. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .
An article from the state of Zacatecas
The Bachilleres Schools of Cobaez in the State of Zacatecas already have rooms of Peace and Juvenile Restorative Justice in five establishments; The last of these spaces has now been established for the teaching and student community of the Sain Alto school.
According to Cobaez’s General Director, Juan Antonio Ruiz García, these spaces have been created by the State Government to meet the needs of young people so they can resolve conflicts through dialogue and consensus between the parties concerned.
It is not a question of punishing an aggressor,” he added, “but of deterining the causes that have motivated the behavior and solving the conflict through the culture of peace. The victim, the teachers and the mothers and fathers are all part of the resolution of the problem.
The four other Peace and Juvenile Restoration Justice Rooms are located in the schools of Roberto Cabral del Hoyo, Víctor Rosales, Zacatecas and Luis Moya. Likewise, it is planned to install more spaces like these in Ermita de Guadalupe, Enrique Estrada and Valparaiso.
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Restorative justice, What does it look like in practice?
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Ruiz Garcia urged students to be promoters of what they learn in the Peace and Justice Room, to be transmitted in their homes and community; also invited them to practice tolerance and dialogue, because that means seeing beyond our differences.
For her part, Flor Morales Duke, Director of Citizen Orientation of the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP), said that these actions are part of a general peace initiative, and this room, intended to benefit young people, will be a place of training for peace and social skills.
Ricardo Isaac García Valerio, director of the Sain Alto campus, addressed the students to point out that in that space they can resolve disputes, eradicate discrimination, bullying and violent acts through the culture of peace.
As complementary actions to the program, the director of training of the Human Rights Commission of the State of Zacatecas, Luis Rincón Gallardo, gave a conference to 550 students on the Culture of Peace: Prevention of violence and promotion of values for harmonious coexistence.
Within the framework of the Peace Circles and the Implementation Strategy of the Prevention and Attention to School Violence Program, the teachers of the School also participated in the workshop called Paradigms of Restorative Justice, taught by Myrna Ordaz Alarcón.
Finally, the Chief of the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, Victor Octavio Espinoza Lozano, assisted the members of the Unit of Peace and Restorative Justice; to unveil a plaque in the fifth room of Peace and Juvenile Restorative Justice of the Cobaez.