Brazil
In Brazil, the Proniño project began in 2006, and in this year 2008 the target of beneficiaries the program we wish to reach is 8,500, thanks to the work of 30 prestigious NGOs.
The general aim is to promote and defend the rights of children and adolescents, to contribute to the institutionalisation of social and educational measures and encourage the development of social networks and the protection of minors.
One of the main partners of Fundación Telefónica in this program are the Councils on the Rights of Children and Adolescents, legal bodies created by the determination of the ECA (Estatuto da Crianza e do Adolescente), which bring together representatives of the civil society and government to lay down action guidelines in the area, at a municipal, state and national level.
In Brazil the Proniño program has a large reach, including three project areas and a web portal: the right against child labour (since 2007), care of adolescents in conflict with the law, complying with social and educational measures in open regimes (since 2000), the setting up of networks providing assistance for children and adolescents (since 2009), and the Proniño portal since 2003 (www.promenino.org.br).
The fight against child labour,with a model for action focused on integral assistance with four areas of intervention:
Formal education, with actions aimed at pulling beneficiaries out of child labour so they can join school, monitoring attendance and performance.
Complementary education, with the creation of programs to complement school work, to guarantee that the children stay in education.
Family support, through actions aimed at raising the awareness of family members of the issue of child labour, with the aim of creating opportunities to bring in revenue that can help to break the vicious cycle of structural poverty, which also involves the inclusion of families in the services and social program network of the municipality, to reduce to a minimum the children's risk and vulnerability.
In terms of the community, this leads to information, acknowledgement and strengthening of the topic of the eradication of child labour in the municipality, through awareness raising actions, with the company and its management being committed to public policies on education and the eradication of child labour.
Assistance given to young offenders, with support for young offenders and the provision of social and educational measures in open regimes.
The Proniño portalis an initiative of Fundación Telefónica whose main objective is to guarantee the rights of juvenile and children's rights through the publication of specific material. The portal contains content aimed both at professionals defending children's rights and content aimed at the fight against child labour, social and educational measures and networking.
Finally, networks providing assistance to children and adolescents, with the aim of developing joint programs with Municipal Councils on the rights of children and adolescents. The Councils were created by the Childhood and Adolescent Act in all Brazilian municipalities, to establish public policies at a municipal level.
Program objectives:
a. To contribute to the defence of the rights of children and adolescents in the country;
b. To strengthen the actions of Councils on the rights of children and adolescents when carrying out their functions;
c. To promote the cooperation of assistance networks to meet the needs of children and young people in the area.
Networks promote integrated work between assistance organisations, coordinated by the Council of Rights, through the exchange of information on services and data on children and adolescents in the municipality. This way of working increases the efficiency of the program and provides a social application of new technologies.
Also participating in this program, as well as the Municipal Councils on Rights, are legally incorporated social organisations and municipal public bodies responsible for executing services providing assistance to the target public. Projects are selected through a tender process held by Municipal Councils on the rights of children and adolescents, and by Fundación Telefónica; financing comes through contributions to the Municipal Fund for the rights of children and adolescents.