UPS signs inter-institutional agreement with GIZ

On April 23rd UPS-Quito signed an inter- institutional agreement with the Deutsche Gesellschaft Für Internacionale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Regional Program to fight violence against women. They have called it "De salto en salto a la violencia ponemos alto" or " We'll stop violence step by step" which is meant to be a very participative program which will focus on stopping gender violence in boys and girls aged 6 – 9.

To carry out the agreement, this international organization has aimed at strengthening ties with institutions in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay as well as other South American countries where there is an estimated 30 to 60 percent of gender violence.

In Ecuador, the inter- institutional agreement signed with UPS will promote participation in the program "De salto en salto a la violencia ponemos alto" or "We'll stop violence step by step" by working with students and teachers of the Pedagogy and Psychology majors. They will first be trained to then implement this program in selected educational institutions in the Pichincha Province.

According to the Schedule of activities, UPS teachers and students are expected to implement the program once they have been trained.

The first meeting

UPS teacher and coordinator of practicums for the Pedagogy major, Rocio Escobar said that the training seminar on the methodology used for this program will allow students to carry out their pre-professional practicums besides acquiring useful information about this topic. Tim Kroeger the GIZ facilitator at the training seminar said he expects 15 out the 23participants to be able to put this information into action in educational institutions.

Thanks to this training seminar which started on April 26th, student Alejandra Vásconez said she has learned significant information for her profession that will help her "identify violence in boys and girls, and avoid this pattern of violence to perpetuate in institutions"

Fanny Garcia also said that this information will be very useful in her profession since "education affects contexts, and it is through education that she will be able to influence families, economics, politics, and schools" regarding gender violence.