We Exist Project

‘WE EXIST... We have a voice’ A model initiative for community development centered on youth as agents of change is being developed by the CIDH, beginning on Rincón Grande, in Pavas, one of the largest poor communities in the San José metropolitan area.

CIDH seeks to support the strengthening of policies and social actions that to accompany the social and economic development of Costa Rica in order to ensure that institutional resources reach poor communities as well as high-risk and socially-excluded sectors. At the same time, CIDH encourages these communities to become participants, actors, and proponents of the process of seeking sustainable opportunities for greater equality.

The State should watch over a society of solidarity and work daily towards its commitment to combat poverty and exclusion. Organized communities, by demanding the exercise of their multiple rights, are one of the best ways to guarantee the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of state institutions, assuring the conditions required to serve those who most need them.

WE EXIST... seeks to contribute to the process of dialogue between State and society – in particular among the social sector, public and private institutions, companies, and poor communities – initiating joint actions and lasting agreements of co-responsibility.

WE EXIST... will act as a facilitator of active social dialogue, organizer of political will and coordinator of the efforts of diverse entities with the community. Also, it will serve as  a negotiator to attract other initiatives and programs to construct a model, not just of attention but of mobilization, participation, management, and creative and sustainable solutions which will impact institutional and community patterns and cultures.

WE EXIST... will encourage responsibility and corporate social investment as well as cooperation among other organizations to expand the sphere of the process to include other key actors.

WE EXIST... will work with adolescents and young people, so that these new generations can more easily have an impact, encouraging a culture of peace and social dialogue that is also expressed in the opening of opportunities for individuals, families, and communities. WE EXIST… seeks to amplify the voice of young people and facilitate its reception in society.

WE EXIST... will facilitate instruments for alternative and creative problem-solving and will create bridges to consolidate a culture of tolerance and respect for diversity, particularly among the local Costa Rican and Nicaraguan populations. CIDH will incorporate in this initiative its focus on human rights and gender-sensitivity.

For more information and to support the initiative please contact CIDH at:
martatrejos@cidh.ac.cr / phone: 2233- 2062