What began as an idea was the seed to plant a great communication project of the UIS, with which the University would help thousands of children with their communication and relationship skills, through its own creative universe: Paidópolis.
A universe where young people from different schools in the region have been able to create, propose, express themselves and be protagonists of their own world through activities such as the recording of radio programs. Paidópolis has consolidated, during the 19 years it has been active, as a learning community where children’s cognitive, communicative and citizenship skills are strengthened.
At the beginning of the new year, Paidópolis renews itself once again with its research project “Paidópolis learning community(ies)”, which seeks to include parents and teachers in the process of children’s integral formation.
“Education used to talk a lot about knowledge, but other dimensions of the human being were forgotten. With this Program we work not only on the knowledge part, but also on the emotional part, which is extremely important. We are looking at the human being as a whole,” said Gerson Ortiz Alvarado, professor at the Escuela Normal Superior de Bucaramanga.
The project will involve the participation of ten educational institutions in the region (of the fifteen that are part of Paidópolis), in which a participatory diagnosis will be carried out to identify the conditions and needs of each educational institution.
The idea is that each educational, radio, audiovisual or digital content, in addition to being disseminated by the Paidópolis media network, enriches the dialogue processes of the learning community in each school.
“This is a very nice project that is not only educating the student with information about science and mathematics, but also has a profound impact on the formation of the personality. Children who used to be shy end the year as extroverted people, protagonists of the most popular characters in Paidópolis. These processes form the ability to express themselves and lead from an early age,” said the director of the Paidópolis project, Professor Cesar Augusto Roa.
The project, which is funded by the Vice Rector’s Office for Research and Extension VIE of the UIS, was presented to the educational institutions that will be part of this process: Santa María Goretti, venues B and C; Aurelio Martínez Mutis, venue B; Santander, venues A, C and F; Salesiano, venue C; Escuela Normal Superior de Bucaramanga; Instituto del Oriente-Piedecuesta, venue El Polo; Técnico Dámaso Zapata, venue A; Virtualmente, Colpaz- Betulia, venues A and H; San Miguel el Tigre, Yondó-Antioquia.
“The children go to record the programs excited, because it is something they have never done before. They are also trained in citizenship skills with which they can identify,” said Maritza Flores, a teacher at the Instituto del Oriente, a rural institution in the municipality of Piedecuesta, Santander.
Undoubtedly, this new project will continue to train children and future professionals of the world as integral people, who know how to communicate what they know, feel and want. These spaces allow the UIS to continue leaving its great pedagogical legacy.