CyberDodo and Children’s Rights Edupack

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The global initiative "CyberDodo, the Defender of Life" has the honour of being supported since its inception by HRH Prince Albert of Monaco, whose commitment to saving the environment is known from the North Pole to the South Pole, not to mention the land in between.

But he also wanted students at schools in Monaco to benefit from courses on their rights which are recognised under the UN International Convention on this subject.

This programme took 3 years to be developed and was launched in 2007, with albums 1 and 2 released in the first year, 3, 4 and 5 in the second and 6 and 7 for the third. In 2010, a first generation of Monaco students completed the curriculum on the "Rights of the Child”.

The CyberDodo team and its prestigious partners are particularly proud that Monaco is the first country to have introduced the Edupack to their educational system in support of the indispensable knowledge of the CRC (Acronym of the Convention on the Rights of the Child).

See below the edition of the Monaco Edupack:

Album 7  of  The CyberDodo and Children’s Rights Edupack, accompanied by a message from HRH Prince Albert of Monaco

Because what better context for a child than school to be informed of his rights? As part of the mainstream programme, learning about the respect guaranteed by the Convention is also linked to another concept - “I have the right to be respected” goes with “I must respect others”.

By understanding little by little the extent and importance of the areas covered by the Convention, the child progressively grows within his family, his community, his country and the world in general and has a better chance of developing in harmony with others.

Because in an era of constant change, where issues are often more numerous than certainties, school is a great place to learn and share the universal values on which the human community will build its future.

All children everywhere have the same rights, all children of the world need to know them in order to ensure that they are respected.

Let us not forget the message of CyberDodo, a universal ambassador without any concepts of race, nationality, gender, religion, social status, etc... who has come back to warn us of the tragedy his family went through, so that it does not happen again to any living species, starting with young humans!

The CyberDodo team and its partners thank the Principality of Monaco for contributing actively to the development of Edupack; nothing replaces actual implementation with the interaction between children, teachers and parents, which has proved to be a great success.

See especially the Monaco government website which particularly states that: " This is a new and original programme, a new approach to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child ".

© CyberDodo Productions Ltd.

The game is used here as an educational tool which allows children to express themselves. They are asked what they think, what they observe or have observed and are asked to think up solutions. It will be up to them to perform tasks in a playful environment, without realising that in this way they are accumulating skills so as to be better informed, understand and learn.

(Remember, the first CyberDodo series focuses on the Environment, that is, the need to preserve nature and biodiversity, because future generations are entitled to and need a habitable planet. It consists of 11 albums). The second series dedicated to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child consists of 7 albums.

Each episode (each theme) offers a booklet of games, including issues of interest, short articles, creative parts, solutions to issues in the form of games, various colouring tasks, mazes, puzzles, codes to decipher, paths with arrows, maps and other activities to perform alone or in groups according to the desire and the structure in which the child is located. The educational materials that make up the Edupack helps stimulate children, create the desire to know and learn while having fun.

Based on a development launched in 1997, involving educators, psychologists, parents, children and professionals as well as authors (Under the leadership of Alice Martin * - see her CV at the bottom of the page - hundreds of people have contributed to the development of the Edupack), the Edupack integrates different types of intelligence and provides numerous entry points to learning so that children can find an aspect which resonates positively with their personalities.

Specifically:
1.reading
2.drawing
3.logic
4.calculation
5. creativity
6.projection
7.attention
8. understanding instructions

Thus, each child can freely learn about the subject without fear of judgement, with the concept that building self-esteem is enhanced when their personality is respected and their own capacity is stimulated.

Albums 4, 5 and 6 of The CyberDodo and Children’s Rights Edupack

At the beginning of each episode, there is a cartoon on the episode which enables access in written form to the CyberDodo programme for all children in schools or other structures who do not have access to a video system or the Internet.

Ultimately, the goal is awareness of the wider world, its diversity and the challenges it represents. A global community, where respect and understanding of others and the environment are crucial for understanding between peoples and preservation of the planet.

We have no fear of the things that we have learnt and we protect what we know is precious for our lives. The CyberDodo Edupack provides learning on Ecology and the Rights of the Child for the little people of today, who are the adults of tomorrow.

"Because freedom comes through knowledge"

To see the video on the launch of the CyberDodo initiative at the UN, click here
To view the message from HRH Prince Albert II of Monaco, click here
To see the message by Ms. Pilay Navy, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, click here

Alice Martin, psychologue clinicienne

 

* Alice Martin is a clinical psychologist, graduate and former assistant of the experimental psychology laboratory of the University of Geneva.

She completed her education with a Masters II in experimental psychology from the University of Nice and a multi-faculty specialisation in cognitive neurosciences.

 

© CyberDodo Production Ltd.

 

Background

The "International Convention on the Rights of the Child" needed to be re-written, because it has not always been easy for adults to do their duty towards children and protect them. CyberDodo has made a simple observation; there are many summits and conferences each year attended by committed and motivated people who write reports in order to propose practical improvements to the unacceptable situation of children worldwide.

Various organizations, associations and NGOs work in the field and each of them are involved within their areas of action in a particular aspect of children's rights; however, it seems that the main stakeholders, the children, do not have sufficient information resources and, more importantly, they do not have sufficient access to them.

In a bid to help children know their rights and in response to Article 42 of the Convention (see the episode on this subject), CyberDodo has decided to use several ways to inform children of their rights, using especially adapted media through reading and play.

By nature, children want to discover the universe, they have a tremendous need to open up and explore the outside world; we must nurture this need for knowledge. The 40 episodes of "CyberDodo and children's rights" were designed as stories, with each story ending well and not generating anxiety. Children discover the Convention and its articles through meetings and adventures that CyberDodo will live through, together with children from all around the world.

The goal is for children to explore their fundamental human rights through play, not only to be able to take full possession of them, but also to demand their application, as necessary.

Albums 1, 2 and 3 of the CyberDodo and Children’s Rights Edupack

CyberDodo is for everyone, parents, children, teachers, as well as abused children who have not been able to speak out, so that they know that what they are going through is not normal and that adults do not have all rights over them, contrary to what they are told or what they may believe.

Learning fun

It is on this basis that CyberDodo wanted to design a starter programme on Children's Rights, with regard to ecology, awakening the child’s awareness, his desire to play as well as his desire to learn and build his future by understanding and protecting the world in which he lives, respectively Rights he is granted internationally.

The CyberDodo multidisciplinary team has therefore developed games that entertain children while they educate them. The central figure is of course CyberDodo. He is straightforward, may ask any questions and do all kinds of silly things, according to this principle, children are allies; they see themselves in CyberDodo and share his adventures. He is a key figure who children can easily identify with and who causes a reaction.

A reaction of great importance, as it will enable adults in charge to verbally link together and thus start a dialogue on the topics covered in the 40 episodes of the series on the Rights of the Child (66 respectively for CyberDodo and the Environment).

The CyberDodo Edupack is based on this dialogue and the interaction that it creates. Adults and children become world players, they realise their importance and the primary aspect of their fundamental rights as well as the world around them.