Global Youth Murals Project   Organization: People to People International (PTPI) Location:Kansas City, MO, United States Name: Stacey Chance

"I think if we can motivate youth to think about respect, peaceful relations, and global concerns when they are young, we may help them become the type of thinkers and leaders we need when they are adults"

	Global Youth Mural Arts
	Global Youth Murals in the classroom
	Other PTPI Programs

People to People International is a non-profit organization whose goals are to enhance understanding and friendship between people in different countries through educational, cultural, and humanitarian programs for youth and adults. The organization promotes its mission through programs such as pen pal exchanges, a global youth forum, and peace camp abroad.

In 2001, Stacey Chance developed the Global Youth Murals Project, based on the premise that art is the universal language. The project invites students worldwide to create artwork illustrating their cultures and communities, and their ideas about friendship and peace through understanding. Murals are created on an ongoing basis, and are exhibited at different venues year round. Each year, four to six murals are chosen to receive awards and are featured in PTPI’s magazine, People.

TakingITGlobal’s Global Gallery hosts all of the murals submitted to the Global Youth Murals project. The Global Gallery has served as a tool to reward and provide exposure for the artists beyond the exhibitions, through the site’s large international community and simple posting process. PTPI is frequently contacted by TIG members interested in getting involved in their international network.

From the teacher’s eyes...

Elizabeth Sanchez, an online teacher with Virtual High School, integrated the Global Youth Murals project into her online course, Literacy Skills for the 21st Century. During the last five weeks of the course, Elizabeth introduces her students from across the United States to TIGed, focusing each week on a different unit of study and incorporating various tools from the site.

• Students plotted their hometowns on a collaborative class map and then explored TIG’s local city sites to learn about their peers’ communities.
• Students explored the art in the Global Gallery and blogged their responses to questions that asked them to think critically about each piece.
• Students developed critical thinking and cross-cultural skills by reviewing the Global Youth Murals Project and identifying symbols from the murals, using TIG Country sites to gain a deeper understanding of the culture in which the murals were created, and making connections between artistic symbols and culture. They used a class discussion board to reflect on their findings.
• The class accessed the Browse Resources, Understand Issues and Take Action sections to explore an issue they care about and learn what work is being done around the world on that topic. Students discussed their topics online and were encouraged to comment on each other’s work.

Best Practice:
- Giving students an authentic audience for their work is both a motivator and a source of engagement.
- Combining traditional research with art and action components helps reach different styles of learners/multiple intelligences.