From the last week of June, CIESPI staff will be in Fortaleza, Ceara, to join Latin American colleagues from the International Network for the Defense of Children and Adolescents in the Situation of the Streets (RIDACC), to improve strategies for helping street children. The meeting is hosted by the Brazilian street children NGO, OPN - the Little Nazarene (O Pequeno Nazareno), a long time CIESPI colleague organization working on street children in Fortaleza and in partnership with a large number of organizations throughout Brazil.

This event is an initiative of the Latin American network and aims to strengthen international cooperation to assist street children by providing an opportunity for network members to share experiences and strategies. The theme of the encounter is ‘Constructing a world for all children’. Specifically, the encounter will provide the opportunity for revising political priorities and placing street children into the agendas of governments and civil society in Latin America. The eight member countries of the network will be present along with representatives of the principle international organizations on human rights. CIESPI staff will also be engaged as instructors in a training program on street children with colleagues from 17 cities as part of a research project being conducted in partnership between OPN and CIESPI/PUC-Rio.