Announcements

Tread Lightly Educator Challenge Winner Announced!

The Tread Lightly Educator Challenge is a contest that showcases inspirational stories from educators around the world who have engaged with the program. The winner of this year's challenge is Teresa di Curzio from Italy. Teresa started a thematic classroom to engage her students with the Tread Lightly curriculum, and used the discussion board and bookmark functions to facilitate collaboration among students. Additionally, she undertook a school-wide project to discuss environmental issues with students and create artworks to enter in the Imprints contest. The choice of a winner was difficult, as there were many strong entries to the challenge. Finalists include Fernanda Silva, the leader of a youth environmental club in Portugal, and Meimei Shih, a secondary school teacher in Taiwan. Find out more at www.treadlightly.me and in our blog.

Project Borneo 3D: Top 16 Action Agents Announced!

DeforestACTION is a global movement of youth and schools taking action to stop deforestation and create a permanent habitat for orang-utans and other species that depend on forest ecosystems. The project is currently focused on the forests of Indonesia, where widespread illegal deforestation has made the country the number three emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.

After receiving more than 150 inspiring video entries, the top 16 DeforestACTION agents have been chosen! They will travel to Borneo to spearhead the project while starring in a major 3D documentary film! See who made it to the top 16, and be sure to keep updated on their journey by regularly checking out the DeforestACTION Headquarters!

Introducing Sara!

A big welcome goes out to the newest addition to our team, Sara Hassan! Sara began her journey volunteering with TIGed as an intern from January to May of last year. She recently returned to TIGed after spending 11 months working as an Aga Khan Foundation Fellow for an early childhood education program in Zanzibar, Tanzania. In her new role as TIGed Program Officer, Sara will be supporting the DeforestACTION initiative, membership and partnership development, and the Sprout e-courses. We are lucky to have Sara back, and inspired by her dedication to global education!

Opportunities

Change Inc.: Cultivating Young Social Entrepreneurs

Are you an Ontario-based organization or educator that supports young, passionate, high school changemakers? Want to help youth turn their world changing ideas into innovative social enterprises?

TakingITGlobal and the Public Policy Forum are excited to announce Change Inc. - an initiative that develops the social entrepreneurship skills of Ontario youth through an interactive, self-directed e-course. Up to 100 Ontario youth aged 16-21 can take part in a unique opportunity to develop essential social entrepreneurship skills, including team building, project management, communications and leveraging technology to design social change projects.

The Change Inc. e-course will take place over a 12-week period from September to December 2011. Due to the generous support of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the Change Inc. e-course is being offered at a reduced rate of $20 per participant. For more information, check out http://www.changeinc.ca or contact Sara Hassan, Change Inc. Outreach Coordinator, at sara@takingitglobal.org.

Panorama Zine Publication Opportunity: Protecting Children's Rights

Panorama Every day, children's rights are being violated around the world. Abuse, malnutrition, poverty, child trafficking, and child labour are just a few of the most pressing issues surrounding this topic. Children have the right to have adequate health care, education, a place to live, and the freedom to play. They have the right to be protected from abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination, and to live in a healthy environment.

Who is responsible for defending child rights? How does violating the rights of the child impact their development? Encourage your students to submit their written reflections on this important issue to be considered for inclusion in the next issue of Panorama!

Recent Events

World Environment Day Video Conference

June 3, Online

The Tread Lightly program held a international student video conference in June in order to commemorate World Environment Day, celebrated annually to raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire environmental stewardship. Connecting 11 classrooms from Canada, the United States, Taiwan and Russia, the WED video conference featured two powerful guest speakers who shared their personal experiences with environmental sustainability: Chris Linder, an award-winning photographer and oceanographer, and Rob Stewart, director of the highly acclaimed documentary, Sharkwater. Visit www.treadlightly.me to learn more about the program and how to get involved.

International Society for Technology in Education

June 26-29th, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The TIGed team had a great time at this year's event, running numerous poster sessions and engaging with educators at our partner booth, generously provided by ISTE. Learn more about our time there by reading this recent blog post and checking out our photo collection on Flickr!

Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning 2011

July 7-9th, Washington, DC

Conor McLaren, a senior at Washington International School recently sat on a student panel to demonstrate the effects of teaching for the development of global competencies among students. Conor spoke about his experience writing for Student News Action Network about failed states, and about the action tools made available by TIG.

Global Youth Assembly

July 27-30th, Edmonton, Alberta

TIG recently attended the Global Youth Assembly, a vibrant youth social forum presented every two years by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. TIG was on location in Edmonton and gave two workshops on the Tread Lightly environmental education program, tying in with the theme of "Our World. Our Water."

Reminders

Don't forget to add your collaboration details!

Do you have specific ideas for how you'd like to work together with other educators on TIGed? Share your collaboration details by visiting the TIGed community page and inputing your ideas. Your details will be featured alongside your name in search results.

Wrap Up

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