful organization: economic sustainability.
I started looking for partners…
But first I needed to create an NGO (jumping over hurdles!)
I soon realized that having a good project was not enough.
Environment
Global Issues
Education
Education for all
Children
Poverty alleviation
Youth
Youth employment
ICTs
Access to ICTs
Argentina
(Out of the map)
Most common
operating cost are
usually not covered
and salaries are out
of the question.
“Why don’t you start an organic farm? That we can help you with”
“Why don’t you come back when the project is mature”
“Sorry, the project has to be genuinely youth-led”
Our project does not fit the mold
We recently won a Youth Projects Contest
organized by UNEP and the Secretariat of
Environment in Argentina
A new project we are working on
was selected for UNDP funding
Hopefuly,
we will get the
attention of new
donors here!!!
My vision for the project
I envision EcoPibes as a readily accessible tool for every child
or adolescent who is willing to learn about the environment.
I want EcoPibes to be able to transform this curiosity into a lifetime
commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development.
I want EcoPibes to help them understand the systemic nature of reality so they can
make decisions with a profound understanding of their consequences.
I aspire that EcoPibes will help empower children and adolescents so they
can become environmental leaders today and in the future.
I hope that EcoPibes survives in perpetuity.
In order to achieve this we will…
Continue to include new contents
Improve interactivity
Create an EcoPibes Advisory Council
Lauch collaborative projects
Search for new partnership opportunities
Create a Network of Sustainable Classrooms
We could also translate EcoPibes into English and Portuguese.
Search for info
Create or adapt info
Communicate info
Share experiences
Build Knowledge
We want to continue
exploring all the opportunities
ICTs have to offer so that
we can hit the bull’s eye.
Our major constraint has always been
access to funds and partners
None of us get paid for what we do, creating time conflicts.
We could never pay for someone to solve our programming flaws.
We have missed opportunities to provide interesting solutions.
We cannot satisfy some of our users´demands.
However, the lack on money has also
created interesting challenges that took us
beyond conventional approaches.
We learned to focus on what was needed, not wasting
any effort on things that others were already doing.
Therefore, anytime we are able to find an useful educational
resource, we help our users get to it. This has been a good basis
for institutional collaboration and partnership building.
We always have to search for cheaper ways to do things,
sometimes resulting in a very innovative solution to problems.
Our games are a good example!!
We learned to ask for help. Everything on EcoPibes
(images, sound recordings, contents, photographs, etc.)
have been donated by people and organizations.
We try to satisfy our users’ needs by maximazing our time.
For example, at the moment we cannot answer all
e-mails, so we are focusing on strengthening our network.
Since we could not pay for someone to program things for us,
we had to familiarize ourselves with the technologies.
I learned everything I know about ICT by using ICT.
We continue to look for partners to overcome our major barrier:
the need to split our time between our project and a paid job.
A challenge that has presented itself
is the increasing complexity of my life
combined with the organization’s growth.
I am pulled in many different directions,
as I have to play many roles.
Civil Society
Environmental
Project LeaderRepresentative
Consultant
Youth
University Engagement
Fund Raiser
teacher
Activist
Mother, daughter, sister, friend, etc.
“Remember to start with yourself,
and then you can change everything you want”
Leticia, 10 years old, Mexico.
IGOs, Governments, adult-led NGOs, the private sector, etc.
should listen to young people and learn from their experiences.
In the process of making financial policy, development agencies should
consider both the possibilities and the limitations young people have.
I would like to see a stronger commitment to economicaly support
youth projects, both small and large ones, with a focus on the global south.
To promote youth projects based on the use of ICTs, special
attention should be given to help finance their technological needs.
Award and recognize young people investing in development, in order
for local institutions to take them seriously and support their projects.
Keep policies flexible to assure room for innovation. It is
important to remember that often the best projects do not fit
the archetypal mold. That is exactly why they are so unique!
Thank you!
www.ecopibes.com