Korean and Brazilian Students Design Solutions in an Intercultural Experience

On June 12 during the IVECA Virtual Live class, students from Hanil High School in Korea and Maria Luiza Formozinho Ribeiro Public School in Brazil shared plans to improve their communities and implement United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) #16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and the defined Target Indicators. Students from both schools began their learning experience by researching current community needs and analyzing problems their countries face. The students hey brainstormed ideas for a solution enlighten by SDG #4 (Quality Education) and #17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Following these research components, both classes conducted an in-depth discussion about their plans, shared feedback and learned how to improve their ideas. Throughout this Live Class, students helped each other understand how important it is to collaboratively explore solutions and ideas with other cultures. They also realized that several problems are shared by both countries but each deals with them in different ways.

Both Korean and Brazilian students expressed their joy of learning and hope for future collaboration through IVECA. Students’ learning experience was reflected through the closing remarks of teachers and principals from both schools. Principal from Hanil High School, Mr.Young-ui Kim demonstrated great support to the project and encouraged participants, saying:

“It is you, the young generation, that will grow into persons in positions to change the world in the future, and I see a bright future ahead of us after seeing you engage in this program throughout the semester.”

Brazilian Teacher Mr. Diego shared great enthusiasm as he conducting a Live Class for the first time:

“The Live Class is an unforgettable experience. Our students were able to get to know the SDGs, analyze the problems in our country in search of solutions. Furthermore, they were able to analyze problems and solutions in South Korea as well, which develops empathy, respect, and companionship that humanity needs so much!”

#Ed4GlobalCitizenship, #InterculturalCompetence, #IVECA, #PeaceEducation, #GlobalPartnership

Students Unite Against Climate Change

On June 11-12, students in Ukraine, China, and Korea worked on a problem that will impact on the future of humanity. They spoke virtually through a live video call about the implications and issues related to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13, which asks us to take urgent action to tackle climate change and its influences.

Although this issue is complex and presents numerous obstacles, the students on both sides of the classroom screens were jubilant and hopeful because they had built great insights during the last three months researching this topic. After months of intense research and invaluable collaboration with their partner country, students in Ukraine and Korea were undaunted by this imminent threat to the human economy, politics, and the environment. Through IVECA’s global collaborative platform, students experienced the roles of environmental specialists in this topic and self-actualized while implementing knowledge into tangible actions.

Students from disparate geographies, economies, and histories were able to share with one another the ways in which climate change specifically manifests in their countries. Instead of conducting superficial research solely about one’s own country and leaving the issue there, these students went beyond in their efforts to find the global intersections of climate change as an international threat that must be also addressed locally, through cooperation, mutual understanding, and respect.

Students from Hanil High School in Korea spoke eloquently about the SDG 13 as it relates to the destruction of habitats, the rise of epidemics, and increasing rates of methane gas production. In a wide-ranging and thorough investigation of climate change as it is presented in Korea, these high school students demonstrated a professional understanding of this complex problem. The solutions they presented were intelligent and realistic, dealing equally with the magnitude of the problem and the locality of it as it relates to government, economy, and individual well-being.

Students from STEAM School in Ukraine offered potential solutions and actions that we can take as global citizens to enact meaningful and immediate change. They made the case that, although this issue is global and goes far beyond the individual, there are still ways for us to help mitigate climate change. It starts, they argued, with appealing to local government, organizing peaceful meetings, and using alternative energy sources. Students from Zhenjiang Vocational College in China explained the impacts of light pollution, plastic waste (“White Pollution”), and water pollution. Solutions presented were pragmatic and achievable within the boundaries of UN SDG 13, and were founded in a balance of personal responsibility and collective action.

It was an inspiring Live Class session full of serious dialogue, sharing, and laughter. Ukraine’s principal summarized it well, stating, “We must act together because climate change affects everyone and concerns our common future!” And indeed this Live Class left us more hopeful and sure that we can meet this global challenge with the intelligence and ingenuity required.

#IVECA, #Ed4GlobalCitizenship, #InterculturalCompetence, #PeaceEducation, #LiveClass, #SDGs, #SDG13

IVECA Global Teachers’ Meetings for the Live Class Preparation

This week, teachers from Korea, Guatemala, Ukraine, Brazil, the USA, and China all gathered to discuss their successes this spring semester with IVECA and how they will apply their students’ research and hard work to their upcoming Live Class presentations. Whether it was their first semester with IVECA or they were a returning teacher well-versed in intercultural competence and global citizenship, everyone was smiling and ebullient on the video conference.

IVECA’s team assisted teachers as they reviewed their students’ progress over the past semester and helped them seamlessly integrate their research into presentations dealing with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although the material was wide-ranging and interdisciplinary, through the assistance from IVECA’s team, teachers were capable of recognizing key intercultural components and applying their work to address the complex issues presented in the UN SDGs.

Teachers from Korea and Guatemala collaborated to uncover the relationships between globalization and climate change, offered their students solutions, and brainstormed on how the Live Class session could be an activity of celebration and cooperation amongst countries across the globe. Teachers in Korea, Brazil, China, and Ukraine discussed how their community problems related to SDG 8, 10, 13 and 16 respectively and shared solutions investigated by their students, using this unique opportunity to find commonalities and differences, and exchanged best practices across borders and cultures.

Ultimately, this week was an incredible success and a fantastic demonstration of the power of intercultural communication and competence. Not only were IVECA Teachers left better prepared and more informed about the core tenets of intercultural competence, they also developed tangible solutions to local problems and larger international issues. In a true affirmation of global citizenship, IVECA partners go into the Live Class season as members of a larger global community, more capable of effecting meaningful and sustainable change as individuals who identify as global citizens with shared challenges and equal responsibility for making a more peaceful and understanding world.

#IVECA, #IntercuturalCompetence, #GlobalCitizenship, #Ed4GlobalCitizenship, #SDGs, #ClimateChange, #Globalization, #GlobalCitizen