La Casa del Arbol teaches children from all social classes about both human rights and social responsibilities. Some 400 children a day (perhaps 75,000 per year) come to the facilty as part of school groups, where staff use extraordinarily well-thought out games and projects to explain the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Facilities include
- "El Arbol" (The tree), an integral part of the archtecture, where each leaf or piece of bark, when lifted, discusses protections against descrimination and the responsibility of children not to descriminate against others.
- The scale, a complicated mobile that hangs from the ceiling, where children place different symbols in order to show the deleicate balance of justice, rights, and responsibility.
- The Mexico puzzle, a huge jigsaw showing the ethnic, racial, gender, and age diversity of Mexico, which the children solve to show how all people can live together.
- A great slide.
Staff also teach children the process of denouncing a human rights abuse, about which the organizations can help them, and what they should do if they feel they are not being heard. Staff also teach the basics of civics and political participation. Finally, they give teachers and adminstrators the knowledge (and sometimes courage) to help children in denouncing human rights abuses.
Perhaps most importantly, Casa del Arbol includes a "Complaints booth" where children who feel that their human rights have been violated can learn how to approach the authorities and draw the attention of the Human Rights Commision to the abuses they have suffered. The Casa del Arbol will first try to help local school or government officials denounce the abuse, but if they are unsucessful, they may refer the abuse to the Human Rights Commission itself.
Contactos: Sofía Villa or Lic. Teresita Gómez de León (Secretaria Técnica del Consejo) or Lic. Gerardo Gómez Ávila (Director de Difusión y Pulicacciones)
Bibliote@cdhdf.org.mx
52 29 56 00
Avenida Chapultepec #49, Primer piso
Centro Histórico, 16040
México, DF
México
