A PUBLICATION OF THE ALBERTA COUNCIL FOR GLOBAL COOPERATION
V O L U M E
FALL 2013
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Educator Profile: Anna Ponce Anna Ponce is one of those passionate educators that ACGC feels lucky to know! A teacher at Father Lacombe High School in Calgary, Anna is inspired daily to engage her students' in issues of global citizenship. One of these inspirations is Simon Atem, m e f o se n a se a former “Everyone has d e e n st ju student of ts pathy. Studen Father ned!” Lacombe. their eyes ope Simon made it his mission to build a school in his home town of Aweng, South Sudan and succeeded, even with hurdles in his way. In addition to acknowledging Simon, Anna recognizes and is inspired by those teachers who guided and supported him. Anna is also inspired by her parents, who immigrated from the Philippines and built a successful life, despite the hardships they encountered. Motivated through reading and professional development, Anna understands that educating yourself is a necessary component to reflecting on issues of social justice beyond a superficial level. Anna carries a deep passion for meeting new people and learning about cultures first-hand. Having spent time with
the Mayans, Bedouins, and the Maasai peoples, she has learned a great deal on how humans can be so different and similar at the same time. Anna's love for Social Studies stems from her constant curiosity with what happens around the world. 2012-2013 proved to be an exciting year of social justice initiatives for Anna and her students at the Social Justice Club at Father Lacombe. The group spent time fundraising, as well as raising awareness about water sustainability and poverty for organizations such as CAWST, Free the Children, War Child and World Vision. Anna is most passionate about issues concerning gender equality and ensuring that children's rights are met. She is moved by the work of Stephen Lewis and Senator Romeo Dallaire, admiring their dedication to working with and for women and children.
personal level. After the experience of seeing first-hand the struggles that many women go through, Anna became inspired and even more passionate. When she is asked how she motivates her students to become engaged citizens Anna responds by saying that everyone has a sense of empathy, and students just need their eyes opened. Anna provides them with that opportunity and guidance. Her strong passion when she teaches and plans initiatives with her students is clearly contagious. Her students are immediately affected and once involved they become passionate themselves and pursue initiatives of their own.
Having taught at an elementary school in Bujumbura and visited a women's clinic in Kimenge, one of the poorest parts of Burundi, Anna came to know those she met on a
Development in a Box—Seeking Feedback! Currently in its fifth year, Development in a Box is now in over 500 schools across the province of Alberta. We hope you are enjoying the resource! In order for us to continuously improve Development in a Box and support educators in the work they do surrounding global citizenship, we are seeking feedback on the program through a short interview. Understanding that educators are extremely busy, we promise to take no longer than 10 minutes of your time. If you are interested in providing us
with feedback, please contact Joëlle at projects@acgc.ca or at 780.988.0200. We thank you in advance for your time! Don't have your free Development in a Box yet? Contact us by email or phone (same as above) or visit www.acgc.ca for an online registration form. While we've run out of hard copies, we have plenty of DVD copies to share! Development in a Box is also available online at www.acgc.ca.
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Educational Opportunities!
The first phase of the 2013 Change Your World Alberta Youth Leadership Tour to Nicaragua is now complete and ready to move on to the second phase, the sharing of experiences and stories from Nicaragua with grades 5-12 across the province of Alberta. On July 4th five Albertan youth began Change Your World Alberta their journey to Youth Leadership Tour Nicaragua to learn Nicaragua 2013 about international development projects by ACGC member organizations. While the youth spent the majority of their time with partners of the Change for Children Association based out of Edmonton, they were also provided with the opportunity to meet with Oxfam Canada and learn
about current women's agriculture cooperatives in Leon. Along with spending time with local communities, the youth were able to learn about root causes of economic disparity, visit alternative development projects- small-scale cacao and sustainable coffee farms, and assist in the distribution of eco-stoves. For ten days the five youth learned, grew, shared, and reflected on their experiences. Now they are ready to share their stories! Beginning in September, the five participants will be visiting Alberta schools to share their experiences with educators and their peers. While in Nicaragua, the youth filmed a documentary which accompanies their presentation to help other young people gain a more indepth understanding of the work Alberta organizations are taking part in across Nicaragua.
