For the fourth consecutive year, Save the Children´s Civil Society Support Program and its partner organization Chicos.net Civil are launching the contest "Zoom in your rights". This contest brings together hundreds of children and adolescents from Latin America and the Caribbean to express their opinions and demands through art and technology on issues that affect them.

With the slogan "Let's sing for racial diversity", this year's proposal is for children and adolescents from Latin America and the Caribbean to identify a situation of racial discrimination that concerns and/or affects them. The contest provides a platform to express themselves and promote change in their community, their country and the world.

The participation will take place through the recording of videos and songs that will seek to promote values such as equity, respect for diversity and a more inclusive world, to convey the opinions and proposals of children and youth to decision makers in their countries, their region, and the world.

Renata Flores, a great Peruvian singer, composer, and activist has composed an exclusive song to encourage participation in the contest that can be viewed and listened to on the website: www.concursozoom.org.

"We know that racism and inequity begin in childhood. Indigenous and Afro-descendant children in Latin America experience systemic discrimination on a daily basis, affecting all aspects of their lives.  With this contest we seek to amplify the voices of children so that they can be the protagonists of change, promoting equity and equal opportunities for all," said Victoria Ward, Save the Children's Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Racism affects every country in the world. The gaps and barriers that children and adolescents face for a true social integration are a result of prejudices based on their skin colour, language, origin, gender, different abilities, education, etc, which make up a scenario of differentiated and unequal access to basic rights.

"Racial discrimination is a form of violence suffered by millions of children and adolescents in the region, which confronts them every day with unequal opportunities that hinder their full development. Their participation and the possibility of expressing themselves on this issue is key to visualize these inequalities", said Andrea Urbas, Director of Chicos.net.

The initiative is promoted by the Civil Society Support Program for Latin America and the Caribbean of the international organization Save the Children and its partner organization the association Chicos.net. To date, the contest has led to the production of 460 videos, with the direct participation of 2,100 girls and boys from all over the region.

The jury that will evaluate this year's video submissions is composed by the following experts: Luis Pedernera (Member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child), Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño (Commissioner and Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Najat Maalla M'Jid (Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Violence against Children); David Wright (Global Director of Operations of Save the Children International); Marcela Czarny (Founder and Director of the civil association Chicos. net); Abel Aronátegui (Coordinator of Culture of the Central American Educational and Cultural Coordination and Executive Director of the Contra-Peso Foundation) and Renata Flores (Peruvian singer, composer and activist).

This year's edition of the contest “Zoom on your rights” has received the support of Tik Tok, Discovery and the collaboration of the organizations Jóvenes Emprendedores de Paz and Identidad Marrón. It is also supported by the Undersecretary of Human Rights and Cultural Pluralism of the Government of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

More information about the 2021contest: www.concursozoom.org

Questions: concursozoom@chicos.net