We train the citizens of the future

In 2018 Colombia is living an electoral year in which information is fundamental. A citizen with context can make decisions, deliver a vote consciously, with the peace of mind of knowing that he did it with criteria. For Julián Bustamante, President of the Student Council of the Colegio Alemán Medellín (Cecam), the creation of spaces for teaching and political participation within the school is fundamental, since "they constitute a first glimpse of the scenario that we will have to face in the future. In this sense, the Colegio Alemán Medellín offers different instances in which students carry out democratic exercises.

Rolando Restrepo, Head of the Social Sciences Department, explains that within the Institution, political education is encouraged through the scenarios established in the curricula and through participation mechanisms such as the Student Body, Cecam, the Model United Nations and the Mediators Program, among others. "School government is a small version of a country's government," adds Javier Arango, the confided teacher at Cecam.

The political education in our school is aimed at teaching that "despite a feeling, the most important thing is to be informed, to know the proposals of the different candidates and to understand the consequences", as Rolando assures. Thus, we work on the importance of the vote in a democracy and create the basis, so that children and young people understand why it is important to choose a representative. The training of leaders is also highlighted, as Pablo Andrés Senior, Student Representative, says that "there is a strong work in leadership issues, which includes making us see that we must be open to the points of view of others".

The “Personero”, in all educational establishments, is a student in the last grade. He or she is elected by vote and is responsible for promoting the exercise of the duties and rights of students, as established in the Political Constitution, the laws, the regulations, and the rules in the Handbook of Coexistence.

Mediation is the process of communication between conflicting peers. At the Colegio Alemán Medellín, this program works in such a way that, with the help of an impartial and neutral student mediator, the children, or youths reach, by themselves, an agreement to improve their relationship.

To promote and guarantee the continuous exercise of participation and representation by the students, is the purpose of this establishment. Its members elect a president and a secretary, as well as the student representative to the School Board. The president of Cecam is the spokesperson of the same before the other bodies of the school government.

The Model United Nations seeks to train students, who participate voluntarily, in the handling of different terminologies, procedures and conflict resolution, through dialogue and diplomatic discussion. The MUN is an educational and cultural event that, in addition to promoting the growth and academic training of students, facilitates the development of skills such as public speaking, rhetoric and negotiation.