Link teachers and student representatives recently met at the National Curriculum Centre, Hamrun, to explain the many activities organised in several local schools during 'Global Education Week' from November 19 to 23 on issues such as climate change, forced migration, bridging the gap between diverse cultures, fighting stereotypes, problems faced by children of minority groups, working together to solve global issues, and voicing our opinions for the world we want. The week's overall theme was 'Six billion - One Humanity'.
During Global Education Week at Ġużeppi Despott Boys' Junior Lyceum, Cospicua, the NGO Graffitti put up an 'Energy Road Show' comprising a series of posters concerning the use of energy resources and fossil fuels, and the various renewable resources that can be utilised to combat climate change. One poster showed the areas of the Maltese Islands at risk if the sea level continues to rise.
In a 'Walk Through Theatre' activity organised at the school by the Jesuit Refugee Service, a group of students 'travelled' with a family from Congo as they re-enacted episodes from their lives since when they were forced to leave Congo due to constant attacks by rebel fighters.
These episodes included their journey across the Sahara Desert, living in a refugee camp in Libya, crossing the Mediterranean Sea in an overcrowded small boat and their experience in the detention centre in Malta.
In another activity entitled 'The Estelle project' that concerns world development organised by the local NGO Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust (KKĠ), students experienced the problems related to unfair terms of trade that developing countries face vis-a-vis the G8 countries. Nathalie Grima from KKG also arranged for a Form 4 class to play a card game entitled 'The Fair Trade Game', that has been devised by KKĠ and is now being sold through a number of outlets in Malta.
These activities were subsequently followed up in various ways.
Form 4 students in the Geography option group prepared charts about the countries refugees in Malta originate from, and the charts were then displayed in the school foyer.
Form 3 students were given a series of websites providing information on climate change, and two teams of students competed in a quiz on 'Common Misconceptions regarding Climate Change'.
Form 5 students on the Georgraphy and Social Studies option looked into fair trade in Malta, and some of the students have decided to continue this investigation in more depth in order to present this project for Sec Geography exam. The school's Geoclub members discussed the various points raised by the 'Energy Road Show' posters.
Various groups of students from Carlo Diacono Girls' Junior Lyceum, Żejtun, explained how they had tackled the theme from different angles.
Form 1 students spoke about the creative charts they had produced while other students conducted a Powerpoint presentation on the need to tackle climate change.
Another group focused on the issue of human rights and shared about their encounter with two Eritrean refugees at school with two refugees from Eritrea, organised in collaboration with the Jesuit Refugee Service outreach programme.
Students from Mariam Al-Batool School, Paola, delivered a presentation on the five major world religions, namely Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and went on to speak about their own Islamic faith.
The other participating students asked them many questions as they were eager to get to know more about Islamic customs and culture.
The school caters for the Muslim community in Malta including Maltese nationals and international students.
The Qur'an and Arabic is taught to students who profess the Islamic faith, although the headmistress, Maria Camilleri, and several teachers are Catholics.
A group of students representing Dun Ġużepp Zammit Brighella Boys' Junior Lyceum, Hamrun, spoke about the various causes and effects of climate change and about the issues raised by playing the Fair Trade Game.
Although they could not attend the meeting, two other schools, Lorenzo Gafà Boys' Secondary School, Vittoriosa, and Lily of the Valley Girls' Secondary School, Mosta, sent details about their activities during Global Education Week.
Lily of the Valley students linked the week with activities concerning fair trade being organised as part of the project for Global Action Schools.
This link with other related initiatives is to be recommended because global education should encompass all subjects on the curriculum and be ongoing throughout the year.
Lorenzo Gafà Boys' Secondary School mainly addressed the theme of racism in sports. The students set up a billboard with numerous newspaper cuttings under the heading 'What is racism?' Another billboard displayed reports on various local and international activities and initiatives being carried out by the various sport organisations to counter racism in sport.
Form 5 students watched the film entitled Glory Road about the first US basketball coach who included Afro-Americans in his team and discussed the issues raised by the film during a forum.
Another activity involved a Powerpoint presentation on sports events that were tainted by racism, what is happening in Malta, and about Afro-American athletes that are making a name for their country. During the meeting, Dominik Kalweit and William Grech, members of the local NGO Inizjamed also delivered a presentation about a project called Connectando Mundos that they are organising together with other NGOs in Italy (Ucodep), Spain (Intermon Oxfam) and Portugal (Cidac).
At the end of the meeting, certificates of participation in Global Education Week were presented to the representatives from the various schools.
As preparation for Global Education Week, link teachers and student representatives from Ġużeppi Despott Boys' Junior Lyceum, Carlo Diacono Girls' Junior Lyceum, Lily of the Valley Girls' Secondary School, Lorenzo Gafa` Boys' Secondary School and Dun Ġuzepp Zammit Brighella Boys' Junior Lyceum also attended two activities - a visit to the Mariam Albatool School at the Islamic Centre, Paola, held on November 6, and a presentation of the 'Energy Road Show' at the National Curriculum Centre, Hamrun on November 7.
During the latter event, Chris Mizzi and two other members from the NGO Moviment Graffitti put up the series of posters forming part of the show, and Mr Mizzi explained the issues raised in more detail through a Powerpoint presentation.
Ms DeBattista is co-ordinator of Geography at Ġużeppi Despott Boys' Junior Lyceum and a Maltese national co-ordinator for the Global Education Week.