Right to the Sky, an initiative carried out by students, graduates, and faculty from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), addresses the systemic denial of educational, scientific, and cultural rights for children and adolescents in punitive confinement at Complejo Esperanza (CE), a socio-educational center where people under 18 are deprived of their freedom of movement, managed by the Secretaría de Niñez, Adolescencia y Familia (SeNAF) of the Province of Córdoba, Argentina. These youth face institutional stigmatization, social exclusion, and the neglect of their fundamental rights.
Our project employs an interdisciplinary, rights-based approach, using astronomy as a tool for empowerment. Through participatory workshops inside the facility and visits to scientific institutions, Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba (OAC) and Estación Astrofísica de Bosque Alegre (EABA), we foster critical thinking, creativity, and civic engagement. Activities blend collaborative learning (games, discussions, sky observations) with public advocacy to challenge punitive narratives and promote alternative perspectives on justice.
Key activities include:
– Capacity-building: Training for our team in astronomy, workshop design, and human rights, in collaboration with allied organizations working on incarceration and youth rights.
– Workshops: Interactive sessions merging astronomy with rights education, prioritizing the voices and experiences of incarcerated youth.
– Scientific excursions: Structured visits to observatories, ensuring access to cultural and scientific spaces often denied to marginalized groups.
– Awareness campaigns: Public events (e.g., Museum Night), media collaborations, and a 10th-anniversary commemoration to amplify the perspectives of those directly affected by punitive systems. By bridging academia and marginalized communities, Right to the Sky reclaims the sky as a shared cultural heritage, a symbol of freedom and possibility, while advocating for systemic change in juvenile justice.
