High School Kids Urge the World to Take Overconsumption Issues Seriously

Monterrey, Mexico and Seoul, South Korea – The enthusiasm of Centro Varones and Hanil High School students literally filled both classrooms with high energy. Teachers and administrators were watching the interaction among students closely. As presenters make their way through the web camera, the insight on everyone’s minds was “how to remediate the impacts of over-consumption around the world in a sustainable way.”

Over-consumption is a significant issue facing local communities, whole nations, and the entire world. Over-consumption drains natural resources, generates waste and hampers the development of people. Often, this consumption has tremendous negative impacts on human health and natural environment that need to be addressed immediately.

In the IVECA program, Centro Varones and Hanil High School students took a moment to reflect on things we consume every day. How much is necessary for a healthy life? How much can be deemed excess and where does it go? What can be done as alternatives? All of these questions are addressed in the live discussion.

Overconsumption—commonly referred to as an intangible problem—pose an unusual issue for these high school students from Mexico and Korea. Since the beginning of November until mid-December, these ideas have been in brainstorm mode. Apart from the regular school work, these participants are largely hopeful about what they could do for the issue. However, the task was not easy — creating a campaign to combat the causes and impacts of over-consumption.

“Think about your long-term goals. The purchases you make today… will it bring the happiness and security of tomorrow?”, asked students from Centro Acadêmico Varones, Mexico. Approaching a more self-analytic mode, Cheong Sang’s group from Hanil School shared data gathered during the IVECA program explaining that from 2006 to 2016 the electricity usage of major advanced countries had dropped, but that of South Korea had increased by 41 percent. The group then displayed their solution for energy overconsumption of their country.

Through the activities, students could be naturally guided to think critically for the real-world problem-solving, which is a required high-level skill for the 21st century. By constantly exchanging their perspectives with partners from different countries, students were able to improve their intercultural competence of global citizens who would make a better future.

#Ed4GlobalCitizenship, #InterculturalComeptence, #SDG12, #IVECA#21stSkills

Elementary School Activists Campaigning for Social Changes

On December 12, 5th and 6th graders from Jingwan and Sunderland Elementary schools had an important gathering. The schools, from different hemispheres, adjusted their schedule, putting aside time differences to have a live discussion of important issues that people in the USA and South Korea are currently dealing with. The students began with a collaborative analysis of the causes and impacts of social issues. While researching ways to resolve the problems, they found out that those issues were actually related to their own daily lives and the people around them. After becoming aware of these not only local but also globally related problems, they decided to act upon them.

US students emphasized the importance of making good choices in everyday life and how that can impact everyone. A simple change in behavior, such as always turning off the lights when not in use makes a big difference in saving energy, according to them. Korean students highlighted the societal and economic matters involved in gender equality, health care, climate change, and others. Among several points addressed, they argued strongly why women’s wage is less than men’s in both countries. To campaign for change, students produced Public Service Announcement (PSA) videos.

After careful review of the counterpart school’s PSAs, each class exchanged feedback on their campaign messages. The following reflection from one of the US students shows how these young kids have become change makers and what society they will be able to create for their future.

“It was an awesome experience and we all learned a lot from your PSAs and presentations. We realize that we have choices in the present and future, that can make the world better or worse for all of us.”

#helping #donations

Act Locally, Think Globally for SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

On November 27, laughter and cheers echoed virtually between the jubilant classrooms. The smiling faces of students from Zhenjiang Vocational College in China and Jeonmin High School in Korea were filled with joy, surprise, and fascination as they listened and learned from their international partners.

These students, who have spent the last three months communicating asynchronously through IVECA’s Virtual Classroom, finally had the chance to meet in real-time and share their research to a live, enraptured audience at IVECA’s first Fall 2018 Semester Live Class.

Students discussed and presented their research concerning overconsumption in their respective countries and how this local issue is related to the global efforts in reducing overconsumption as illuminated by the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

Although the problems discussed by both classrooms are manifest in unique ways in China and Korea, these intelligent and well-spoken students expressed also the interrelatedness of each issue and the need to find both local and global solutions. Each student left the semester as more self-aware, more understanding, and more capable individuals equipped with the intercultural skills necessary to solve these shared global issues.

Their Live Class concluding all their collaborative work was a tremendous success, with veteran students and teachers from previous years praising it the best Live Class they have ever participated in. One Korean student thanked his international classmates, saying “this was a very meaningful experience for me and my high school life … I could feel impressed deeply thanks to you.” Zhenjian Principal shared his hope that in fact was demonstrated through this Live Class:

“It is hoped that as teachers and students communicate and learn from each other, they make progress together and benefit the world.”

#Ed4GlobalCitizenship, #InterculturalCompetence, #SDG4, #SDG12, #IVECA, #GlobalCitizens