A Jalisco state congresswoman has started an initiative inviting children to replace their toy guns with other toys.
Rocío Aguilar Tejada said the aim of the program is to create a “culture of peace,” and promote respect for human rights.
She said she hopes Jalisco mayors will follow her lead and start similar programs in their municipalities.
Children invited to the launch of the program December 7 at the Congress building in Guadalajara this week went home with sporting goods, educational items and other toys.
The campaign will conclude in January at the Trompo Mágico Children’s Museum, where the bellicose toys collected will be transformed into a work of art.
The campaign, titled “El Juego como Instrumento de Cultura de Paz" (the game as an instrument of culture of peace), takes its cue from the Ley de Cultura de Paz, passed during the previous state legislature, which seeks to channel non-violence into a single coherent concept through the promotion of healthy recreational activities, and other mechanisms.
Among the program’s collaborators are the State Human Rights Commission and the Family Development Agency (DIF).