Global Citizenship

June 7th, 2012

SLF 2012 programme ‘live’ for visitors

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: slf2012
 : Categories citizenship, games and sport, health and wellbeing, learner voice, outdoor learning, religious and moral education, sciences, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development

Education Scotland has published the seminar programme for the Scottish Learning Festival 2012, SLF 2012, our annual conference and exhibition for educators. The event takes place in Glasgow on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th September 2012, and we’ll be expecting thousands of education professionals to join us at the SECC from across Scotland, the UK and the world. Free to attend, the programme offers a wide range of keynotes, seminars and opportunities for professional dialogue. The overall theme this year is ‘Creative Learning, Creative Thinking’, and delegates will be exposed to creativity in many forms.

Global citizenship themes are well-represented among the seminars. Among the list of inclusions are sessions on educational work relating to Homophobia, Sectarianism, Games legacy, environmental projects, ‘pupil voice’, and international links. The full list of sessions, with the codes necessary for booking, is provided on the event site and also in the online interactive version.

In the Exhibition hall you’ll find many organisations involved in Scottish education, from the public, commercial and voluntary sectors. These exhibitors offer support for educators in many forms, and our team will also be running a ‘developing global citizens’ stand again this year - a chance for delegates to meet us and talk about how global citizenship is developing in Scotland.

Come and join us! We will add further updates about SLF 2012 to this blog as the dates get closer.

June 7th, 2012

European football

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: euro2012, football
 : Categories europe, games and sport, health and wellbeing, international

The Euro 2012 football competition final rounds start in Poland and Ukraine tomorrow, and offer great opportunities for some more learning about global citizenship. Teams of players from many European nations (sadly not Scotland) and thousands of back-up staff and supporters will enjoy two weeks of top class sport. Details of the fixtures schedule, and coverage of the competition are on the BBC website among others.

Thousands of school pupils will have the additional benefit of learning new things in areas such as sport, health, Europe, travel, countries and languages - but also in less obvious areas such as literacy skills. An article in The Guardian describes how students can be inspired to read more. Teachers could also initiate lessons about media coverage and bias.

For themes around global citizenship, there are interesting discussions to be had about the environmental impact of thousands of people travelling from their homes to Eastern Europe, the issue of diversity and possible racism and violence at the venues, and the labour issues around production of balls and strips. One example: a teaching resource about football, fair trade and literacy.

Enjoy the games!

May 4th, 2012

Global Citizenship and Film

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories africa, games and sport, health and wellbeing, international, languages

A few very different opportunities for teachers to reflect on how to use film viewings and film-making as a tool for supporting global citizenship education:

With a good fit to current work in schools around Games Legacy and the Olympics, the Edinburgh Filmhouse has a schools-only showing of the African film ‘Town of Runners’ on Monday 28th May. This showing has been organised by Take One Action film festival, a charity which promotes the different perspectives offered by films from developing countries. The film tells the story of two Ethiopian girls struggling to become athletes in a town which has a history of producing great distance runners, and is reviewed in the Guardian.

Take One Action is also seeking secondary schools to participate in its Young Heroes action project between June and December 2012. It’s a residential and follow-on screening project for young people aged 15-21 and their educators or youth workers, and builds their capacity to consider global issues and use film to encourage wider debate.

Thirdly, the Northern Lights project aims to create Scotland’s first ever mass participation documentary, an innovative way to build a movie about contemporary Scotland. Basically it will be composed, and edited into a final feature-length film, from videos made by people all over the country and contributed to a common pool of rich material. Read this blog post for more detail and weblinks.

April 26th, 2012

Europe and schools

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories europe, games and sport, international, primary schools, social studies

May 9th is Europe Day, a chance to celebrate our place in the European Union, and many teachers will mark the occasion with some special activity in school. Modern Languages are often the focus of such activity, but teachers will approach the Day in different ways to explore aspects of culture, history and contemporary life - such as food and drink.

