FWC partners with other EU countries in the new ACID Project

FWC will participate as a partner in the newly approved European Union project called “Active Citizens for Intercultural Dialogue” or ACID for short. The project aims at: giving citizens the opportunity to interact and participate in constructing an ever closer Europe, which is democratic and world-oriented, united in and enriched through its cultural diversity, thus developing citizenship of the European Union.

The specific objectives of the project proposal are:
To support citizens' panels in all participating countries which enable the active interaction and discussion among citizens on the importance of intercultural dialogue at European level;
To collect the opinion of citizens on a key European challenge for the future such as the intercultural dialogue in a multicultural Europe;
To create mechanisms that enable European citizens to develop civic competences, to formulate their views and opinions on the European integration process in the form of recommendations for policy makers at European level;
To encourage the dialogue between European citizens and the institutions of the EU, empowering citizens as regards EU policies and their impact, and ensuring appropriate follow up of citizens' opinions by the EU institutions.

The target group of the project ACID will be young people and young adults (aged 18-30 years old), migrants and refugees, adults and aged people, politicians, representatives of the civil society (NGOs, cultural associations, trade unions), teachers and educators from the participating countries. Special attention will be paid to involving ordinary citizens of different demographic, social and professional backgrounds and to involving citizens' who would not have spontaneously participated in projects of a European nature.

The countries participating in the project are: Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, and Portugal. FWC associates will travel to Romania 1 March for the kick off meeting. Contact Larry Fergeson for more information.

FWC helps to "Jumpstart" the Cyprus Peace Process

The European Commission approved the application for a new project to be coordinated by Future Worlds Center and led by the Youth Centre Union. The 18 month long project is called "Jumpstart - Youth Peace Campaign in Cyprus" and aims to increase the number of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot youth actively participating in the Cyprus reconciliation process. It is funded by the The European Commission as part of its Reconciliation, Confidence Building Measures and Support to Civil Society under the CYPRIOT CIVIL SOCIETY IN ACTION Programme.

The Overall Objectives are to:
• Increase confidence building between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot youth (18-30)
• Create opportunities for youth to actively engage in reconciliation activities
• Promote inter-cultural dialogue and its methods and language as a concept and as the means for envisioning a future Cyprus
• Enable Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot youth to challenge their own stereotypes and perceptions as well as to develop the capacity to challenge those of the community at large


FWC, as the European leader in Structured Dialogic Design Processes or SDDP, will conduct a deeper analysis of issues concerning youth, participation, reconciliation processes in Cyprus. FWC will enable the youth activist group to develop an action strategy for the campaign and to identify possible risks along with alternative solutions and contingency plans. Based on an effective methodology, the SDDP sessions will ensure that all key issues are taken into account, all members of the youth activist group have voiced both their plans and concerns, and that the group democratically agrees on the action plan to be implemented.

Global Connections in Sofia/ Bulgaria

FWC associates Kerstin Wittig and Yiannis Laouris travelled to Sofia/ Bulgaria last week to implement a 2-day training for teachers on Development Education. The training was organised by the Bulgarian C.E.G.A. Foundation, in collaboration with FWC, ScotDec and KADE and took place within the EU-funded project 'Accessing Development Education'.
The training brought together 18 teachers from Sofia and other regions of Bulgaria and introduced them to the concept of Development Education, which is still fairly new to most teachers in Bulgaria and other new European member states. The participating teachers had the opportunity to explore a diverse range of teaching resources, methodologies and activities, and to discuss how these would best fit into the Bulgarian school curriculum.
The Accessing Development Education project is compiling and online database of successful teaching resources on Development Education and is currently producing a teachers' manual, which will be published in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Scotland and Ireland. For more information about the project, please contact the project coordinator here.

FWC celebrates Safer Internet Day 2009

FWC in collaboration with CYTA on the CyberEthics project and as part of the Safer Internet Day 2009 events invites you to a conference on February 9th. For more information please click the image to your left and contact Georgina Shitta, CyberEthics Coordinator at Tel +357 22 873820.

