Recognizing Vermont
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GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP: ENGAGE
VIRTUAL STUDENT CONFERENCE (ARCHIVE)
April 7 + 8, 2021 (PAST EVENT)
"We Must Gather Our Courage to Change the World"
-St. Charles Lwanga Students, Nairobi Kenya, 2018
Held in April of 2021, Global Citizenship: Engage was an action focused virtual conference for students and teachers in grades 7-12. All of the presentations and workshops are archived here.
Global Citizenship: Engage was an action focused virtual conference for students and teachers in grades 7-12 that was designed with the complexities of teaching and learning during a pandemic in mind. Global Citizenship: Engage was created to inspire a sense of wonder at the world and our place in it.
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Untangle the concept of global citizenship through high interest presentations and workshops
Develop an understanding of diverse perspectives and learn some of the ways others are working for a more sustainable and equitable future
Explore themes of justice and discover ways to engage by thinking globally and acting locally
Witness the immense power of collaboration and recognize the potential you hold to be a changemaker
Featured Presentations
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 2021
Recognizing Vermont
Lee Longtoe; Askawobi Productions
Vermont, USA
When we consider the idea of global citizenship, our minds often take us to places and cultures far away, but we need look no further than Vermont to recognize the cultural diversity and historic experience of the Abenaki, Pennacook and Mahican people. Lee Longtoe roots our exploration of global citizenship in Vermont, helping us to understand the history of this place and recognize the contemporary experience of indigenous people in 2021. A member of the Elnu Abenaki Tribe, Lee Longtoe is an artist, scientist, educator, filmmaker and scholar whose research has received presidential praise. Recipient of both a 2018-2019 Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship and 2017 Udall Foundation Tribal Policy Scholarship. Their dissertation, Food Sovereignty in N’dakinna: a Contemporary Analysis of the Western Abenaki received high praise and honors marks from the University of Reading in 2020.
Ripple Effects in Public Art
Ramiro Davaro-Comas; Dripped on the Road
New York, USA
Ramiro Davaro-Comas is an Argentine/American artist living and working in Upstate New York. He is the creator and director of Dripped on the Road, a traveling artist residency program, and an artist on the road at times. His dedication for painting, traveling and community work have allowed him to travel throughout his career to collaborate with other artists, and the combination of all three passions after many years led him to launch this unique program and artistic career. Ramiro shares with us his experience creating public art and the power art holds as a tool for change. Who is art for and how does art help us to understand perspectives different than our own? Ramiro has painted over 200 murals, with his work on walls across the US and in cities around the world including Akumal, Mexico, Berlin, Germany, Amsterdam, Netherlands and Barcelona, Spain.
THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021
Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conservation
Simba Qiang Zhou; Mara Conservation Fund
Masai Mara, Kenya
In 2011, Simba Qiang Zhou started the Mara Conservation Fund and became the first Chinese National to establish a wildlife conservation organization in Africa. Simba has spent the past decade living amongst lions on Masai Mara in Western Kenya, working within a community conservation model to address issues of poverty, habitat degradation and wildlife extinction. Featured in several documentaries and television specials including the History Channels "Lion Heart", Simba shares a compelling perspective on our collective obligation as global citizens to protect the natural world. As Simba will tell you, animals do not have passports, so his life work is to promote wildlife conservation. His presentation demonstrates the necessity for and power of collaborative partnerships to achieve the type of change necessary for a sustainable and equitable future. In addition to his work in Kenya, in 2016, Simba established the Nature Guardian Wildlife Conservation Center to improve wildlife habitat protection in China.
Building for Communities by Communities
Jimmy Lama; Helambu Education and Learning Partnerships
Sindhupalchowk, Nepal
In 2015, a massive earthquake struck Nepal causing severe damage to infrastructure across the entire country. In Sindhupalchowk, a region located in the Himalayan mountains to the north of Kathmandu, 470 of its 545 schools were destroyed. Jimmy Lama will share his story of mobilizing resources and supporting local communities to rebuild. What does it mean for a community who did not think they could survive the intensity of the damage caused by the earthquake to have a school and an active role in the rebuilding process? How does a space like a school contribute to preserving tradition, culture and the bearings of the local economy? Through his presentation, Jimmy shares the important role education plays in protecting the integrity and dignity of local people, and the power it has to hold communities together in the face of outmigration from rural communities. Jimmy Lama is a founder and the Executive Director of Helambu Education and Learning Partnerships. He received a graduate degree in International Development from the University of Sussex in the UK and is a 2019 World Learning Institute Policy and Governance Fellow. Beyond his work building schools, Jimmy is extensively involved in work addressing education quality and is the Nepal representative to the International Teachers Association.
With additional presentations from: Nuestra Escuela, Randolph Technical Career Center, Spiral International, Community Health Centers of Burlington, University of Vermont Department of Community Development & Applied Economics, and Shelburne Virtual Academy
Workshops
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 2021
Be the Change: Participatory Democracy Through Action Civics
Matt Henchen; Vermont Youth Lobby
10:30am-12:00pm
Join youth and adults from the Vermont Youth Lobby to learn how a shift in thinking about civics education and the inclusion of a personalized civic action project led to the rise of a new youth movement called the Vermont Youth Lobby. Over the past several years, this grassroots organization of students, teachers, and community members have organized multiple youth lobby events, including press conferences, petition drives, letter-writing and social media campaigns, climate strikes, Congressional testimony, a Youth Climate Congress, and most impressively, several massive youth rallies on the Statehouse lawn, which collectively brought together over three thousand students from dozens of schools across Vermont to meet with their lawmakers and discuss issues that were important to them. We will share our story of how we are working locally to address global issues, share video footage from past events and respond to any questions you have about starting a youth lobby chapter in your school.
Taking Action for People & the Planet: Youth Voice in Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability
Sarah Popowicz; Up for Learning
1:30pm-3:00pm
Join youth facilitators from Vermont to learn how they are connecting with youth from Mississippi and Nepal on a global mission to address challenges including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. Participants will engage in an activity using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's), to identify what they are most passionate about and how to begin taking action.
THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021
*Youth Only* Discussion Panel
Evelyn Monje; Up for Learning
10:30am-12:00pm
Join this youth only discussion panel, led by VT youth leaders, to talk about global citizenship through the lens of youth voice and equity activism. Participants will gain diverse perspectives, experiences, and strategies for advocating for change within their own schools and communities.
Synthesis and Strategy
Ben Freeman; Vermont Learning for the Future
1:30pm-3:00pm
Join together with conference presenters and participants to make sense of what we have learned, share your inspirations, and strategize for future action. We’ll tap into the power of collective learning, collaborative networks and personal action in the transition from this shared space to a bright future. This workshop will be hosted by a youth-adult team from Vermont Learning for the Future. We need all voices - please join us!