Strengthening Argentinian youth digital communication and civic participation skills

Buena Data training graduation event

In the past months, the UNDEF-supported Argentinian civil society organization Chicos.Net organized two events. The events brought together Argentinian children, adolescents, and youth to strengthen their critical thinking and communication skills.

The idea behind the work of Chicos.Net and their Buena Data project is to provide youth with guidance on how to use technology in proactive, critical, and creative ways. The Buena Data project aims to strengthen youth voices and ensure that information regarding human rights and social justice be communicated in creative ways for wide-reaching and long-term impacts. By training Argentinian youth in communication and civic participation, Chicos.Net is helping them develop crucial tools to address the topics that matter to them.

In July of this year, Chicos.Net held an event to celebrate the successful completion of the UNDEF-funded training for their 50 graduates. The graduation event brought together Argentinians between the ages of 16 and 21 from all over the country to participate in a series of further workshops and role-playing games, encouraging and strengthening the consolidation of a network of young people dedicated to engaging with and communicating the issues affecting them and their communities. The event even resulted in the graduates drafting proposals for the COP30 held in Belem: 

“We wanted to show that young people don't just march or engage in activism on social media. We can also negotiate, propose public policies, and lead multilateral spaces,” said Jazmín, a 20-year-old participant. 

The event also brought UNICEF Argentina team to highlight Buena Data as a successful campaign:

"At UNICEF, we encourage young people and adolescents to participate in the Buena Data initiative, convinced that training in journalism and communication with a rights perspective is a powerful tool for amplifying the voices of girls and boys, making their realities visible, and promoting positive changes in society. We believe that projects like this inspire commitment, generate opportunities, and strengthen more just and inclusive communication", said Natalia Calisti, UNICEF Communication Specialist.

In September, Chicos.Net also organized the Buena Data Fest that brought together more than 500 youth between the ages of 16 and 25, and over 1000 more online streamers, to create a space to collectively think about – and share insights on – the role of journalism and digital communication tools in citizen participation. Collaborating with 30 key international and national organizations like UNICEF Argentina and Amnesty International, as well as 45 leading figures in communication and journalism, the Buena Data Fest held free workshops on topics such as hate speech, the role of influencers as journalists, and artificial intelligence and the future of journalism.