FWC brings Cyprus Teachers together from 36 Schools to discuss the Challenges of Global Education

On Wednesday, 21 January 2009, teachers from 36 schools across Cyprus came together in a structured dialogue workshop at the Pedagogical Institute to discuss the challenges they face in integrating Global Education to their schools.
The workshop was organised by Future Worlds Center, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and CyprusAid, within the wider context of the annual Global Education Week.
Throughout the structured dialogue workshop, the teachers (including nursery, primary, secondary and technical teachers) identified a total of 96 challenges, which they categorised in five groups: Educators; School Culture; Official Side; Community Culture; and Learners. The workshop participants structured the 16 most important challenges into a tree of influence. A report of the workshop with detailed results will be uploaded shortly.
For more information please contact Kerstin Wittig.

Invitation to Contact Making and Project Development Workshop - 07 February 2009

Future Worlds Center is organising a workshop on Contact Making and Project Development for representatives and members of Youth NGOs from Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

The workshop will take place within the context of the European Youth project 'Strengthening of youth civil society initiatives through EU and neighbouring countries' networking'.


The main aims of the workshop are:
* to meet Youth NGO representatives from Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan;
* to identify common areas of interest;
* to develop joint project ideas, and
* to learn more about the European Youth Programme and its funding procedures.

For more more information and to register for the workshop, please contact Kerstin Wittig by email or telephone (+357 22873820).

FWC hosts Kyrgyzstan and Kazahstan Study Visit to Cyprus

In the context of the EU-funded project ‘Strengthening of youth civil society initiatives through EU and neighbouring countries' networking’, a group of 10 youth representatives from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will participate in a 2-week study visit to Cyprus. The project aims to provide opportunities for young people in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to build their leadership knowledge skills and attitudes for participation in community life and decision making, and to bring EU democratic principles and values closer to the Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan youth through various capacity building, share of experience and partnership building and networking activities with Greek and Cyprus youth.

Aim of Study Visit
The aim of this study visit is for the Kyrgyz and Kazakh youth to get new ideas and understanding about local youth work in Cyprus and the EU and also to create links and partnerships for developing joint youth projects in the future. The study visit will include leadership training, meetings with Cypriot youth organizations and volunteers, the Nicosia Municipality, representatives of the European Commission, as well as cultural institutions.

Participants
Three of the participants are members of the youth committee coordinated by Association for Societies “Baspana’, based in Almaty/ Kazakhstan, and seven participants are members of the youth committee coordinated by Development Cooperation in Central Asia (DCCA). All of the participants have participated in local trainings on volunteerism, project management, public relations/ communications and youth activism. One of their follow-up activities will be to set up their own youth NGO to promote democratic principles and youth activism among their own communities.

For further information contact Kerstin Wittig.

Helpline Training Conference

Helpline Training Conference: Thursday, Friday, 22nd and 23rd

Press Conference: Saturday 24th

The Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection and Welfare of Children, in collaboration with the Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute invite you to a Helpline Training Conference on Thursday and Friday 22nd and 23rd of February 2009, and on a Press Conference Saturday 24th that will take place in Classic Hotel in Nicosia.

Experts representing Helplines from Cyprus and Europe as well as expert psychologists will offer training on how to set-up Helplines and deal with Helpline calls regarding the use of new technologies, mainly the Internet, and their dangers.

Joining us will be representatives of Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute (Coordinator of the CyberEthics project in Cyprus), from the Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection and Welfare of Children, a representative from the Polish Helpline and from the Youth Board of Cyprus. The Conference is free and open to the public but registration needs to be made beforehand. On the 24th of January there will be a Press Conference that will announce the launching of Cyprus Helpline which will be operated by the Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection and Welfare of Children and present pan-European findings regarding Safer
Internet issues.

For registration please call Mrs. Georgina Shitta at 22-873820 or send an email to georgina@cnti.org.cy.

For further information please check our website at www.CyberEthics.info or call us at 22-873820.

The project is co-funded by European Union.

Invitation to “Make it Happen”: Millennium Development Goals Media Competitions

Cypriot NGO Future Worlds Center (FWC) invites all young people between 18 and 30 to compete in four different media competitions entitled ‘Make it Happen’. These are being held in conjunction with the EU funded ‘Youth Ambassadors for MDG’s’ (Millenium Development Goals) coordianted by FWC. The aim of the competitions is to extend the knowledge about the Millennium Development Goals to Cyprus and to involve Cypriot participants of the competition in support for developing countries. The first deadline is 31st January, 2009.

