Global Citizenship

April 10th, 2013

Campaign against Hate Speech online

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: hate speech
 : Categories citizenship, europe, ICT, international, languages, religious and moral education, social studies

In recent years the continuing development of the Internet, especially in the areas of mobile access and Social media applications, has enabled positive examples of free speech and ‘people’s voice’ but also many examples of Hate Speech. This form of Human Rights abuse “covers all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, antisemitism or other forms of hatred based on intolerance” (Council of Europe definition). One current example might be Romaphobia and the abuse of Roma people.

Now the Council of Europe has launched an online portal for its ‘No Hate Speech movement’, as part of its programme of work with young people in support of democratic citizenship and Human Rights. This European youth campaign aims to combat racism and discrimination  “by equipping young people and youth organisations with the competences necessary to recognise and react against such human rights violations”. The project is achieving this through training cohorts of young activists, raising awareness, lobbying policy-makers, etc. The campaign website includes presentation slides for local use as a stimulus for discussion and participation, accompanied by use of social media and YouTube channels to disseminate material and encourage action.

Teachers and others working with young people may find this campaign useful for students and young people learning about cyber-bullying and behaviour online, and also for citizenship issues such as equality and diversity. Adult learners could equally explore these issues from a community concern perspective.

January 25th, 2013

Global development goals – seeking the views of young people

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: development goals, global development, pupil voice, shape the future
 : Categories africa, citizenship, health and wellbeing, ICT, international, learner voice, religious and moral education, social studies, sustainable development

The current United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which underpin international efforts to reduce global poverty and support development in many poor nations, will come to an end in 2015. There has been great progress, and there will be more in the intervening years, but it is already clear that in some of the 8 themed areas the targets will not be met. The international community is now considering the next set of Development Goals which will follow the MDGs. A High Level Panel on the Post 2015 Development Agenda is leading this work, and Prime Minister David Cameron is one of the co-chairs of this Panel.

The Department for International Development has challenged Secondary schools acros the UK to engage pupils in the discussion about what the next set of goals should be. Its ‘Shape the Future’ competition, launched this week with the support of the Scottish Government, targets pupils from the first three years of secondary school. Each team of up to five students will discuss the issues and formulate ideas for the next goals. The team will then create a short presentation of their proposals in multimedia form. The deadline for this first stage is 28th March.

Five schools will be shortlisted for the second stage, and given mentor and workshop support to refine their proposals and prepare a final presentation. These school teams will gather in London to make their final pitches to an Expert Panel. The winning team will work with Oxfam on a special project over the subsequent months.

The challenge represents a great opportunity to get young people engaged with development issues that will change the world they will live in.

A dedicated resource pack for schools, to assist with taking part in the Shape the Future challenge, will soon be available to download from the Global Dimensions website. There are also many links to global citizenship resources and organisations from our own Education Scotland website.

An information sheet for teachers at Scottish schools is available for download and distribution.

Shape the Future schools competition – info sheet for schools (Scotland)

November 28th, 2012

Our Europe – competition for Scottish secondary students

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: european citizenship, european parliament
 : Categories europe, ICT, international, learner voice

A new film-making competition for Scottish high school students aims to promote knowledge about the European Parliament and European Union and develop the ICT skills of young people.

The ‘Our Europe’ competition, created by the Scottish European Educational Trust and funded by the European Parliament

The competition invites schools “to offer students the chance to work on an engaging interdisciplinary project, combining Modern Languages with Modern Studies and Media/ICT”. Each team will consist of two S3 and two S6 pupils, and in the first round they will work together to produce “a storyboard and an audio or video pitch describing what makes you a European and how the European Parliament affects you”. The best teams from the first round will then get the opportunity to make their film, working with media professionals from Radio Lingua. The final round participants will pitch their film to experts in Brussels.

Full details are on the competition website and on Facebook.

September 26th, 2012

Europe and Languages

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories curriculum areas, europe, ICT, international, languages, modern languages

Buna ziua, bonjour and guten tag.