Development and Peace Development and Peace promotes alternatives to unfair social, political and economic structures. It is their goal to educate the Canadian population about the causes of poverty and to mobilize Canadians towards actions for change.
Interviewing women about gender equality in Nicaragua. If you would like the 2013 Change Your World Alberta Youth Leadership Tour to visit your classroom for a 45 minute personal presentation and film screening on international development and global citizenship, or for more information, contact ACGC at 780.988.0200 or projects@acgc.ca.
CAWST
Check out their educational resources and be a part of that change!
This school year, CAWST Youth Wavemakers is launching Kids of Kayele (Intermediate), a game that uses video, trivia, images and interactive game play to teach students in grades 6-8 about global water and sanitation issues.
Visit the following links for more information that will assist you in facilitating discussions with your students on social justice issues. http://www.devp.org/en/education/fall2012/materials http://www.devp.org/en/thinkfast/activities
Players assume the role of exchange students who must maintain the health of their friends, while visiting rural Zambia. The clues to staying healthy are provided by the students from the Hygiene Club at Kayele Basic School in Lubuto, Zambia. The videos used in this game were collected by these students.
Support on how to meet your MP and raise his/her awareness is also available in these resources.
For supplemental educational resources related to Kids of Kayele, please visit the Wavemakers Resources website. To learn more about the CAWST Youth Wavemakers Program and how to get your students engaged on global and local water issues, please contact Natasha Sarkar, Prowww.devp.org gram Manager, nsarkar@cawst.org or (403) 243-3285 x237. www.cawst.org
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GLOBAL HIVE The Global Hive Toolkit is designed to assist the efforts of public engagement practitioners working in Canada: this means anyone and everyone who works to engage others on global issues, including teachers! Global Hive looks to the future of public engagement, and offers tools to help us move forward together in our shared goal of engaging Canadians as we work to create a more equitable and sustainable world.
For educators, this means an entire section dedicated to best practices in Global Citizenship Education - from powerful case studies to comprehensive tools to checklists for effective school partnerships, this toolkit offers a range of practical and reflective tools for public engagement practitioners. Young Canadians are hungry to become informed, engaged and active global citizens. Global Hive will help educators be more effective in teaching the concepts of global
citizenship as you continue inspire, support and challenge your students and one another. The Global Hive is the work of the Inter-Council Network (ICN), a dynamic network of provincial and regional member-based Councils for International Cooperation committed to social justice and social change. Check out the toolkit at www.globalhive.ca
Trickster Theatre Kids Go Global Kids Go Global is a partnership between schools, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and Trickster Theatre. It supports K-12 schools in exploring global issues, taking action, and inspiring others to do the same through play. Through the use of a facilitated website, Kids Go Global has grown into a popular residency theme that supports schools in making reallife connections across the globe.
a great residency at Cremona School, supporting their link to a school in Uganda. Another successful residency was also completed at Sunnyside School in Calgary where students began a partnership with a school in Kenya. To learn more, check out the Kids Go Global video channel on Vimeo! Or visit www.kidsgoglobal.net for more information. www.trickstertheatre.com
During the 2012-2013 school year Kids Go Global completed
More Opportunities! Grant MacEwan United World College Scholarships The United World Colleges were created to promote international understanding through education, service and social responsibility. These scholarships provide Alberta's best grade 11 students with a chance to complete their high school at one of the twelve United World Colleges located throughout the world. Applications are due February 2014. https://alis.alberta.ca/et/fo/pay/scholarships/info.html?EK=24 PowerShift BC PowerShiftBC is a national youth climate justice gathering happening October 3-7, 2013 in Vancouver and Victoria, BC. The goal is to continue to work to build a movement in Canada that rises to the challenges of inequality, social injustice and climate change. This is a great opportunity for students to become engaged and learn more about the issues. http://powershiftbc.launchrock.com Canadian Roots The Canadian Roots Exchange (CRE) is a group of young Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians who believe that in order to bridge the gap between Canada's peoples, they need to become educated and aware of the teachings, triumphs, and daily realities of Indigenous communities. CRE organizes three main types of activities: exchange programs, workshops and conferences. If you are interested in learning more please contact at info@canadianroots.ca. http://canadianroots.ca/en/
Tips for your student group!
