Ojalá Chatsession at Smart Party in Amsterdam

On December 10th 2003 a chat session took place between Dutch and Bolivian students during the Smart Party event in Amsterdam, organized by foundation Ojalá. This event was organized for Dutch students to create awareness of the situation in Latin America on the international day of Human Rights. Besides the live chat, visitors could enjoy a theatre play with both Latin American and Dutch students and a fashion show with Colombian music. Sustainable development was the major topic of the live chat and many interesting discussions took place.

Bolivian students are active participants in the Global Teenager Project of IICD. In the Global Teenager Project, students from all over the world exchange ideas and knowledge through email and the Internet. In Bolivia the partner organisation in the Global Teenager Project is Ayni Bolivia-Nederland Foundation. The representative in Bolivia, Ena Langendijk, together with the Bolivian Global Teenager coordinator, Keiko Ignacio Campero, invited six students from two schools, San José and Marcos Beltran Avila to participate. The students came together one hour before the start of the chat to prepare themselves and discuss the topic of sustainable development. On the basis of topics posted by Dutch students, they discussed the situation in Bolivia in the economical and educational sector and came up with a list of biggest problems and possible solutions.

After some technical hick-ups on the Dutch side, the chat started. In the Netherlands, the students present at the event took turns to let as many visitors get the chance to speak to their peers in Bolivia. The chat took place in the Dutch language with two translators present in Bolivia and a live video was visible of the Bolivian students through a web cam. At first, the students discussed the theme of the evening, but soon other subjects came up and the students chatted away about subjects like music, clothing, food and the living conditions and family situations. The more serious discussions touched on subjects like politics (the removal of the Bolivian president), the export of products and health issues (anorexia with girls). On both sides the students became wiser and had lots of fun at the same time!

After the two-hour chat, the Bolivian students were a bit tired, but very satisfied. They were given a little present for their efforts, magazines regarding the use of computers. In Amsterdam, many students expressed their happiness to be directly in touch with their peers. They indicated this is a very good way to exchange ideas and create awareness of the situation in a country in Latin America.

Read more (in Dutch) about the announcement for the Smart Party.