Today is European Day of Languages 2012, and schools and organisations across the European Union will be running special activities to celebrate the excitement and value of foreign languages. Here in Scotland, SCILT is running a competition for schools to recognise their achievements in organising EDL activities which demonstrate four criteria: creativity and innovation; pupil voice and responsibility; interdisciplinary learning; and partnership working or parental involvement.

Education Scotland has launched ‘Passeport pour la Francophonie‘, a new resource for primary school practitioners which offers an introduction to the French-speaking world and resources for learners. It has a particular focus on France, Gabon, Egypt, Madagascar and Polynesia.

The European Commission has published a report on foreign language learning which indicates that children start their learning at an increasingly early age in European nations.

Scottish Government recently announced increased support for the teaching of modern languages in Scottish schools.

September 25th, 2012

New-look Schools Global Footprint calculator – NOW live!

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, food, school improvement
 : Categories curriculum areas, ICT, mathematics, renewables and climate change, sciences, sustainable development, technologies, waste

Education Scotland’s new-look Schools Global Footprint Calculator is now live and can be viewed at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/schoolsglobalfootprint

This key online resource has had a significant refresh with many  improvements made to the calculator to make it even easier to use.

The school estate is responsible for an estimated 50% of greenhouse gas emissions from local authorities. The online calculator allows learners to measure the ecological and greenhouse gas footprint of their school in relation to six topic areas: food, water, energy, buildings, transport and waste. Learners are also encouraged to develop innovative approaches to reducing their impact on the environment and promoting sustainable lifestyles in the wider community – from tackling the school run to growing and eating their own produce to reduce food miles.

In addition to providing an exciting real life context for delivering the experiences and outcomes, the resource greatly supports Eco-Schools activities and provides learners with skills for learning, life and work as Scotland move towards a low-carbon future.

View the Schools Global Footprint resource or find out more about Education Scotland’s sustainable development education resources.

June 12th, 2012

Glow Meet: Ready for Emergencies? Friday, 15 June, 11.30 – 12.30

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: emergencies, Glow Meet, water
 : Categories citizenship, curriculum areas, ICT, Uncategorized

 This Glow meet  follows the launch of our new Ready for Emergencies wesite and will be an  interactive session with opportunities for learners to hear from people who deal with emergencies, share their thoughts and experiences.  Learners will also engage in  and reflecting on emergencies and ask questions in relation to key topics such as emergency situations arising from severe weather, flooding and security preparations such as those for the Olympic Games and Torch relay by the police forces across the country.

Presenters on the day will include the Stewart Borthwick (Strathclyde Emergency Coordination Group), Paul Hendy (Scottish Flood Forum) and Sally Dempsey (Red Cross) who will be providing exiting background information on a variety of national as well as international approaches to emergency situations and will answer any questions on the issues arising.
This Glow TV event is aimed at learners from upper primary to upper secondary (but relevant for senior school as well)
Sign up and join us

May 30th, 2012

‘Polarlands’ climate change case study – Rhu Primary School

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, CPD
 : Categories CPD, curriculum areas, early years, expressive arts, ICT, primary schools, renewables and climate change, sciences, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development

This comprehensive case study developed in partnership with Rhu Primary School in Argyll and Bute shows the climate change can provide an excellent context for learning even with the youngest learners.

The case study is a description of an extended, collaborative early and first level interdisciplinary study on climate change undertaken by the Primary 1, 2 and 3 classes at the school.

The study was called Polar Lands and was based on the book ‘Who will save us?’ by Rebecca Morch. It incorporated the themes of enterprise and sustainability. The project also involved parents and community partners from the planning stage right through to the evaluation of the success of the learning.

This study exemplifies the following characteristics of interdisciplinary learning:

• Choosing a theme or problem which requires knowledge and skills from different curriculum areas, aspects of a curriculum area or subjects
• Capitalising on themes for development across learning, including developing global citizenship

Click here to see the full case study and accompanying videos.

