Read a write-up of the conference here.
Summary: This two-day workshop organised jointly by LSE and ISA (teh Institute for the Study of the Americas) will explore the changing nature and responses to youth violence in Latin America. Panels include NGO representatives and academics. The event is free. LSE CSRC-ISA International Workshop Youth Violence in Latin America: Gangs, Street Children, and Juvenile Justice in Perspective Thursday 26 & Friday 27 May 2005 Old Theatre, London School of Economics (Thursday), and Chancellor’s Hall, Senate House, University of London (Friday) Conveners: Gareth A. Jones (Geography, LSE) & Dennis Rodgers (CSRC, LSE) No Registration is required to attend the Workshop which is free. Programme THURSDAY, 26 May: The Old Lecture Theatre, London School of Economics 13:30-14:15 - Welcome (James Dunkerley, ISA, Jo Beall, LSE) & Introduction to the workshop (Dennis Rodgers, Gareth Jones, LSE) 14:15-15:30 - Wagner’s Testimony: A survivor of the Candelária massacre speaks out On 23 July 1993 a gang of hooded men opened fire on a group of over 50 street children who were sleeping rough near the Candelária Church in the centre of Rio de Janeiro city. Seven children and one young adult were killed. Although several eye-witnesses came forward after the massacre, by the time the first Candelária case came to court only one was still prepared to testify: Wagner dos Santos, who was 22 years old at the time of the massacre, during which he was taken off in a car, shot, and left for dead. He suffered a further attempt on his life in December 1994, when he was shot by police four times, and again left for dead, in an attempt to prevent him from testifying. Without Wagner's testimony it would have been very difficult to get prosecutions for some of those who carried out the massacre. After pressure from NGOs, the Federal government of Brazil took responsibility for moving Wagner to another country for his own safety. He still lives in the European country where he was taken. As a result of the two attempts on his life, Wagner suffered severe injuries, which persist to this day. In 2004 the Brazilian Federal and Rio State government flew Wagner to Rio for operations to rectify some of the damage caused to his face. He has not received full and final compensation for his injuries. 15:45-17:15 - Panel: Policy Interventions and Activities Presenters: Damian Platt (Amnesty International, London, UK), Silvia Reyes (Juconi, Guayaquil, Ecuador), Lainie Reisman (Inter-American Coalition for the Prevention of Violence, PAHO, USA), Marie Wernham (Consortium for Street Children, London, UK) Break 18:00-19:30 - Keynote Speech (Alistair Berkley Memorial Lecture) “Youth Violence and Social Justice in Latin America”, Speaker: Paulo Sergio Pinheiro (UN independent expert on Children and Violence) Dr Pinheiro is UN independent expert on violence against children and a distinguished academic. He was formerly Brazilian secretary of state for human rights (with minister status) and is UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 19:45-21:00 - Drinks Reception, The Atrium (Old Building) (By Invitation) Opening of Donna De Cesare photographic exhibition “Hijos del Destino: Images of Youth and Violence in Latin America” by LSE Deputy Director Henrietta Moore Donna DeCesare is Assistant Professor of journalism at University of Texas, a fellow of the Dart Society for Journalism and Trauma and an Advisory Board member of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. Donna’s work has been published by The New York Times magazine, Life, Newsweek, The Atlantic, DoubleTake, Mother Jones and documentary work has been broadcast on PBS and The Learning Channel. Her work on the documentary Killer Virus won a 1996 Emmy Award for Best Coverage of a Continuing News Story. The reception is by invitation but the exhibition will run until approximately July 19th. FRIDAY, 27 May: Chancellor’s Hall, Senate House, University of London 09:30-11:00 - Panel 1: Researching Youth Violence Dominique Behague (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), 'Violence among youth in Brazilian shantytowns: popular movements, democracy and pathologisation' Mo Hume (University of Liverpool), 'Researching Violence in El Salvador' Ailsa Winton (Queen Mary, University of London) 'Using ‘participatory’ methods in youth research: reflections from Guatemala' Chair: Cathy McIlwaine (Queen Mary, University of London) 11:00-11:30 - Coffee 11:30-13:00 - Panel 2: Youth Gangs Donna De Cesare (University of Texas, Austin), To Follow Paula Miraglia (Universidade de São Paulo), 'Between me and you and among us – homicides, gangs and individuals in the periphery of São Paulo' Cordula Strocka (University of Oxford), 'Victims or Villains? Youth Gangs in the aftermath of War and Displacement: the case of Ayacucho, Peru' Chair: Dennis Rodgers (LSE) 13:00-14:00 - Lunch 14:00-15:30 - Panel 3: Street Children Dwight Ordoñez (AYNI, Lima), Lima’s street children: Family rejection, drug abuse and collective violence. Irene Rizzini and Udi Butler (CIESPI, Rio de Janeiro, and Goldsmith’s College, London), 'Reflections on the Processes of Marginalization: The Case of Children and Adolescents Living on the Streets of Brazil and Mexico' Caitlin Scott (Save the Children-UK, London), 'The Attractions of Danger and Poverty: Risk, Violence and Gender in Colombia' Chair: Gareth Jones (LSE) 15:30-16:00 - Tea 16:00-17:30 - Panel 4: Juvenile Justice Luke Dowdney (Viva Rio); To Follow Gabriel Kessler (Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento, Buenos Aires), 'Crime, Work and Juvenile Justice in Buenos Aires' Jose Luis Rocha (UCA, Managua), 'Génesis y conflictividad del marco legal e institucional para enfrentar la violencia juvenil en Nicaragua' Chair: Jenny Kuper (CSP, LSE) 17:30-18:00 - Concluding Discussion: Thinking Holistically about Youth Violence (Chairs: Dennis Rodgers, Gareth Jones) Further Information Details of the Presenters and Paper Abstracts: http://www.crisisstates.com/News/YouthViolence/street_children.htm LSE Press Officer: Judith Higgin, [email protected] or Tel 020 7955 7582 Enquiries about Attending the Workshop should be addressed to Ida Tammaro ([email protected] 020 7955 6089) or Olga Jimenez ([email protected], 020 7862 8871)