IBBY-Yamada 2020: Costa Rica

IBBY Costa Rica: Promoting gender equality through books – Los libros violetas

The aim of this project is to promote gender equality in public schools through children’s literature. The project involves the selection of books to encourage discussion of gender topics in 30 public schools and workshops. A first step was the identification of stereotypes in existing curricula, followed by preparation of a guide of more suitable materials. The books were selected on the following criteria: break with gender roles and stereotypes, prevention of gender violence, equitable relationships, family diversity, identity and sexual orientation, prevention of homophobia and trans phobia, new masculinities, affective-sexual education and cultural diversity. The face-to-face workshops were re-scheduled to be held through Google Met and Google Classroom and the website was improved to include a link to an educational platform. A selection of books was mailed to each participant. Since the training was online, enrolment was extended from 30 to 60 teachers. The project reached 60 public schools, representing 27,000 students.
Full project report here.