Competitions are divided into two levels; national and international. The top 3 winners of the Cyprus national competitions will receive cash prizes for their works and then compete against international competitors from the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary for trips to Argentina, Cambodia and the Republic of Congo.

Make it Happen Categories

Create a SHORT FILM.
Films which enter the second round will be presented at the Festival ‘Afrykamera’ 2009, in Krakow, Poland and be eligible for cash prizes.

Create a COMPUTER GAME connected with the theme of MDGs.
The top prize is a trip to Cambodia.

Create a CARTOON with the theme of the MDGs.
The top prize is a trip to Argentina.

Write an ESSAY about promoting the MDGs.
The top prize is a trip to the Republic of Congo.

Fore more information, please contact:

Larry Fergeson
Future Worlds Center
(legal reg: Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute)
Tel.: +357 22873820
Email: larry.fergeson.cyprus@gmail.com

Happy Holidays from Future Worlds Center

Dear Friends,

Future Worlds Center wishes all of our frıends a happy new year, success and happiness!!

ΤΟ FWC ΕΥΧΕΤΑΙ ΣΕ ΟΛΟΥΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΣΥΝΕΡΓΑΤΕΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΑΛΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑ ΚΑΙ ΕΥΤΥΧΙΣΜΕΝΟ ΤΟ ΝΕΟ ΕΤΟΣ (ΜΕ ΧΑΡΑ ΚΑΙ ΕYTYXIA)

FWC bütün arkadaşlarımızın Yeni Yılıını kutlar, başarı ve sağlık diler!

10 December 2008 – International Human Rights Day

Future Worlds Center joins with other Human Rights activists to celebrate of the International Human Rights Day.

This year's International Human Rights Day is of special significance as it marks the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which represented the first step in establishing a comprehensive international framework for the protection of human rights. Today the Universal Declaration is one of the fundamental texts establishing respect for human rights as a guiding principle in international relations. The year 2008 also witnesses the 15th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action proclaimed by the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights as well as the 10th anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

The UN
This theme for 2008, “Dignity and justice for all of us,” reinforces the vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a commitment to universal dignity and justice. It is not a luxury or a wish-list. The UDHR and its core values, inherent human dignity, non-discrimination, equality, fairness and universality, apply to everyone, everywhere and always. The Declaration is universal, enduring and vibrant, and it concerns us all.
Since its adoption in 1948, the Declaration has been and continues to be a source of inspiration for national and international efforts to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The EU
Human rights lie at the heart of the EU’s external relations and development policy, as it is underlined by the engagement of the EU in a worldwide campaign against the death penalty, by the key role played by the EU in the fight against torture as well as by the promotion of universality of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Within the framework of the EU’s human rights policy in third countries, the Commission is committed to advancing the situation of human rights worldwide through various tools, such as participation in EU human rights dialogues and consultations as well as in political dialogues with the authorities of third countries at different levels. Moreover, Commission Delegations regularly report on the human rights situation in third countries. Finally, through the European Instrument on Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR, the Commission funds NGOs worldwide working to promote human rights, in areas such as the fight against the death penalty, torture, the support to human rights defenders and to grassroots organisations.

Cyprus
According to the Amnesty International Report 2008, foreign nationals, including migrants and asylum-seekers, were held in detention for unacceptably long periods and in poor conditions without access to a judicial or other independent review. Some reported being beaten by police upon arrest or by guards once detained. Asylum-seekers reported a number of irregularities in the asylum procedure that could have jeopardized their applications or their families at home. An organization supporting and advising migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers was the target of a racist attack and its chairperson charged in connection with its fundraising activities.

