Jalisco, Chiapas, State of Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Mexico Without Child Labor
Exploitation and child labor represent a significant problem in Mexico and in many parts of Latin America even though the prevalence of child labor has been falling in recent years. Its practice continues to harm the physical and mental development of children and adolescents and interferes with their education. In Latin American countries 1 in 10 children between the ages of 5-14 work, while in Mexico, it is estimated that between 8 and 11 million children under the age of 15 work.
Child labor reinforces intergenerational cycles of poverty, undermines national economies and impedes achieving progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. It is not only a cause, but also a consequence of social inequities reinforced by discrimination.
President Enrique Peña Nieto made this issue a top priority in his Administration’s NationalDevelopment Plan 2013 - 2018. As a result, Mexico’s Secretariat of Labor and Social Inclusion (STPS) chose PADF as a partner given the Foundation’s experience spearheading campaigns in Mexico, working in the hemisphere on sensitive issues such as child labor, human trafficking, and discrimination, and managing multi-sectorial programs as well as cultivating institutional relations with actors from government, private sector, and civil society.
On October 24, 2013, STPS and PADF signed an agreement for cooperation and technical assistance. This led to the creation of México Sin Trabajo Infantil (Mexico Without Child Labor), an innovative communication campaign aimed at eradicating child labor in Mexico by sensitizing the public about the issue, engaging them to find solutions to the problem, and encouraging them to take concrete actions through timely and effective actions.
The campaign received financial backing and support from both public and private partners, including: STPS; Telefónica Foundation México; International Labour Organization (ILO), Mexico and Cuba office; Viacom International; Cinépolis Foundation; Altos Hornos de México; Boeing, and the Colectivo Contra la TDP, an anti-human trafficking umbrella organization from Mexico.
The project received financial investments from the Secretariat of Labor and Social Inclusion, Fundación Telefónica, the International Labour Organization, Mexico and Cuba office, Altos Hornos de México, and the Boeing Company.
PADF started with a strategic approach that aimed to take the campaign to a trans-media, live concept by presenting the child labor issue from a “perception vs. reality” concept, tackling myths and erroneous perceptions Mexicans have towards theissue. With support from MTV, the campaign was able to use creative approaches to present these concepts to teens and young adults in Mexico, by exposing the issue and engaging them to become “Agents of Change”.
The México Sin Trabajo Infantil campaign launched in August 2014 at the MTV MillennialAwards in Mexico City, which consisted of a live audience and media activation of 300 young adults, and was later broadcast in 7.5 million households in Mexico.
In September 2014, the campaign traveled to five Mexican states with the support of Cinépolis Foundation, Teléfonica Foundation Mexico, and the Colectivo Contra la TDP reaching more than 7,000 people. This phase of the project became known as the Ruta Contra el Trabajo Infantil, or Roadshow Against Child Labor, and effectively brought the campaign to communities with high levels of children engaged or at risk of becoming victims of child labor.
Guadalajara (Jalisco), San Cristóbal de las Casas and Tuxtla Gutiérrez (Chiapas), Ixtapaluca and Chimalhuacán (State of Mexico), and San Luis Potosí (San Luis Potosí)