The Global Goals are a set of universal Goals, which set out a plan to tackle the issues that affect us all, no matter where we are in the world, from climate change to health, from gender equality to peace and justice. Our ambition was that the teaching of the Lesson itself should be universal too, so that with the knowledge of the Global Goals every child should feel empowered to feel they have a role to play in working towards them. Lessons are happening right now all over the world, and today we want to spotlight the Latin American and Caribbean region to tell you about some of the amazing ways the dream of a universal lesson is being realized.
Photo: Students of I.E. Cristo Rey Del Distrito De Chorrillos learn about Global Goal #6
REACHING EVERY CLASSROOM
To get the lesson to every classroom in the world our materials have had to be accessible and in multiple languages. We are thrilled that this number is growing organically. A mark of the wide appeal of these materials is that the number of translations is flourishing – from Welsh to Slovene, from Hungarian to Bisaya. Meanwhile, in some places, like the CE Santiago del Guardia in Panamá, the lesson itself is being taught in a foreign language, to link the importance of language learning with global citizenship.
All of the World’s Largest Lesson materials are accessible online – free to download from our website with lower resolution versions on Facebook. Uruguay has taken a leading role in promoting the importance of digital access for students. Through its ‘one laptop per child’ programme it has been able to make the World’s Largest Lesson available to all students in public schools, truly championing Global Goal #9! Meanwhile in El Salvador, the ministry is working with UNICEF to print and distribute key materials to classrooms across the country.
Teachers across Latin America and the Caribbean have been personally invited to take part thanks to the huge support and communication efforts of Ministries and UNICEF country offices. Whether by letter, email or social media as in Honduras, Cuba, Paraguay, and Nicaragua or, as you can see in our Latin America and Caribbean Facebook album, like Haiti through hosting a session where teachers themselves get to learn about the World’s Largest Lesson.
FAMILIAR FACES
The involvement of high-profile figures has made a huge difference to the World’s Largest Lesson in Latin America and the Caribbean. Showing personal commitment to the Lesson, the Minister of Education (MoE) of Ecuador, Sr. Augusto Espinosa, has already taught a lesson himself in a school in Guayaquil, and you can find out about MoE of Buenos Aires, Sr. Esteban Bullrich’s brilliant Lesson in a Chinese-Argentinian school in our School Spotlight this afternoon – when we will release his video! Today the Costa Rican MoE, Sonia Marta Mora as well as Guyana’s MoE Augusto Espinosa take part, showing teachers how important they think the World’s Largest Lesson is for the children of their countries. Follow us on twitter to see.
All over the world, young fans of footballers Neymar and Dani Alves have been thrilled to see their heroes appear in their classrooms through our animation. No more so perhaps than in their native Brazil, where presenter of TV Globo show “Esquenta!”, Regina Casé invited her audience of millions, from Brasilia to the rural Amazonas, to share the Lesson and take up the Ministry’s invitation to teach the Global Goals to every child in the country. You can watch it here.
CREATIVE SUPERPOWERS
Teachers all over the world have been sending us photos and stories of how they have taught the lesson creatively, including collages from Perú, facilitating peer-to-peer presentation in Ecuador, and using the Socratic circle method to discuss water shortage in Colombia. We’ve seen how students have become deeply engaged by choosing which Goal they will champion above all, including some great essays and Global Goals selfies from México.
It’s not just teachers and students who’ve shown their creative superpowers…we love the TV advertisement that the Ministry of Education of Jamaica has made, and we recommend you watch it here. “Is it true, is it true?” – the student asks in the ad. Yes. It’s true. The World’s Largest Lesson is really happening, and Everyone is invited.
We’d love to hear how you are teaching the World’s Largest Lesson or how you are taking part! Tell us by sharing your photos and stories mentioning @theworldslesson or by tagging or messaging us, TheWorldsLargestLesson, on Facebook.
