Winner 2020 La Muralla ¡soy yo!

“La Muralla“, the colonial protective wall of Cartagena, encloses the old city centre of the Caribbean metropolis in the North of Colombia. Cartagena is the most important tourism hotspot in the country. However, the NGO »Fundacion Renacer/ECPAT Colombia« raised an alarm at the end of the 1990s, when a study brought to light that many visitors were seeking sex with children.
Today, “La Muralla“ is the symbol of a unique strategy by all the players in the city – civil society, tourism associations, hotels, beach vendors, taxi drivers, parasol rentals, youth organisations, schools, police and the office of the public prosecutor – seeking to protect the children in the city. They all proudly say: “¡La Muralla soy yo!“ – “I am the wall!“
The foundation »Renacer« raises awareness for the issue among those at the forefront: taxi drivers, street vendors, masseurs, and the staff of parasol rentals. They are trained in sales and negotiation techniques, get legal advice and are offered language courses. In all these subjects the protection of children is included in the curricula. Hotel managers and staff also get training. All over the city Renacer trained social workers and school teachers and also reached hundreds of young people directly. In the first half of 2018 alone, as many as 80 persons were arrested in the context of sexual exploitation of minors and many of them are now put to trial.

Here you can find the video
TO DO Award Ceremony at ITB Berlin 2021