May 14th, 2012

Be a part of a sustainable schools documentary

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: events, film, school improvement
 : Categories biodiversity, community, creativity, curriculum areas, expressive arts, ICT, outdoor learning, renewables and climate change, sustainable development

With a month to go there is still time to take part in the inaugural documentary entitled “The UK’s Best Sustainable Schools”.

This film is being produced by Cycling4SEEd who will be visiting (by bicycle and other sustainable means of travel) schools from Lands End to John O’Groats and capturing on film the freshest ideas, the best practice, the most exciting plans and hopefully even the most exciting results of sustainability in schools.

Cycling4SEEd cannot visit every school in the country but there are still ways for you and your schools to be part of this very important film to encourage all schools to take up sustainability:

1. Develop a student-led 6-minute video about sustainability in your school which may be included in the final documentary and premiered in London on July 11th at SEEd’s Sustainable Schools Conference – details at www.se-ed.co.uk/cycling4seed.
2. Enter the student competition to make a 60 second commercial to promote the documentary and encourage other schools and students to become more sustainable. The awards ceremony for the commercial will also be held in London on July 11th and the winning commercial will be shown at the premier of the documentary.

For details of how to get involved in any of these activities, please visit the SEED website at www.se-ed.org-uk. You can also follow the story of Cycling4SEEd’s journey along the backbone of the UK as they visit schools, hear stories, see sustainable projects and share ideas.

For all your enquiries, please email admin@se-ed.org.uk.

March 30th, 2012

cultural identity and global citizenship

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories creativity, expressive arts, ICT, scottish culture, social studies

A key starting point for global citizenship education is a richer understanding of your own culture. Here in Scotland there are great new resources, challenges and projects which will facilitate learning about this country and what it means to be a Scot.

The ‘Studying Scotland’ online resource produced by Education Scotland is intended to support teachers in their work with students learning about aspects of Scottish culture, both historic and contemporary. There is already a wealth of material on the history, arts and cultural life of Scotland. The site will be updated with additional resources over the coming months, to give extra coverage of aspects such as Scotland’s place in the world and contribution to international developments. Museums and cultural organisations will be important participants in this shared endeavour to promote knowledge of Scottish life.

Education Scotland has launched a new design challenge through its ‘Marks on the Landscape’ website, as a means of engaging with creative young people. The challenge is aimed at CfE second to fourth levels and can be linked with a range of curriculum areas including art and design, science, and technologies, and themes such as sustainability. It invites learners to create a design for a double-sided billboard to signal the entry and exit points to Scotland – for example alongside the motorway as drivers enter the country. The design should offer different perspectives for people who are arriving and people who are leaving, and might also reflect on why people need to leave their home country or why they would come to Scotland today. The site has support material and further instructions for the billboard challenge, and entries should be submitted by 21st June.

Finally, the ‘Great Tapestry of Scotland’ project will involve the creation of a history of Scotland in tapestry-form, produced by hundreds of volunteer stitchers through a huge community arts initiative. A Scottish Parliament news story reports on the project launch. The final product will include key scenes from the span of Scottish history and demonstrate the creativity of Scots living today.

March 29th, 2012

Europe and inter-generational solidarity

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories creativity, europe, expressive arts, health and wellbeing, ICT, international, technologies

2012 is the European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, and celebrates the contribution that older people make to life and society. One aspect of this theme is the quality of the relationship and interaction between the different generations in society, and among the initiatives addressing this theme are two which will interest teachers.

The European People’s Party has launched a Film competition for young people in the European Union aged under 30 years old. It invites them to create a film on the theme of ‘Solidarity between generations’, to last just one minute – short and focused. The rules and application process are online, and the closing date is 15th May.

Another opportunity for Schools is the Life Story Challenge, run by the new generations@school project. This competition asks young European citizens to work with older people to collect stories about people’s lives, and then share these through the project website using text, images, audio and video. There is a particular emphasis on gathering material through activities around 29th April, the European Day of Inter-generational Solidarity, but uploads can be made until 30th June. 

Such competitions offer a chance for students to demonstrate their creativity, film-making and communication skills, and some understanding of inter-generational issues.