Global Citizenship

December 20th, 2010

Working in the Forestry Sector - Glow meet

imenzies

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories sustainable development

Working in the Forestry Sector
World of Work Wednesday Glow Meet
2-3pm, Wednesday 12th January 2011

To mark the beginning of the International Year of Forests in 2011, LTS will be hosting a World of Work Wednesday Glow meet showcasing the many varied careers available within Scotland’s forestry sector.

About 17% of Scotland is covered in trees and this is set to rise to 25% by the middle of the century. The Scottish timber industry contributes about £670 million to Scotland’s economy and supports about 31,000 jobs. Forest tourism alone is worth £130 million and the Forestry Commission in Scotland is the biggest provider of outdoor recreation giving the public access to hundreds of miles of walking and cycling trails.

Proving that forestry is not just for ‘lumberjacks’ this Glow meet will highlight the skills and career paths required to access employment in this modern industry which includes roles in woodland management, policy development and environmental science as well as recreation, community and education ranger services.

This interactive Glow meet will also provide learners with the opportunity to take part in challenges, ask questions and learn about the career paths taken by three individuals including:

Tom Wallace, Forester, Forestry Commission Scotland
- responsible for the Community Recreation & Tourism aspects of the Forestry Commission’s work in the Glasgow and Kilpatrick Hills area.

Andy Gallacher, Community Ranger, Forestry Commission Scotland
- works directly with the residents in Glasgow on topics such as Education, Volunteering, Conservation and Health, using the woods as inspiration for people to get out and make the most of the valuable resource on their doorstep.

Iona Hyde, Trees and Woodland Officer, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park
- working within the landscapes and conservation team, Iona delivers volunteer tree planting events and assists with heritage trees monitoring.

The World of Work Wednesday Glow meets are broadly aimed at learners in secondary schools but have proved popular with some primary schools too. Join this Glow meet on the 12th January 2011 in the World of Work Wednesday Glow meet room at https://portal.glowscotland.org.uk/establishments/nationalsite/Enterprise%20in%20Education/World%20of%20Work%20Online/default.aspx

If you have any questions or would like to find out more then please contact Ian Menzies, Development Officer (Developing Global Citizens) on email: [email protected] or Tel: 0141 282 5160.

December 13th, 2010

Young Scottish Green List - nominate now

imenzies

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories citizenship, sustainable development

Today’s young people will be key to making a difference in the face of social injustice, waste, energy inefficiency, fuel poverty and climate change.

The Young Scottish Green List puts the spotlight on the passionate and visionary young people who dedicate their time to volunteering, campaigning, creating new eco friendly products and services and making positive change in Scotland.

Do you know someone who should be on the Young Scottish Green List?

Nominate your green champion by Midnight, Friday 14th January, 2011.

Make a nomination at http://www.youngscottishgreenlist.org/

December 13th, 2010

Human Rights and education

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories citizenship

Human Rights Day was celebrated last week, with the United Nations encouraging nations and organisations to mark the day and speak up against discrimination. Rights and responsibilities are a key element of education for global citizenship, and many teachers bring Rights into their work. Charities such as Christian Aid recognise HRD as an opportunity to give Rights a boost in the classroom with new resources, and Amnesty International also marked the day.

The UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award is one of the means by which Scottish teachers engage pupils with issues of rights and behaviour. A recent qualitative evalution by a university research team concluded that there are significant benefits for schools of commiting to work towards RRSA. Pupils gain a real voice, raise their self-esteem and improve their behaviour.

December 9th, 2010

How does Scotland score in terms of sustainability?

imenzies

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories sustainable development

The Sustainable Development Commission (Scotland) yesterday published its Fourth Annual Assessment of the Scottish Government’s progress on sustainable development. SDC Scotland’s Annual Assessment is based on a review of Government policy across a range of topics from economy and energy to education, health, waste and biodiversity. The conclusions and recommendations are also based on discussions with expert groups in each policy area, Government civil servants and a stakeholder survey.

The report highlights the challenges faced by the Scottish Government to set the whole of Scotland’s economy onto a low carbon and fair path by properly resourcing work on fuel poverty, energy efficiency and sustainable transport. This year’s Annual Assessment report is the most comprehensive to date, looking at the full term of this administration.

