Education, Conservation & Entertainment

For the last few decades, we have witnessed a worrying decline in bird populations in rural areas, especially on farms, despite their relevance. The indiscriminate use of pesticides, the elimination of boundaries and banks, and other changes in the agricultural landscape have contributed to this phenomenon.

Expoaves 2024’s key objective is to raise awareness among the Costa Rican public about the diversity of birds and their importance for agriculture and the environment. The exhibition highlights ornamental breeds, rare but fascinating, which are distinguished by their potential as pets and their role in ornamental agriculture. They are also a healthy alternative to digital entertainment, promoting an enriching and educational hobby.

As a result, exhibitors are increasingly aware that the foundations of a society committed to conservation are based on the education of future generations, which is considered fundamental to achieve a change in mentality. The predominant way of reaching young people is through recreational activities and their parents, who are trained to acquire greater knowledge about the various bird species and, especially, about the benefits that these winged creatures offer in terms of crop protection.

Talks and conferences address topics such as nutrition, health, good agricultural practices and poultry genetics, aimed at both farmers and amateurs. Emphasis is placed on the need to adopt sustainable agricultural practices, based on the use of biological and natural methods, soil and water protection, and biodiversity conservation.

Expoaves 2024 Inspires a New Generation of Bird Lovers

Besides the poultry exhibition and conferences, Expoaves 2024 offers a space for entrepreneurs and sellers of poultry equipment, incubators and other related utensils. Careful transportation and veterinary care is guaranteed to ensure the welfare of the animals at all times.

Sensorial Sunsets in collaboration with Ronald Barquero.

What is the Francophonie?

First of all, francophony was born as a way to put French at the service of solidarity, development and the rapprochement of peoples.

Based on data from the Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangères (Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs):

Around 48% of French speakers are located on the African continent. French is the second most studied language in the world and is becoming increasingly popular in Latin America.

In other words, the main objective of this Francophonie Week is to celebrate the diversity and richness of a language that does not only belong to France. In fact, the defenders of French invoke the so-called Toubon law of 1994, which obliges the use of the French language and at least two foreign languages, in order not to give full priority to English.

French as a Romance language

Although it is a Romance language, it is influenced by other languages. Modern French was born in northern France, when a group of Germans, the speakers of the Alemannic language, the sister language of the ancestors of today’s Dutch. Here, they found the Gallic Romance, which was Vulgar Latin with certain influences from the Celtic languages. From the Germanic languages it took the tendency to round vowels and various sounds, from Celtic the tendency to nasalize and partly the base 20 in the numeration.

On the other hand, Vulgar Latin contributed the basic grammar, following Germanic principles.  

A similar phenomenon made English phonetics so rare compared to its relatives on the continent. To a base of highly Celtic vulgar Latin was added the Anglo-Saxon, then the Scandinavian of the Vikings, and then the French of the Normans, resulting in a linguistic disaster.

In the linguistic sense, Francophony is the quality of one who communicates in French. This includes neologisms invented according to regions and words merged with other languages.

In fact, Francophony is the result of the French colonial adventure from the 17th century onwards.

Why speak French?

In North America, it is a matter of asserting cultural identity.

Similarly, in sub-Saharan Africa, French provides access to basic education. Here, French is also the language of development, of modernity.

Here, French is also the language of development, of modernity. In Central and Eastern Europe, knowledge of French is linked to belonging to a united Europe: its three capitals, Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg.

It is also one of the two working languages of the United Nations, one of the two official languages of the International Olympic Committee, the only universal language of the postal services and the main language of the African Union.

Sensorial Sunsets

Animal trafficking is a growing problem in many countries, and the most trafficked species are used for a variety of purposes. End uses of these species can range from the manufacture of collectibles to the illegal sale of exotic animals as pets.

Illegal trafficking

Animal trafficking is a global problem with serious consequences for both animals and humans. It is estimated that more than 7,000 species of animals are trafficked into the country each year, making it one of the most trafficked animal species in the world.

The most common form of animal trafficking is through illegal trade networks, where traffickers generate by-products from them or create collections of the different specimens. This has led to numerous abuses and mistreatment of these creatures, as well as the destruction of their habitats. As a result, it has become increasingly important to understand what animal trafficking looks like and how we can prevent it from happening in our country.

A problem in the country

In Costa Rica, animal trafficking has become an increasingly serious problem. From feral cats to exotic parrots, these animals are often kept as pets in homes throughout the country. Costa Rica, however, is known for its rich biodiversity and is home to many endangered species. Unfortunately, the most trafficked animal species in the country are endangered due to poaching and illegal trafficking. This has caused a lot of damage to the environment and has also posed a threat to the survival of these animals.

