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Arcandina - Ecuador
Program
Program Purpose
To incorporate the love of nature and to care for the life of the planet, promoting environmental worth and early stages of concerned people.
You have the ability to save the earth.
Program Description
Since 1996 Arcandina has developed an innovative proposal of communication and education guide to awaken the imagination, create conscience and promote changes of behavior in young kids and adolescents to protect the environment through different audiovisuals and the internet.
The series of Arcandina videos: narrate the adventures of the Arca Andina crew, shaped by characters –puppets- that represent species on the verge of extinction, whose mission it is to save the earth. With messages of love and optimism kids enjoy those stories that teach them its possible to live without deceit, class hatred, corruption; situations have the objective to protect the nature of life.
Practical Eco Advice of Arcandina: 22 short ads with messages such as that kids are able to help to protect the environment and to better the quality of life promoting specific activities and behaviors to save water and energy, to eliminate contamination, to recycle, and to reforest.
Many of the video series, like Practical Eco Advice, the songs and puppets are applied in daycares and schools developing environmental education projects, community service, language, social studies, art and creativity.
Arcandina spreads its message through email with their bulletin, ARCAMAIL arrives monthly for kids, parents and teachers with notices, ecotips and advice on eco-methods to care for the environment in the home and community.
Most Unique Program Feature
"To communicate the worth and principles in order to enjoy a healthy pleasant lifestyle in harmony with nature through educational recreation, entertainment, and adventure, and community participation" is the Arcandina mission. Arcandina believes in children as agents of change for the conversion of the leaders and spokespeople of messages that promote valuable concerned people and environmentalists in the school, family, and community. Johns Hopkins University has formed evaluations to measure the impact of educational programs in schools, obtaining results better than 75%. That demonstrates the potential of the program to promote changes in behavior and attitude. The video Arcandina Series has been transmitted by many Ecuador TV channels, as well as in the U.S. and Central America, with an excellent audience. The creator of Arcandina, Maria Elena Ordonez, received the 2002 award for International Social Undertaking by the Schwab Foundation, and is a member of the Ashoka Fellows. In March 2002 the program won an award from the U.S. National Wildlife Federation as the Most Outstanding International Production for Children. In the U.S., 2002 Columbus Award. In 1999, the Green Planet Award, Ecuador. In the words of Maria Elena Ordonez, creator of Arcandina:
My dream is to see Arcandina navigating through the world with thousands of kids aboard. They will be playing, laughing, and singing, with the mission to be spokespeople of a new conscience to love nature and to care for life.
Edited by Michael Kalinowski
Translated by Talia Glesner