Euroquiz 2012 has stimulated a huge amount of positive work in Scottish primary schools, with teachers encouraging their pupils to increase their knowledge about European countries and institutions. Hundreds of schools are involved in this annual quiz organised by Scottish European Educational Trust, with each school putting forward a team of P7 pupils to represent them in local heats. An example; West Kilbride primary won the North Ayrshire heat. The local winners then go forward to the national Finals, which will be held in the Scottish Parliament on 14th May. If you would like to watch the Finals live, the event will be broadcast on Holyrood TV and you can test yourself against the questions presented to the pupils.

Football is often a topic which appeals to Scottish pupils and their teachers, and the Euro 2012 football finals in Poland and the Ukraine will provide another context for learning more about Europe. UEFA is running a Respect your Health campaign with schools in the two host countries, with another campaign for adults focusing on combating racism in the sport, showing how football can bring people together and encourage responsible behaviour. The Euros are now just 43 days away, and some of us are getting excited!

March 12th, 2012

Commonwealth Day 2012

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories citizenship, commonwealth, games and sport, international

Today is Commonwealth Day, a chance to celebrate a global diverse community of nations and peoples with different cultures and beliefs. The theme for 2012 events is ‘Connecting Cultures’ and the day is being marked in many ways, including these:

Glasgow will host the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and there is a growing sense of excitement in the city as the Games get closer. Games Legacy organisers and supporters have joined together to promote the ‘Sport your trainers’ campaign and a fitter, healthier lifestyle. (this author is eating an apple and tying up his trainers ready to go out, so the campaign is making progress!). One example: here are students at Anderson High School in Lerwick, Shetland, proudly displaying their commitment to the campaign.

Scottish singer Anne Lennox will be taking part in celebrations at the Scottish Parliament, and commenting on international work to address the problem of HIV/AIDS.

The BBC website has an article titled “Commonwealth of Nations ‘the club of the 21st century’“, which comments on the role of this international organisation and its appeal to countries applying to join as new members. The Commonwealth has grown beyond its roots in the British Empire and territories, and now provides a wider forum for networking and exchange which assists development and growth.

January 27th, 2012

Global citizenship online community - Join now

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: community, CPD, school improvement
 : Categories CPD, citizenship, early years, games and sport, international, leadership, learner voice, primary schools, secondary schools, sharing practice, sustainable development

Do you have an interest in, or remit for, global citizenship? Need some advice or want to share ideas with like-minded practitioners?

If so, then you’ll probably want to have a peek at the shiny new online community for global citizenship on CPD Central. Join now so you can brag to colleagues about how you were one of the pioneering members .

Why have we set it up? Well, there’s always a buzz of ideas and sharing at our face-to-face CPD events and we thought it’d be amazing if we could find a way of bringing people together again and again to keep the discussion and buzz going. Well we’ve found a way! Here’s your bit:

Step 1 - Visit http://bit.ly/DGConline and add your picture (Glow log in required)

Step 2 - Share an idea or ask the audience

Welcome gift! If you join before Friday 17^th February 2012 we’ll be happy to offer you a special gift to welcome you to the community – one of our highly-prized global citizenship wall calendars (these have been flying off our shelves!).

November 15th, 2011

The Big Pedal Competition – pre-register your school now

imenzies

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories community, games and sport, renewables and climate change, sustainable development

http://thebigpedal.org.uk/

The Big Pedal is a virtual bike race where schools compete to get as many cyclists as possible to come to school by bike. In 2011, over 800 schools helped pedal over 600,000 journeys to school by bike in just 15 days. For 2012 the target is 1000 schools and 1 million journeys!

The race is open to every school in the UK and takes place between 5-23 March 2012. It is free to enter and there will be prizes. To guarantee your place in the race pre-register your school now.

November 8th, 2011

Scottish Borders - Global Citizenship Twilight

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, events, school improvement
 : Categories CPD, citizenship, early years, games and sport, international, primary schools, scottish culture, secondary schools, sharing practice, sustainable development

Global Citizenship and Eco-School Network

Learning community twilight session

This twilight CPD event for practitioners and local authority staff is the latest in a series of sessions to develop and strengthen professional learning communities and practitioner networks within the Scottish Borders.