However, the government has taken several steps to address this problem. They have implemented stricter laws regarding animal poaching, established specialized police units dedicated to stopping animal trafficking, and launched campaigns to raise awareness of the issue. In addition, they have created programs that encourage people to help protect endangered species by providing financial rewards for their efforts.

These solutions are helping to reduce the number of trafficked animals in Costa Rica, but more needs to be done if we are to ensure their long-term survival. It is important that citizens of Costa Rica and other countries around the world develop a social conscience when it comes to protecting endangered species from illegal traffickers and poachers.

Endangered wild animals

Wild animals are often illegally trafficked as pets. Wild animals used as pets are seized, especially birds such as parakeets, parrots, macaws, setillards, eagles, and goldfinches. These wild animals are often confiscated when they are found in homes or pet stores. Illegal wildlife trafficking is a serious problem and can have devastating effects on both animal welfare and conservation efforts.

According to statistics, the most trafficked animals in Costa Rica are parrots, macaws, parakeets, jaguars and ocelots, tarantulas, butterflies, reptiles and amphibians.

The trade in wild animals for pets has led to a decrease in their natural habitats due to deforestation, hunting and habitat destruction. In addition, it also increases the risk of disease transmission from wild to domestic species. It is important to take action to stop this illegal trade by raising awareness of its consequences and taking legal action against those involved in it.

For example, glass frogs are among the most trafficked animal species in the country. These amphibians are highly sought after by international traders, making them vulnerable to exploitation and illegal trade. Glass frogs have very fragile skin that is easily damaged, making them particularly susceptible to this type of trafficking.

Lack of protection from international trade has led to increased poaching and smuggling of glass frogs across borders.

Some of the species normally found in captivity are parrots, macaws, parakeets, toucans, monkeys, raccoons and boas.

That is, the demand for certain animal species in the country is driven by people’s desire to be in a particular social status. As a result, certain animal species are heavily trafficked and people pay high prices for them. These trafficked animals are often taken from their natural habitat and sold illegally on the black market. This has caused many species to become endangered or even extinct due to overhunting and exploitation.

Zelda Walters for Sensorial Sunsets

Generalized Demotivation towards Reading and Writing

In the last PISA test report (tests conducted by the OECD as an educational benchmark among participating countries), Costa Rica is the country in the region with the lowest long-term performance in the area of reading. The latest reading survey conducted in Costa Rica (2011) shows that the national average of books read during 2011 was 1.7, per person.

The State of Education 2021 shows alarming data. Only 16 percent of Costa Rican schools have a library. The vast majority are concentrated in the Greater Metropolitan Area. In other words, there is truly insufficient coverage and a significant percentage of children who do not have access to a library in their schools, let alone access to children’s books at home. The approach to reading becomes then something merely academic and even a real luxury for Costa Rican children.

Alberto Barrantes, journalist, young leader and reading lover, affirms that “this undoubtedly has an impact on reading and writing skills, as the State of Education also points it out. In fact, to date, more than half of the schoolchildren pass from primary school to secondary school with very low levels of reading, reading comprehension and mathematical reasoning. Everything is interrelated and this tells us that there is an urgent need for a change of direction in what is being done, what is being taught, how it is being taught and what it is being taught for.”

What is being done to Solve the Lack of Access to Reading in Costa Rica?

In spite of these deficiencies, there are different efforts made in the country. During the administration of Carlos Alvarado, law number 10025 for the Promotion of Reading, Books and Libraries was signed, which seeks to promote the habit of reading.

On the other hand, in 2013, the Ministry of Public Education created its Reading Promotion Policy. This document contains a series of guidelines on how educational institutions can foster reading habits among students. However, the policy lacks specificity, goals and dates for implementation.

In the same vein, the National Library System (SINABI) established its Action Plan for the Promotion of Reading in Costa Rica’s Public Libraries. This is subject to the Ministry of Culture. Despite its success, it is limited to the scope of action of this institution.

La Carretica Cuentera

Other projects formed by public-private partnerships are also trying to counteract this scourge. One of them is the project launched by Alberto Barrantes, La Carretica Cuentera.

La Carretica Cuentera was born in 2016 with the firm purpose of giving a taste for reading and creative writing from childhood. They work with digital and printed materials with stories with open endings so that girls and boys are the ones who finish each of these stories.