For further information: http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/2008/

News from CYPRUS: Combined Node Re-launched

The Hotline in Cyprus, operating under the name “SafenetCY” has completed 18 months at the end of August. The new project was launched in September 2008 as a combined Awareness Node, Hotline and Helpline. The Awareness Node and the Hotline will continue to be operated by the Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute whereas the Helpline will be operated by the Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection and Welfare of Children (PCCPWC). Other partners include CYTA, the public telecommunications company, the Ministry of Education and a Turkish Cypriot NGO, Olive Branch. An enhanced cooperation with the Cyber-Crime Unit of the Police has been re-established after the dramatic increase in Child Pornography cases investigated in Cyprus. Specifically, the Cyber-Crime Unit has recorded the following statistics regarding the Child Pornography cases investigated in Cyprus since 2004:
• 2004 – 8 cases investigated
• 2005 – 16 cases investigated
• 2006 – 24 cases investigated
• 2007 – 34 cases investigated
• 2008 – 61 cases investigated
This dramatic increase in the number of cases investigated by the Police has started to concern deeply the local authorities and the Government. The National Advisory Board has decided to involve the authorities more and also to promote the Hotline to the wider public and to the schools. The authorities have also demonstrated increased interest to support the efforts of the CyberEthics Awareness Node and the SafenetCY Hotline.

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS

EU Kids Online: European research on cultural, contextual and risk issues regarding children and the Internet

An international one-day conference to address the latest policy issues and research findings about children and the Internet.

The anticipated audience includes researchers, policy makers, industry, child welfare, educators, NGOs and government.

When and where:
To be held on Thursday June 11th 2009, London School of Economics, London

Conference theme:
Are all children benefiting equally from the Internet and if not, why not? How strong is the evidence for the risks to children of going on-line? Are these risks changing, and why do they differ from one country to another? How can parents and policy makers achieve a better balance between on-line opportunities and risks? What do children themselves think of the Internet? What new literacies are they developing?

The conference will report the final results and recommendations from three year's work by EU Kids Online, a network of over 60 researchers in 21 countries, funded by the EC's Safer Internet plus Programme. See www.eukidsonline.net

Keynote speakers will be announced shortly.

Call for papers:
The conference will showcase the latest current research being conducted in Europe and worldwide. Researchers are invited to submit empirical papers about children's experience of the Internet on any of these topics:
* Social networks, on-line identities and e-participation
* Learning, creativity and media literacy
* Mobility, computer games and other emerging platforms
* Parental and peer mediation
* Risks, victims and perpetrators
* Regulation, empowerment and protection

Registration and submission details:
Registration and submission will begin in early January. See http://www.eukidsonline.net for further details. There is no conference fee.

We look forward to welcoming you to LSE to celebrate the end of our project and to debate the future agenda for research and for evidence-based policy.

Prof. Sonia Livingstone, Dr Leslie Haddon and the EU Kids Online network

Please distribute this message widely and apologies for cross-posting


Sonia Livingstone
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
S105, Department of Media and Communications
London School of Economics and Political Science
Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK
Project Director, EUKidsOnline, see www.eukidsonline.net

New: The International Handbook of Children, Media and Culture (Sage
2008)



Please access the attached hyperlink for an important electronic communications disclaimer: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/secretariat/legal/disclaimer.htm

Safer Internet Day 2009

On 1st December 2008, the Insafe network launched its first global activity for Safer Internet Day 2009, 10 February 2009, namely a quiz available in 22 languages!
The Insafe quiz http://insafequiz.eun.org addresses young people between 10 and 15 years of age, and requires them to answer a series of multiple choice questions on the media, internet safety, culture, history and geography followed by a final challenge. The variety of questions asked reflects the Internet's value as a tool for learning and finding information!
The aim of the quiz is to reach out to young Internet users and build momentum for the approaching Safer Internet Day (SID). This event will be celebrated in more than 50 countries worldwide on 10 February 2009. The European winners of the quiz will be invited to attend the SID celebrations in Luxembourg.
The 2009 quiz is available in Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, German, Greek, English, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish.
For updates, see: www.saferinternet.org

About Insafe:
The mission of the Insafe cooperation network is to empower citizens to use the internet, as well as other online technologies, positively, safely and effectively. The network calls for shared responsibility for the protection of the rights and needs of citizens, in particular children and youths, by government, educators, parents, media, industry and all other relevant actors. Insafe partners work closely together to share best practice, information and resources. The network interacts with industry, schools and families in the aim of empowering people to bridge the digital divide between home and school and between generations.

New competition: “Surf the net – think privacy!”

