Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Grade 7 "Solutionaries" Address the SGDs




Just two short months after the world's leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ISKL is already empowering students to develop the skills necessary to address the world's largest issues, albeit on smaller scale. Transforming Our World (website here), is a one-day "solutionary" conference facilitated entirely by students, is aimed at the following learning outcomes for participants:
  • Be introduced to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030)
  • Address a topic related to sustainable development in a meaningful way
  • Develop action plans ("Commitments to action") related to a SDG
  • Present action plans to an audience of peers
The event is organized in part by the MS Student Council, who is ably facilitating the opening ceremony and keynote address, the community events and the closing presentations. SDG focused workgroup are also part and parcel of the even and are all facilitated by grade 7 Global Issues students.

By the end of the day the students will have interacted with each other and with the SDGs in meaningful ways, deliberating the issues, identifying existing solutions around the world and creating a realistic action plan ("Commitment to Action") that they will present to their peers. Obviously the world cannot be changed in just one day and so the "commitments" will be passed on to trimester 3 global issues and grade 6 service learning classes as recommended starting points to service learning experiences!

A big thank you goes to the MS Student Council advisors, Ms. Feitas and Ms. Vivian, the Global Issues teachers Mr. Peters and Ms. Keithley and the MS Service Learning Coordinator, Ms. Smith. But the biggest of thank yous, of course, needs to go to the G7 Global Issues and MS Student Council students who are rising to the occasion and developing their leadership through commitment and energy in addressing such important issues with a "can do" mindset. 

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