Ipas Bolivia, with the support of the Embassy of Sweden, held a Bootcamp on March 16, 17, 18, 28 and 29 in the city of La Paz, entitled “Responsible Narratives on Marriages, Early and Forced Infant Unions (MUITF). A training process aimed at journalists and content creators from different regions of the country, aimed at strengthening capacities for the production of content with a focus on human rights and Sexual and Reproductive Rights (SRHR).
The process began with a virtual phase in which more than 20 people participated, addressing content on the causes and consequences of MUITF in Bolivia, the current regulatory framework, with emphasis on Law No. 1639, and tools for its journalistic approach without revictimization. Work was also carried out to review and strengthen the participants’ communication proposals.
From this stage, the strongest proposals were selected for the face-to-face phase, held on March 28 and 29 in La Paz, where the participants received technical support for the production and finalization of their communications pieces. As a result of the process, 13 communication products were developed, including reports, news articles and digital content, which will be disseminated in April as part of the campaign “Neither wives nor concubines. Girls are girls” campaign, commemorating the month of children in Bolivia.
Photos 2, 3, 4 and 5: Bootcamp participants during one of the work and content production days in La Paz.
“To tell the truth, I think I learned quite a lot. In these days, I think that part of the things I learned was how to concretize certain parts of a project, in this case. And, also, how to deal with this kind of issues; which I think is something important for people who are perhaps dedicated to marketing, […] in photography…. Sometimes, touching on these topics is something we don’t usually do on a day-to-day basis, but I think that learning how to deal with them, […] how to get your message across effectively is something I learned at the Bootcamp. I really enjoyed it.
In addition to strengthening practical skills in content production, the bootcamp enriched the participants’ proposals from different territorial perspectives and professional profiles. The participation of people from La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija provided a diversity of experiences and approaches to the MUITF problem in Bolivia.
Through this space, Ipas Bolivia reaffirms its commitment to the promotion of responsible narratives based on reproductive rights, betting on a communication/journalism that contributes to the prevention of FGM/C and the protection of girls and adolescents in the country.