Information Accessibility Communication Education IT SD Environment Society Economy Based on the use of information technology and communication EcoPibes is an educational project For sustainable development (environmental, social, and economic), For Spanish-speaking children and adolescents Let's get to work!!!!! Juliana, 9 years old, Argentina.

The objective of the project is it to enrich the education of children and adolescents so they can: Be familiar with local, regional, and global environmental problems, Take part in community development, Assume leadership and construct their own future, Respect diversity in all ways possible, Be honest, creative, open-minded, critical, peaceful and solidary, and Commit to improving everybodys quality of life I like the site a lot. It´s my first time visiting but it´s pretty complete and comprehensible for any age group, which is superimportant because our environmental education has to start when we are young. Nathacha, 9 years old, Venezuela.

A small but ambitious project was started in Argentina in 1999, aspiring to pool together the knowledge, experiences, and commitment necessary to help fill the world's growing need for actions to be taken towards sustainable development. Supported by the strong conviction that children and adolescents have a very important role to play in this task, convinced that education is the basis of human well-being and environmental protection, and confident that new information technology and communication could improve the processes of teaching and learning, we started our project: EcoPibes. Every single one of us has to do his part so that everything may change Agustina, 11 years old, Argentina.

...is a website for Spanish-speaking children, adolescents, and teachers, focusing on sustainable development (social, environmental, and economic), with more than 500 pages including multimedia resources;...is a democratic forum that encourages participation, thereby promoting responsible citizenship and leadership based on values;...is a network for intercultural and intergenerational exchange of information and experiences;...is a channel through which we promote organizations and social projects showing the role civil society plays in development;...is an open space for the discussion of policies and strategies concerning education, childhood, youth, and sustainable development;...is a specific example of IT usage for educational purposes.

More than 20,000 children, adolescents, and teachers from 26 countries use EcoPibes each month.

We can see the project's truly significant impact by looking at its indirect users: Your page explained to my students that, without their collaboration, it will be dificult to repair what previous generations have left us with, and that their help is valuable. Thank you." Elizabeth, 24 years old, Mexico. I believe that you guys are right. I will do what you say and encourage my friends to do the same. Laura, 11 years old, Spain. ECOPIBES Child to child Adolescent to adolescent Teacher to child or adolescent

And yet, we are still expanding... In June 2004, our site had 20,991 different visitors, Who viewed a total of 128,579 pages (637 ones of which are different). 598 of them recommended the site to their friends, and 910 added EcoPibes to their Favorites.

How do all these children, adolescents, and teachers get here? 2.5% of our users come from other websites, such as: 32.5% enter directly or through their Favorites. 65% find us through search engines.

We have attained a significant presence in the region's as well as some of the world's most important search engines. Que es el medio ambiente (What is the environment?) - Nº 2 of 2,460,000 sites Que es la ecología (What is ecology?) - Nº 3 of 1,080,000 Desarrollo sustentable (Sustainble development) - Nº 8 of 287,000 Cuidar el medio ambiente (Protecting the environment) - Nº 3 of 98,700 For example:

Designing a website for children requires giving special attention to language, navigability, and the structuring of the information. A simple and logical organization of the contents Main menu and standard icons on every page A complete tutorial for children Internal and external search engine Site map Environmental glossary integrated in the texts Graphic support available ¿? EcoPibes ¡! I believe that this site is very well done, because if you want to know something, they explain it to you in an entertaining way, and you become conscious of what is happening to your surroundings, especially to your world." Yadira, 15 years old, Mexico.

Taking a look at space (galaxies, stars, our solar system, etc.) in order to understand terrestrial dynamics. The earth's beginning, transformations, movements, components, climates, biomass, and life cycles. Including Antarctica section and Earth from space. Location, main environmental problems, and basic data about the region's countries. What the environment is and why we should protect it. What is ecology, including basic ecological concepts (species, populations, communities and ecosystems, trophic levels, etc.) Our message in different languages.

Climate change, thinning of the ozone layer, loss of biodiversity, pollution, waste disposal, etc. Explained using the following structure: Connections between the environment and health, the importance of prevention, children aren't little adults, how to construct a healthy environment for children, etc. What is it? What's the problem? What are its causes? What are the consequences? What can you do? Your opinion and recommendations How does this relate to other problems?

Eco-resolutions, checklist, ten environmental commandments, superheroes, expresARTE, the EcoPibes Council, and more. Environmental education, objectives, origin and evolution of the concept, systems thinking, growth vs. development, etc. Resources and suggestions. Classroom interactions. Educational environmental games: crosswords, anagrams, letter soups, labyrinth, images and recordings, graph-construction, eco-test, books. Sustainable development, history of the environmental movement (Silent Spring, Love Canal, Bhopal, Our Common Future, Río ´92, etc.), children's rights, pictures and recordings of wildlife, Secrets of the Ocean

EcoPibes is a project of the Asociación Civil Red Ambiental, which is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Nevertheless, we believe that any initiative for sustainable development should be based on the articulation of diverse viewpoints, experiences and abilities. Hence our geographic range of participation : Sounds Content Support Content Photos Images Support Photos Content Support Content

Using information technology when working with children comes with major responsibilities, legal ones as well as others. For the special care with which we treat minors, we have been awarded the following labels: Remember to start with yourself, and then you can change everything you want." Leticia, 10 years old, Mexico.

If our project interests you, you can help us in several ways: If you're a child or adolescent, help us by living a green lifestyle in order to save the environment and make this world a better place. Visit our website! Write us! If you're a professional in environmental sciences, help us enrich the contents of the website by contributing your experiences and knowledge. If you're an educator, get into contact with us. We would be happy to help you bring environmental protection into your classroom. If you're an individual, you can help us economically. We dont need big donations in order to take on big projects. Little donations by numerous people have made EcoPibes what it is today. USD 50 per year is a little bit more than USD 4 per month. For millions of people, that is a fortune - if for you, that's not the case and you want to help us, you can write us an

Asociación Civil Red Ambiental (Resolución IGJ Nº 442) Camacuá 744 (C1406DOP) Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. We can show the adults that even though we re small, we still have the desire to live in a cleaner place, and that we have to teach the children that are yet to be born that we have to preserve and take care of the environment. Alejandro, 7 years old, Puerto Rico.