To celebrate Data Protection Day on 28 January 2009, EUN in collaboration with Microsoft just launched a new competition, inviting young people aged 15 to 19 years old to express their views and concerns about on-line privacy. Winners will be invited in Brussels to meet eminent jury members and take part in the Data Protection Day events where they will be awarded prizes.
Most of us often upload information on-line without giving much thought to whether this is personal data and how this information might be accessed or used in the future. This competition aims at raising awareness on the importance of protecting private information, especially in new web 2.0 environments such as social networking sites and blogs.
From 17 November 2008 to 15 January 2009, pupils in teams that shall not exceed six persons, and supervised by a teacher or another youth leader are invited to create a 30-90 seconds video of 10 MB maximum to illustrate the theme “Surf the net – think privacy!”. Schools from different European countries are also invited to work together. A special prize for the purchase of equipment will reward the best “tandem video”.
As entries start coming in, you can visit the on-line competition gallery to rate the uploaded entries. The winning videos will be featured during the prize award ceremony.
If you feel concerned about the use of your personal information and privacy risks on-line, and would like to share your thoughts about this in a creative way, please visit our website: www.dataprotectionday.eu

The Internet Behavior of Cypriots

The recently presented survey ‘e-cypriot 08’ on the activities of Cypriots on the Internet was conducted by OgilvyOne and the research company Evresis. The survey was conducted across Cyprus in a final sample of 969 Internet users, aged 13 years and above, with the methodology of random multistage stratified sampling. The data was collected through telephone interviews from October 23 until November 6 2008.
The survey revealed that many Cypriots use the Internet for shopping purchasing mainly clothing and books. The main products that Cypriots purchase on-line are clothes at 32.6 per cent and books at 28.3 per cent. ‘e-cypriot 08’ showed 49.1 per cent of Cypriots who make on-line purchases spend more than €250 a year, and 12.7 per cent spends more than €1,000. Asked whether they had purchased products from the Internet within the last week, 16.8 per cent answered yes. Moreover, the on-line behaviors of Cypriots range from obtaining general information at 54.6 per cent, for entertainment (45.1 per cent) and sports news (31.1 per cent).
According to the findings, the percentage of the population aged 13 or older who uses the Internet amounts to 41.2 per cent. The greatest use of the Internet is seen in the workplace; according to the survey, 53.8 per cent of the working people surveyed claim that they only use the Internet at the office.

Source: http://www.cyberethics.info/cyethics2/page.php?pageID=2&instance_ID=5&newsid=574

Cypriot Teenagers Revealing Personal Information in Facebook: Research Presented in 7th European Conference on E-Learning

On November 7, 2008 the New Media lab presented research at the 7th European Conference on E-Learning (ECEL). The research examined 'How much Personal and Sensitive Information do Cypriot Teenagers Reveal in Facebook?' The study showed that Cypriot teenagers disclose personal information about themselves and do not keep their Facebook settings on private, oblivious to the dangers that result from these actions.
The premise of this research came from the raising awareness that web-based social networks have become increasingly popular over the past few years. With over 60 million active users worldwide, Facebook has become a major meeting portal for people of all ages, especially teenagers. This network offers attractive means for communication and interaction, but also raises security and privacy concerns.
Previous studies that have proven that young people are aware of what type of personal data they disclose in social networking environments reveal not only a high level of concern but also a high level of ignorance. Major concerns revolve around the possibility of sexual predators and pedophiles finding and then assaulting adolescents who carelessly or unwittingly reveal identifiable information on their personal profile pages. Nevertheless, privacy concerned individuals join networks and reveal a great amount of personal information. For example, although members are concerned about privacy issues in Facebook they are willing to share identifying information and develop new relationships where the perceived privacy level is weak. Moreover, only a minimal percentage of users change the highly permeable privacy preferences.
However, currently no research is available concerning numbers, behavior, and perceptions of young Cypriot people using Facebook. In the context of the European safer Internet project “EU Kids Online,” this study explored how the youth of Cyprus use social networking sites, on the example of Facebook.
The New Media Lab of CNTI evaluated the amount of information youngsters disclose in Facebook and studied their usage of the site's privacy settings. They sought to empirically ascertain the types of information Cypriot youth are publicly posting through an extensive content analysis of randomly selected Facebook profile pages. For each member, various types of disclosed personal and sensitive information were analyzed, for example name, gender, profile picture, and contact information. Other parameters involved quantification of activities published, such as number of personal photos uploaded, membership in groups etc.
Preliminary results show that Cypriot Facebook youth members are also willing to share personal information as the majority of the participants published their full name, gender, birthday and hometown. In addition, Cypriot youth actively use Facebook and its possibilities with activities such as joining groups, supporting causes, and using applications. Surprisingly, Cypriots are less likely to disclose contact details.