Participants will have an opportunity for peer-to-peer sharing and reflection and will explore effective strategies for developing successful whole school approaches to global citizenship including international education, sustainable development education, education for citizenship and games legacy.

Those attending will also have the opportunity to learn about the opportunities for funding available to school learning communities to support mentoring, sharing and collaborative activities relating to global citizenship. Participants will also learn about the latest resources, free CPD events and exciting plans for 2012 (including Olympic Games and the Rio + 20 International Conference on Sustainability).

If you are any way involved or concerned with global citizenship and are looking for ideas and support then this is the event for you.

Who should attend?

Early years/primary/secondary school practitioners who are interested in/or have a remit for global citizenship, sustainable development education, Eco-Schools or other similar programmes. Also, local authority personnel with a responsibility for sustainability, waste, participation, energy and other related remits. Attendance at previous sessions isn’t a requirement.

Date and venue

Thursday 24^th November 2011

Committee Room 1, Council HQ

Newton St Boswells

16.30 – 18.30

Cost: Free

Facilitator

Ian Menzies, Development Officer, Developing Global Citizens Team, Education Scotland

To book

Contact Caroline Scott on Email: [email protected] or Tel 01835 825108

October 28th, 2011

Travelling Green

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, climate and energy, resources
 : Categories ICT, expressive arts, games and sport, health and wellbeing, languages, sciences, social studies, sustainable development

Travelling Green is a 6 week walking project which aims to encourage as many children as possible to change their method of travel to and from school, by increasing active commuting (walking) to school.

Travelling Green is an interdisciplinary project focusing on Health and Wellbeing with links to Science, Social Studies, Expressive Arts, Technologies and Languages.

Children learn about walking time and distance, they chart their progress to a more active journey to school and learn about healthy eating, why walking is good for them and how to stay safe on the walk to school.

Who is it aimed at?

Travelling Green is aimed at P5s (9 year olds) in primary schools in Scotland, but it can also be used in composite classes.

What can it achieve?

Increases in overall physical activity. Setting realistic, individual, achievable physical activity targets.

What’s new with Travelling Green?

Sustrans has developed new, free, eye-catching interactive whiteboard flipcharts that can be used with any interactive whiteboard. The flipcharts complement the paper resource pack and provide more opportunities for engagement in the classroom. You can download the interactive resources for free from the Promethean Planet partnership pages.

More info is available on the Sustrans website.

October 18th, 2011

Forest Pitch - Meet the artist in a Glowing Thursday!

mfarrell

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories biodiversity, citizenship, commonwealth, community, creativity, curriculum areas, expressive arts, games and sport, health and wellbeing, international, primary schools, sciences, scottish culture, social studies, sustainable development

Glowing Thursday 10th November 2011

Forest Pitch – football strip design competition!

Meet the artist!

Join us on 10th November at 11am on Glow TV!

An opportunity to meet Scottish artist Craig Coulthard, creator of the highly innovative art project Forest Pitch. Funded by Creative Scotland and part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Forest Pitch will culminate in two football matches between amateur players who have recently taken up British citizenship. At the Scottish Learning Festival in September this year Craig launched a football strip design competition for primary age children to come up with exciting and innovative designs for the football strips that the players will wear.

As an arts project, Forest Pitch encourages debate about national identity, citizenship, the natural world, sustainability and participation in sport.

If you have already signed up for the competition or are thinking about doing so, then join us for this exciting Glowing Thursday to find out more and get some artist’s tips and advice.

Find out more about the competition, sign up and download the design brief and support materials here

And don’t forget - taking part in this competition is a great way of demonstrating a commitment to the Olympic and Paralympic values and joining the London 2012 Get Set Network. Do this before 16th December and qualify for FREE tickets for the Olympics! Find out more >>