CLC-Conference-Proceeding-2018

Betting on the future. Some experiences of community work with
children from the University of Havana, Cuba
Janet Rojas Martinez i
The training and protection of children
and adolescents in Cuba is a priority task and
part of State policy since the revolutionary
triumph in 1959. The University of Havana
(UH), an outstanding entity of cuban higher
education, promotes aligned research with
development priorities and the needs of the
country, based on the dynamic communityuniversitysociety
interaction. In this sense, the
theme of childhood and adolescence is a
transversal axis in all the substantive processes
of the university, say training, research and
extension work.
The Latin American Faculty of Social
Sciences (FLACSO) Cuba Program is one of the
UH centers, which has a greater number of
research related to children and adolescents,
developed in the communities, with a
participatory and interinstitutional approach.
This paper intends to systematize the actions
developed by the UH in the field of childhood
and adolescence, and especially the role of
FLACSO-Cuba, through concrete experiences
with children in communities of different social
contexts.
The revolutionary triumph that took place
in Cuba in 1959 was characterized by broad
popular participation and notable structural,
educational, health, political and economic
changes (Bell, 2004). The declaration of a
government of socialist character, inclusive, with
all and for the good of all, modified the functions
of most institutions, for the welfare of the
people. Since the beginning of the process, the
training and protection of the new generations
has been a priority task, and is an integral part of
State policy (Code of Children and Youth, 1978).
Thus, in 1978, the Code on Children and Youth
was approved in Cuba as a way to implement the
Convention on the Rights of the Child in
domestic legislation. This Code regulates the
participation of children and young people in the
construction of the new society, and establishes
the obligations of the individuals, agencies, and
institutions that intervene in their education.
(Code of Children and Youth, 1978)
In the decade of the 90's of last century
took place in Cuba a deep economic crisis
known as Special Period. Despite the difficult
situation in the country, it was one of the first to
ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) in 1991. Although the Cuban government
had demonstrated decades of strong political will
to guarantee the development and well-being of
their infants, especially in educational coverage
and attention to maternal and child health; the
signing of the CRC makes the child a subject of
law, deserving special treatment other than the
other age groups (United Nations, 1989). At
present, Cuba is a signatory of international
conventions and instruments that serve as a
framework for commitments and goals for
comprehensive protection of children and
adolescents.
These include those emanating from the
Millennium Declaration and the Plan of Action
for a World Fit for Children, the objectives of the
United Nations General Assembly Special
Session on HIV / AIDS, the World Declaration
on Education for All and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs); with a
commitment to monitor progress towards the