Paper Citation:
Taraszow, T., Arsoy, A., Shitta, G., & Laouris, Y. (2008, Nov). How much Personal and Sensitive Information do Cypriot Teenagers reveal in Facebook? Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on E-Learning, Ayia Napa, Cyprus.

Christmas presents for the children of refugees and asylum seekers

Future Worlds Center is organising a Christmas gift collection to support the families of refugees and asylum seekers in Cyprus. We kindly request that all gifts are wrapped and that you indicate the age and gender of the child for which the present is intended (ages 0-14).

This Christmas let us all give some joy to the children of these families by offering them a present.

For further information please contact us on tel: 22 873820 fax: 22 873821.

We are open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.

Our offices are situated at 5 Promitheos str., 1st floor, 1065 Nicosia.

Future Worlds Center in cooperation with the Unit for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture (URVT) and with the support of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cyprus offers free legal advice to refugees and asylum seekers as well as free legal, social and psychological support to victims of torture and their families.

ObamaVision Webscope

Our international team of practioners of the science of Structured Dialogic Design (SDD), who wish to work together towards discovering the roadblocks facing President Barack Obama in realizing his vision of a bottom-up democracy for the people and with the people of the United States of America is engaging in the ObamaVision Webscope.

The group work of the team of stakeholders focuses on diagnosing the inhibitors to the actualization of a bottom-up democracy as visualized by the President-elect:

The "disciplined dialogue" of the team will be conducted asynchronously (different places at different times from December 1 to 12), and synchronously (different places at the same time on December 13) employing this Websope wiki. The group will be engaged for approximately six hours during the period of December 1 to December 13, 2008.

We are hosting an observers's party at the FWC offices on 13 December so that any of our associates can witness this event.

Please see http://obamavision.wikispaces.com for more info or feel free to contact Larry for questions / comments


See you on the wiki,

Global Connections – Interactive workshop on Development Education for Teachers from across Europe

25 teachers and teacher trainers from Cyprus, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Scotland and Ireland participated in a workshop on Development Education in Kaunas/ Lithuania from the 19 until the 23 of October, 2008. The workshop was part of the EuropeAid funded project ‘Accessing Development Education’, coordinated by Future Worlds Center (Cyprus) in partnership with Youth Career and Advising Centre (Lithuania), ScotDec (Scotland), KADE (Ireland) and C.E.G.A. (Bulgaria). The project’s main aim is to engage educators and schools in Development Education activities and equip them with relevant training and materials, thus making them promoters and multipliers of national campaigns that aim to create awareness about Development and about global interdependencies.
A Teachers Advisory Group (TAG) has been established in each partner country. The TAG members act as experts on the ground; they are actively involved in assessing, reviewing and modifying existing Development Education material, ensuring that it relates to the local teaching context.
The Global Connections workshop in Kaunas brought teachers and teacher trainers of all five national TAGs together. Throughout the four days, the participants explored a wide range of Global/ Development Education topics, such as Human Rights, Fair Trade, Refugees, Sustainable Development, and the Millennium Development Goals. The workshop sessions were led by the partner NGOs, as well as by teachers and teacher trainers themselves, sharing successful resources and approaches. A diversity of methodologies, teaching material, games and group activities ensured not only the active participation of all participants, but also offered the teachers a pool of good practices to utilise for their own classroom.
The project is currently developing an online depository of best practices of DE teaching material. The website with the depository will be launched in December and will be accessible at www.developmenteducation.info. Additionally, a wiki-portal has been set up as a tool to connect teachers across Europe at http://globalconnections.wetpaint.com. Any teacher or educator can register and participate in discussions or share interesting and successful teaching material, links and other success stories.
For more information, please contact the project coordinator.