The Regional Minister for Educational Development and Vocational Training, Patricia del Pozo, has informed that a total of 197 educational centres, of which 28 are from Almeria, will have students to detect and mediate in cases of bullying and violence in networks through the ADA Programme (Andalusian Digital Student Helper). These data were provided by the Regional Minister during the inauguration in Antequera (Malaga) of the 3rd Violet Classrooms Meeting, which aims to disseminate and share good practices carried out by Andalusian schools to raise awareness and prevent gender violence among young people. This meeting is part of the activities developed by the Regional Ministry to commemorate 8 March, International Women’s Day.
Regarding the ADA programme, which has been launched this academic year, the Regional Minister also explained that a total of 3,113 teachers will be in charge of training student helpers so that children can help, inform and support their classmates with the aim of improving school coexistence and cyber coexistence. In the case of Malaga, 31 schools are going to carry out this programme with the involvement of 525 teachers in the province.
The programme is aimed at primary and secondary schools and has a twofold purpose. Firstly, that students who are on social networks learn to prevent and detect risky behaviour, misleading information and inappropriate content, and secondly, to proceed in these situations of online conflict, informing an adult and knowing the channels of complaint. The aim is also to improve Media and Information Literacy (AMI), encouraging the proper use of the internet and social networks.
Regarding the ‘Violet Classroom’ conference, the councillor explained that it is another initiative of her department to promote co-education and the prevention of gender violence in Andalusian schools and to promote values of equality. In this sense, Patricia del Pozo pointed out that measures such as this meeting «can contribute to eradicating the social scourge of gender violence».
Likewise, the Head of Educational Development and Vocational Training assured that schools are «privileged contexts for promoting egalitarian values, free of prejudices and sexist stereotypes and for providing models of relationships based on equality, respect and the rejection of any type of violence».
The meeting, in which some 400 students and teachers from 16 schools from all the Andalusian provinces are taking part, is conceived as a privileged space to share the work developed by the Andalusian educational community, thus making visible their good practices in terms of coeducation and prevention of gender violence, also featuring entertainment activities such as storytelling, as well as artistic and musical performances by the participating schools. In the case of Malaga, two schools have exhibited their work, the Custodio Puga Infant and Primary School in Torre del Mar, in Vélez Málaga, and the Sierra de Yeguas Secondary School in the municipality of the same name.
The work of these schools demonstrates, said the councillor, that «education is a privileged environment to work for equality, a basic principle and fundamental right of the democratic society in which we live. Because promoting equality is an objective of Education in Andalusia and the entire educational community is involved in it: teachers, students and families».
Likewise, Patricia del Pozo stated that «today more than ever» it is essential to educate in the values of equality, respect and the rejection of any type of violence in educational centres, within families and in all areas of their lives».