“We work on environmental education, financial education, health and nutrition, peace education and bullying prevention. The purpose is to make reading a process of active participation, problem solving, critical thinking, where the child is the center of the learning process,” says Barrantes.

“We aim to transcend the academic approach that dictates that reading is only to pass the Spanish subject and demonstrate that reading provides tools for life. To the extent that they are conceived as tools for hope and freedom, we will have citizens who are more aware of the environment in which they live in order to transform it and turn it into a more supportive and humane space.”

The organization is open to all volunteers and book donors who wish to collaborate with the project.

References

https://mcj.go.cr/sala-de-prensa/noticias/nueva-ley-impulsara-el-fomento-de-la-lectura-libros-y-bibliotecas#:~:text=La%20Ley%20N%C2%B010025,digitales%2D%2C%20entre%20otras%20acciones.&text=San%20Jos%C3%A9%2C%2015%20de%20septiembre%20de%202021.

Author: M. Barrantes for Sensorial Sunsets in collaboration with Alberto Barrantes, founder of Carretica Cuentera @carreticacuentera www.carreticacuentera.com

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One of the particularities of Costa Rica is that Article 75 of the Costa Rican Constitution establishes Catholicism as the official religion of the country, making Costa Rica the only state in the Americas to have a state religion. The current debate on the subject and the move towards a fully secular state is in the public and political debate.

Article 75 of the Political Constitution establishes that “the Catholic, Apostolic, Roman religion is the religion of the State, which contributes to its maintenance”. This not only causes the entire Costa Rican population, regardless of their religion, to pay taxes to the Catholic Church, but also gives the Church a relevance in other political and educational matters.

Religion classes are part of the curriculum of the Costa Rican educational system, although it is an optional subject. More than 1,400 teachers teach in state schools and high schools this subject that was introduced more than 80 years ago by a negotiation between Calderón Guardia and the Catholic Church.

Religious Education in the Costa Rican Educational System

Religious education is mainly based on confessionalism, which means that the religion taught in schools is Catholic.

It was not until the 19th century that religious neutrality was introduced in public schools. Neutrality meant that students would be taught about different religions, but would not be required to practice any of them. This led to an increase in the number of Catholics, Protestants and Jews within the Costa Rican population because more people were exposed to these religions.

In the 20th century, there was an increase in interculturalism within Costa Rican society, as well as religious education.

Within the classroom, there are several models of religious education that often coexist in institutions. The first model is the “religion is a private matter” model, which prevailed during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but has now been largely abandoned. The second model is the “religious instruction should be given at home” model, which is still used by many parents and teachers today. The third model is the “religious instruction should be given at school” model, which has been dominant since the 1940s.

Why Are Religion Classes Given?

The Catholic religion is the only religion taught in public schools and high schools. In Costa Rica, religion classes are mandatory for all students who practice the Catholic religion. But not all parents agree with this system and many of them choose to educate their children at home.

If the Costa Rican people are Christian, and their school laws are Christian, the religious education of children must be considered fundamental and in no way an accessory or secondary matter (Fernandez, 1887, p. 111).

However, there has been an increase in agnostic students who do not believe in any religion and therefore do not attend these classes. This has led Costa Rican legislators to vote on whether or not to completely eliminate religious education from public schools.

In fact, the trend in Latin America of being a confessional state and not expressing any official religion has left Costa Rica as the only country in the area with an official state religion.

Increase in Agnosticism in Costa Rica

Costa Rica has a long history of religious education in public institutions. The government’s decision to offer these courses as a mandatory course has been questioned by the population, with many claiming that it violates freedom of religion.

Inclusive education is a new trend in the country. It means that schools have to teach about different religions and beliefs, including atheism and agnosticism. Although, this is not the first time Costa Rica has seen an increase of agnostics. The country was one of the first to have this agnosticism boom in Europe and Latin America after World War II.

That is, Costa Rica is a predominantly Catholic country, but with the emergence of agnostic groups, religious education is changing. The country has seen a 20% increase in the number of people identifying as agnostic between 2006 and 2016. This change in religious education has led to an increase in secularism and more debates about what it means to be an atheist.

Although the Costa Rican education system is secular, it still has a lot of religious content. Although, the Catholic hierarchy has a significant weight in the decisions made by the Ministry of Education and also, until a few months ago, the Catholic hierarchy decided which people could teach religion, regardless of whether they had a university education or not.