Download a copy of the report at http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/scotland.php

December 8th, 2010

Latest updates from UN climate negotiations in Cancun

imenzies

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories citizenship, sustainable development

For the latest information about the progress of the United Nations COP16 climate change talks in Cancun, Mexico then check out the blog from Lexi Barnett at http://bit.ly/dH6kFV

Lexi is the Campaigns Officer for SCIAF - one of Scotland’s largest international aid and development agencies - and is in Cancun representing the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition which is pushing for tough action on climate change to ensure climate justice for the world’s poorest poeple.

For minute by minute updates, tweets and comments from organisations and groups from around the world visit http://bit.ly/g2rv5T

The official COP16 conference website is also a good source of information and can be found at http://cc2010.mx/en/

Don’t forget that LTS has produced great online resources and videos to support learning on weather and climate change within Curriculum for Excellence. These can be found at:

Weather and Climate Change
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/weatherandclimatechange/index.asp

Exploring Climate Change
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/exploringclimatechange/

December 8th, 2010

Global Citizenship and visual arts

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: visual arts
 : Categories Uncategorized

In 2010 Learning and Teaching Scotland funded some work in six Scottish local authorities to enable teachers to explore a Global Citizenship theme with pupils through a visual arts medium. Each of these small-scale pilot projects picked a theme and an art form to work with, and then teachers and students worked together to create artworks - usually with a local Scottish artist to lend their expertise. The process was important, as students learnt more about their chosen theme during the creative process, and the end products were often really impressive. LTS has been able to display some of the finished works at the Scottish Learning Festival and at national conferences during November, and we intend to make further use of these assets in 2011.

An article in TESS, titled “In a land far, far away“, describes the experience of Port William primary school in Dumfries and Galloway. Their project focused on traditional tales and pupils produced a variety of work based on tales from many countries. The participants then travelled up to Glasgow for the Scottish Learning Festival, to see their work on display in the Gallery space and meet the Cabinet Secretary.

The image used here is of one of the banners produced by Borestone primary school in Stirling.

December 6th, 2010

Scottish culture and heritage

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories citizenship, scottish culture

Part of being a Global Citizen is having a strong sense of your own culture and background. Several new initiatives, products and opportunities will support the growth of that sense of cultural identity among young citizens of Scotland.

The pupil winners of the Scottish Government’s poster competition for St.Andrew’s Day have been announced, and the First Minister’s St.Andrew’s Day video message is available on Youtube.

Learning and Teaching Scotland has produced two new online multimedia resources for schools. ‘Scotland’s Stories’ celebrates the richness of tales, myths and legends which are part of our literary heritage. And ‘Scotland’s Songs’ offers a collection of songs and tunes in Scots and Gaelic.

Historic Scotland has launched a new resource about Pictish Stones and the history of the ancient Pictish nation. It includes his torical background, photos and scans of the carved stones, and more.

Finally, there is a national story competition organised by the Scottish Wave of Change project. This invites people to submit a work of fiction, such as a story or poem, which is set in the Scotland of the near-future.

December 6th, 2010

Fair Trade and education

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories international

The annual Fair Trade Fortnight for 2011 will be held from 28th February to 13th March. The Fairtrade Foundation has proposed the theme of ‘Show off your Label’, asking people to be vocal about their commitment to Fair Trade purchasing and the positive impact that has for producers.

Hundreds of Scottish schools get involved in Fairtrade activities each year, and it works well as a cross-curricular learning theme for Global Citizenship. Students learn about the inequity of existing trade, and the benefits of fairer trade, and the greater awarness also encourages a change in their behaviour.

In 2011 there will be a focus on Cotton, its production and links to the fashion and sportswear industries, which is of immediate relevance to current lifestyles. A Sustainable Scotland website story comments on the treatment of cotton farmers in West Africa. The Scottish Fair Trade Forum also highlights this area of interest, and provides access to a variety of educational resources, including their new Toolkit for schools.

December 3rd, 2010

HIV / AIDS and Education

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: AIDS
 : Categories africa, international

This week the annual World AIDS Day was commemorated around the world, and some educators use the occasion to raise awareness with students about the Health issues and about combating prejudice associated with the disease.

The Department for International Development (DfID) website has a feature news story about current initiatives, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa.

The British Red Cross produced an online educational asset about challenging discrimination and stigmatisation, to support teachers who cover this theme with their students; And Christian Aid offers an assembly resource for secondary teachers covering issues of disease and infection with their students.