Acci n is to encourage creativity and critical thinking in children from low-income communities. This process helps to develop their self-esteem, and contributes to breaking down psychological and socioeconomic barriers that stunt their natural development. The program is organized through a series of journalism workshops. The children develop strong writing and group organizational skills, work on commentating news and social problems, prepare and select drawings, articles, and other literary compositions for publication. The latter allows the children to develop their own opinions on issues and narrate their journalistic experiences, an internal exercise that develops their critical thinking.
Students select their own topics, with guidance provided by their teacher.
The children learn to and interview key people to discuss the problems they face in their own communities, and express these experiences through writing and drawings. The interviews provide children with an opportunity to appreciate life, understand the importance of ideas, and how to interpret their social environment. The involvement of parents and community volunteers is a fundamental part of the workshops. They contribute with their time and often serve as speakers in the workshops. In order to recruit the children, the program's coordinator and educator, Ms. Norma Salazar, meets with members of the resident councils of the communities and presents the program's concept and potential benefits to children.