In summary

• Article 75 of the Political Constitution establishes that “the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion is the religion of the State, which contributes to its maintenance”.
• It was not until the 19th century that religious neutrality was introduced in public schools.
• In Costa Rica, religion classes are mandatory for all Catholic students.
• The trend in Latin America of being a confessional state and not expressing any official religion has left Costa Rica as the only country in the area with an official state religion.

Author

Zelda Walters for Sensorial Sunsets

Bibliography

https://protestantedigital.com/espana/64518/la-covid19-ha-provocado-un-aumento-del-ateismo-y-el-agnosticismo-en-espana

https://ddc.mep.go.cr/educacion-religiosa

https://repositorio.una.ac.cr/handle/11056/18845 

Fernández, M. (1887). Memoria de la Secretaría de Instrucción Pública 1887. San José: Tipografía Nacional.     

Steve Aronson is an agro-economist businessman and philanthropist of Jewish origin of American and Costa Rican nationality who has lived in Costa Rica since 1976. He is the founder of the famous Café Britt coffee company, but also of the Espressivo Theater and the Demain Foundation. The latter supports initiatives in Environment, Culture and Education and has been very active in the implementation of the International Baccalaureate in public schools, universal trails in national parks, and theater programs for adolescents at risk.

Steve Aronson’s Café Britt Adventure

Don Steve led Café Britt to international success after having faced the severe coffee crisis that affected the industry at the end of the 1980s.

We all suffered. Granex, the company I worked for, started making huge losses after being the third largest exporter of coffee gold. The blow made us sell half of the company to a Swiss company. I sold the warehouses, the profit?

In the end he had to sell everything. “Many people helped me through the crisis. When we separated from the Swiss partners, they also wanted to recover the money they had lent Café Britt. There was no liquidity and we offered them 70% of the shares. They said no, they wanted their money back. So I bought the debt and I kept Britt. It was from then on that Aronson innovated and raised the company to the success that all Ticos know.

Prior to 1985, it was impossible to find a cup of gourmet quality coffee in Costa Rica. In fact, all premium coffee was exported by law.  Don Steve then set about the task of reserving and roasting a portion of the export quality beans so that Costa Ricans could finally taste the coffee for which Costa Rica was known internationally. He also succeeded in getting the government to change the famous law that prevented the consumption of export coffee in the national market.

The recipe for success: access to high quality coffee beans from the best plantations, the best roasting machines, modern packaging that preserves quality and an obsession for flavor.

Café Britt then began selling coffee to the country’s best hotels and restaurants, as well as to Costa Rica’s National Theater. In 1991, Café Britt expanded and moved to Heredia where, again, Don Steve innovated with the inclusion of the “Coffee Tour”, a dramatized guided tour. In 1994, Britt began selling coffee at the Juan Santamaria airport. A golf cart was set up to serve coffee to travelers. Success was not long in coming and the rest is history.

In 2009, Mr. Steve left Café Britt to be managed by his sons. Today Café Britt operates Britt Shops in over thirteen countries and receives over 100,000 visitors per month to its website.

Theatrical and philanthropic adventure

For his part, Steve Aronson, a great lover of the performing arts, decided to dedicate himself to another innovative project: the creation of the Teatro Espressivo de Costa Rica. The programming of this celebrated theater aims to change the image of theater in the country. “In theater, the problem is that we are producing many talented people who do not see a way out and end up working in call centers. We have talent but we don’t have the right audience, nor the way in which this talent can be developed.” Ninety percent of the people Aronson has talked to tell him that theater in Costa Rica is bad. Steve’s intention is to change that mentality. Teatro Espressivo is 20 years old and has more than 107 productions of shows for all types of audiences. Don Steve and his teams have strived to bring theater to non-traditional audiences and venues.

In addition, with the Demain Foundation, Steve Aronson has worked to strengthen the country in areas he is passionate about, such as education, environmental conservation and culture.

The most important problem that worries me is the breakdown of the social contract, which is the most attractive thing about Costa Rica, isn’t it? The country became more expensive, and we started to have bigger gaps between rich and poor

Aronson

It is for this reason that Steve says he does not plan to retire. He will continue to contribute to Costa Rica, a country that “has given him so much”, as he says. His intention is to give back to the country what it has given him, contributing to strengthen the foundations of the social contract. His dream: that every Costa Rican, regardless of their social origin, can train, develop their skills, exercise the profession of their choice and make a living from what they know how to do.

Author: Marian Li, editor of Sensorial Sunsets in collaboration with Steve Aronson

References

demainfoundation.com
teatroespressivo.com
https://www.cafebritt.cr/