Aprender fabricando juguetes. Recorrido hacia una experiencia de educar para la paz fuera de la escuela en Argentina

Abstract

The pacifist tradition of international progressive Judaism, which took form in Paris in 1937 and in Argentina from 1941 onwards, remains one of the movement’s most characteristic features. Through the succession of regimes in Argentina’s recent history, the progressive Jewish institutions in the country continued to conduct their recreational activities for children and young people in the same spirit of solidarity and internationalism as always, based on their understanding of the social importance of childhood and of our relationships with other people and with the world around us. In 1975, the second Peronist regime was ousted from government by a paramilitary coup and Operation Condor was expanded. Nearby Chile and Uruguay were being ruled by dictatorship. Their geographical proximity and the time lag between coups in the different countries made Argentina a temporary refuge for exiles and a space for actions of resistance and solidarity. It was in this climate that boys and girls aged between 10 and 12 met for two days to make toys for children whose mothers were in prison or in hiding. They also created themed murals and sculptures, and workshopped democratic self-management ideas and techniques for a peaceful society as a way of reflecting on and participating in the events taking place around them.