Compassionate Global Citizens in an Interconnected World

On December 7, education leaders in the field of intercultural learning and global citizenship education gathered at a webinar to discuss “Teaching and Learning in an Interconnected World.” Hosted by the Center for Teaching About the United Nations (CTAUN), the webinar defined the construct of global competence and its importance for today’s learners and introduced practical programs promoting global and intercultural competencies and global citizenship.

UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, Ms. Stefania Giannini, urged education stakeholders to work together multilaterally for transformative education addressing current challenges such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, she guided the implementation of global citizenship elements--solidarity, the value of respect, and a sense of humanity--into learning activities to tackle vulnerability and interdependency of the world.

In his keynote, Dr. William Gaudelli, Dean and Professor of the College of Education of Lehigh University, explained the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4.7 on global citizenship education. As essential attributes of global competence, he emphasized having openness, humility, and critical orientation in taking actions toward personal and social change. “We should all work for a better understanding of both ourselves and the world we live in and do so without arrogancy,” said Dr. Gaudelli.

Dr. Eunhee Jung, President of IVECA International Virtual Schooling, joined as a panelist and presented how schools can sustainably provide globally connected virtual exchange activities. Dr. Jung demonstrated IVECA’s curriculum integration model and the example activities that enable students to achieve curriculum goals as well as to develop the intercultural competence of global citizens. To implement SDGs, she underlined “designing the activities that students feel compassion to take action.”

Introducing her TeachSDGs movement, a panelist, Dr. Jennifer Williams shared available tools for teachers to bring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to classrooms. Ms. Jill Woerner, Director of Education and Outreach for AFS-USA, also showed global and intercultural resources on its website.

Quoting a third-grade student’s reflection, Principal Trina Haygaru at the International School of Indiana accentuated the importance of cultivating students' compassionate integrity when they collaborate with peers on real-world projects at school. “It is important because we shouldn’t just care about ourselves. You shouldn’t just go ‘me me me me like you should care about the other people around you because every person, even people that you don’t even know, is one whole family.”

More details about CTAUN’s annual conference at the United Nations, please visit this page: https://teachun.org/conference/2021-un/

#CTAUN #IVECA #GCED #SDG4.7 #UNESCO #UNSDGs #InterculturalCompetence #GlobalCompetence

Elementary Students from Korea Share Fairy Tales with Argentinian Partners

Can you recall your favorite children’s story? Fairy tales and folk tales are told from generation to generation and have become deep-rooted into our childhood experiences. Although they vary, each tale includes an important message. Throughout the semester, Korean elementary schoolers analyzed famous fairy tales from their culture. On Friday, December 3rd, IVECA hosted a vibrant Live Class that combined five different schools, four of which included Korean elementary schools. All students from Korea, as well as their Argentinian partners, joined the Live Class individually from home. With the support of their teachers, students were prepared and incredibly excited to present their stories!

Argentinian students began the presentations with summaries of famous tales in their culture. The audience learned about Dulce de Leche, a mix of condensed milk and sugar. Legend says this staple dessert was created by accident! The sweet sauce caught the attention of a Cheongryang Elementary student who noted, “the most interesting part about Le Dulce de Leche is how tasty it looks!” Furthermore, Yangji students compared the story “La Urraca” (The Magpie) from Argentina to their presentation of “Red Fan, Blue Fan.” Both stories taught the same lesson to readers - do not be greedy! Lastly, after the reading of “Heungbu and Nolbu” by Cheongryang Elementary, the class made sure to note the Korean traditional clothing worn by the main characters called Hanbok.

The unification of multiple Korean schools created a special opportunity for students. This unique situation allowed Korean students to not only gain knowledge from foreign partners but also learn more about their own culture from different perspectives. Although shy, students were seen supporting one another with a thumbs up or hearts. To wrap up a successful Live Class, farewell letters were exchanged. Korean students exclaimed to their partners, “We are so happy to share this beautiful world with you!”

#IVECA#InterculturalCompentence#LiveClass#GlobalCitizenship#GlobalEducation#21stCenturyEducation

Students from China and Korea address SDG through music and art

As everyone knows, music is one of the most important elements of human culture. This week, on November 29, music brought students from Zhenjiang Vocational College, China, and Incheon Performing Art High School, South Korea, together. During the Live Class, students shared their passion for dancing and music while discussing Music and Humanity in the two countries. Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, both schools managed to participate directly from their classrooms, which facilitated great interactions between all students.

Throughout the semester, students worked on diverse activities, devoted to music and art and their connection to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The purpose of the Live Class was to share the results of semester-long efforts, learn about partner country’s music as well as develop new attitudes towards the role of art for humanity. Chinese students presented the development of rap in China and introduced a famous Chinese rapper, Jackson Wang. According to their research, his music not only promotes common values such as love, hope, and peace but also is calling against cultural division between East and West. Additionally, they performed a dance on one of J.Wang’s songs. Korean students shared their reflections on the famous song “Heal the World'' by Michael Jackson. Students explained that the main theme of the song was covering many of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, in the reflection part, they mainly focused on SDG #16 “Peace, justice and strong institutions”.

After the presentations, students discussed similarities and differences of both artists’ music, its’ role, and main messages. Students concluded that although Jackson Wang and Michael Jackson might have different audiences, both artists’ music is addressing important goals for humanity in a fun and memorable way. Also, they noted that both artists are calling attention to global issues and aim to make this world a better place.

During the Performance time at the end of the Live Class, students got a chance to show their talents and sang songs in Korean and Chinese. Since both schools’ students joined from their classrooms, they could exchange immediate reactions and show their impressions altogether. Such direct online contact between students from two classrooms raised their interest in their partner’s culture and language.

Overall, students were encouraged to view the role of art in cultures from different perspectives. Live Class activities helped students to realize how art connects the world, how similar are its goals and means. While listening to partner school’s presentations, students learned how to express their behavior and attitude towards foreign artists correctly in a foreign language. As the principal from Zhenjiang Vocational College noted in his closing remarks, this Live Class was “a breakthrough in form and content”. Indeed, students explored a new side and purpose of art in a memorable way and at the same time gained new intercultural knowledge about each other.

#IVECA #21CenturyEducation #GlobalEducation #InterculturalCommunicativeCompetence #GlobalCitizenship #SDG #LiveClass #MulticulturalEducation #IEGI #ArtClass #ArtsForHumanity