ACGC CURRENT MEMBERSHIP
September 2013
Ethical Photography and Storytelling (from www.uniteforsight.org)
Action International Ministries ˑ Ainembabazi Children’s Project ˑ Alberta Public Interest
Whether travelling globally or working in your local community, you have an ethical responsibility to preserve the dignity of those you meet and to provide a comprehensive and reflective depiction, both visually and through your stories. These tips can be used both locally and globally.
Research Group ˑ Alberta Teachers’ Association ˑ Altamas for Peace and Development Association ˑ Bridges of Hope International Net-
Consider the following:
What are you photographing? What are you not photographing? What story are you sharing? Whose point of view is being represented in your story? Whose point of view is left out, minimized or distorted? Visual images and stories are a way to convey an experience to an audience and to evoke strong public emotions. People often formulate their opinions, judgments, and behaviors in response to visual stimuli and personal stories. YOUR decisions about how to depict/share your stories can entirely alter viewers’ perceptions. While some images (often those that are dehumanizing) and stories might shock the public (therefore engaging them more or eliciting a stronger reaction), it has the unintended effect of exploiting those you met through your experience and does nothing to address the root causes of an issue. Always examine your motives. Will the photograph I take and the story I tell educate others about the changes needed to ameliorate poverty? Am I providing people with more understanding, or am I helping to inform incorrect impressions?
www.acgc.ca/teach Edmonton, Alberta T6E 2B3 Phone: 780-988-0200 | Fax: 780-988-0211 info@acgc.ca Follow us on:
an Association for Participatory Development ˑ Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace ˑ Canadian Department of Peace Initiative ˑ Canadian Humanitarian ˑ Canadian Moravian Mission Society ˑ Canadian Peacemakers International ˑ Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistanˑ Caro-Canadians Reaching Out to the World's Children Foundation ˑ CAUSE Canada ˑ CEIBA Association ˑ Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology ˑ Centre for Global Citizenship Education and Research ˑ Change for Children ˑ Covenant International Ministry ˑ Engineers Without Borders- Canada ˑ Four Worlds Centre for Development Learning ˑ Ghost River Rediscovery ˑ Global Education Program, University of Alberta International ˑ HIV Edmonton ˑ Human Development Foundation ˑ John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights ˑ Keiskamma Canada Foundation ˑ Light Up the World ˑ Maharashtra Seva Samiti Organization ˑ Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace ˑ Marda Loop Justice Film Festival ˑ Mennonite Central
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work of Development Agencies ˑ Calgary Board of Education, Global Learning Program ˑ Canadi-
What’s your school doing? Share your activities with us and see your school profiled in our next ACGC teach newsletter!
Committee Alberta ˑ Micah Centre ˑ One Child's Village ˑ One! International Poverty Relief ˑ Operation Eyesight Universal ˑ Optometry Giving Sight ˑ Oxfam Canada ˑ Rainbow for the Future ˑ Rainbow of Hope for Children ˑ RESULTS ˑ Sahakarini Inter-World Education & Development Association ˑ Samaritan's Purse Canada ˑ Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute ˑ Sinkunia Community Development Organization ˑ Somali-Canadian Education & Rural Develop-
ACGC Teach is undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD).
ment Organization ˑ Sombrilla International Development Society ˑ STOP TB Canada ˑ Trickster Theatre ˑ True Vision Ghana ˑ Unisphere Global Research Centre ˑ United Nations Association in Canada ˑ Women's Empowerment International Foundation ˑ World Fit For Children- Alberta Chapter ˑ