Why should your school participate in the ACT 4 Global Change Challenge?
We live in a world that seems to be getting smaller every day. Social, economic and political globalization, along with amazing developments in communications technology, means we have greater influence on each other than ever before. It’s easy to get caught up in the negative impact of our increased integration, but if you shift your focus you can easily see how we can act as individuals and communities to make a positive impact.
By challenging youth at your school to be more active global citizens, youth will be able to see HOW they can make a positive difference in the world! And that’s what being a global citizen is about. Citizenship includes rights and responsibilities, this means participating in a community to make it better and benefiting from our collective efforts. Being a global citizen means seeing the ways we are connected and acting responsibly, knowing that everything we do can have an impact on our global community.
What do we mean by Global Citizen?
Being an active Global Citizen is:
A WAY OF UNDERSTANDING… how the world works; links between our own lives and those of people throughout the world.
A WAY OF SEEING… social justice & equity; other people’s reality; diversity; interconnectedness; the way that people can make a difference.
A WAY OF ACTING… exercising political rights; critical thinking; challenging injustice.
What is the role of the Challenge Leader?
Duties include registering the school in the contest and entering the ACTivities on the ACT 4 Global Change website. The teacher responsible for the contest must also communicate the contest rules to other teachers, students and parents. They should encourage everyone to engage in ACTing for global change ACTivities throughout the Challenge. If they like, they can also initiate ACTivities at their school to increase the number of ACTivities collected.
What is the role of the ACT 4 Global Change Youth Ambassadors in the ACT 4 Global Change Challenge?
There are four ACT 4 Global Change Ambassadors, one from each of the four Atlantic Provinces. Ambassadors serve to inspire others to ACT as global citizens, and may be available to provide support to schools participating in the ACT 4 Global Change Challenge, via a live Skype conversation with a class of students, for example.
What are the ACT 4 Global Change Challenges Rules?
What counts as an ACTion? Needs to be local, relevant, easy to do in classroom. See ACTivity Ideas on the challenge resources page.
Can the school ‘piggy back’ on an ACTivity they already had planned?
Yes, if it fits the ACTivity Ideas list and connects to the definition of ‘Global Citizen’.
What happens if my school is K-12?
Encourage the elementary classes to participate in ACTivities and count their numbers only.