The following piece was written by Deanne Savard of Peace River, who was chosen to go to South Africa this summer on ACGC’s Change Your World: Alberta Youth Leadership tour. South Africa seemed like such a faraway place before our trip. It's hard to notice how insulated your world is when you are living it everyday. In northern Alberta, it's especially easy to separate yourself from the rest of the world. The world seems so big, and that somehow makes your problems bigger, too. Especially being a youth, it's difficult to see how your dreams could possibly come true when the world is so full of people who also have dreams - it's a zero-sum game that you can't win. Visiting Hamburg in South Africa with the Keiskamma Canada Foundation and seeing how people flourish under hardships made me realize how small the world really is. All of the problems that the people in Hamburg face seemed to actually strengthen the community. Everybody felt a personal responsibility to protect the most vulnerable members in the village. Looking back, it's not that people in Hamburg have a stronger moral compass than Canadians do, but here these subtleties sometimes hide from plain sight. Being an outsider in Hamburg, seeing these dynamics, and then coming home changed my perspective. Everybody has these morals in common, and so, South Africa isn't such a faraway place after all. I used to feel afraid of dreaming too big because I didn't want to be embarrassed when I lost. Since the Teach the World’s Largest Lesson! trip, success isn't a zero-sum game to me anymore. The world has opened up to me; there are innumerable possibilities. Without all of these new experiences, I don't think I could have believed that I could have success. Now, though, I have never felt this excited about my future or as motivated to do well. With a new school year approaching, this trip couldn't have come at a better time in my life. International learning experience benefits youth VOLUME 11 AUTUMN 2015 A PUBLICATION OF THE ALBERTA COUNCIL FOR GLOBAL COOPERATION On September 25th the United Nations will announce the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of goals for the world that aim to make our planet fair, healthy and sustainable by 2030! The SDGs are intended to build upon the expiring Millennium Development Goals, to finish the work that was started and to improve upon the implementation. To help educate about these goals, numerous agencies across the globe have come together to promote The World’s Largest Lesson and ACGC is encouraging teachers in Alberta to join in! To participate in this global movement, teachers are en- couraged to plan a lesson between September 28th and October 2nd which educates their students about the SDGs, and what they can do to help achieve them. Don’t know where to start? Start with our two-page insert in this newsletter about the SDGs and the cam- paign, and follow up by visiting ACGC’s website. And don’t forgot to check out the various campaign websites below! www.tes.com/worldslargestlesson Pictured are Lasha, Reana, Sean, Abdul, and Deanne www.globalgoals.org
ACGC Teach: Autumn 2015 Featuring an update on the Change Your World tour, professional development opportunities for teachers, information about the how to get involved in the campaign to promote the Sustainable Development Goals, and more!
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The following piece was written
by Deanne Savard of Peace River,
who was chosen to go to South
Africa this summer on ACGC’s
Change Your World: Alberta
Youth Leadership tour.
South Africa seemed like
such a faraway place before
our trip. It's hard to notice
how insulated your world
is when you are living it
everyday. In northern
Alberta, it's especially
easy to separate
yourself from the rest
of the world. The
world seems so big, and
that somehow makes your problems
bigger, too. Especially being a youth,
it's difficult to see how your dreams
could possibly come true when the
world is so full of people who also
have dreams - it's a zero-sum game
that you can't win.
Visiting Hamburg in South Africa
with the Keiskamma Canada
Foundation and seeing how people
flourish under hardships made me
realize how small
the world really is.
All of the
problems that the
people in
Hamburg face
seemed to actually
strengthen the
community.
Everybody felt a
personal
responsibility to
protect the most
vulnerable
members in the
village. Looking back, it's not that
people in Hamburg have a stronger
moral compass than Canadians do,
but here these subtleties sometimes
hide from plain sight. Being an
outsider in Hamburg, seeing these
dynamics, and then coming home
changed my perspective. Everybody
has these morals in common, and so,
South Africa isn't such a faraway
place after all.
I used to feel afraid of dreaming too
big because I didn't want to be
embarrassed when I lost. Since the
Teach the World’s Largest Lesson!
trip, success isn't a zero-sum game
to me anymore. The world has
opened up to me; there are
innumerable possibilities. Without
all of these new experiences, I don't
think I could have believed that I
could have success. Now, though, I
have never felt this excited about
my future or as motivated to do
well.
With a new school year
approaching, this trip couldn't have
come at a better time in my life.
International learning experience benefits youth
V O L U M E 1 1
AUTUMN 2015 A PUBLICATION OF THE ALBERTA COUNCIL FOR GLOBAL COOPERATION
On September 25th the United Nations will announce
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of
goals for the world that aim to make our planet fair,
healthy and sustainable by 2030! The SDGs are intended
to build upon the expiring Millennium Development
Goals, to finish the work that was started and to improve
upon the implementation. To help educate about these
goals, numerous agencies across the globe have come
together to promote The World’s Largest Lesson and
ACGC is encouraging teachers in Alberta to join in!
To participate in this global movement, teachers are en-
couraged to plan a lesson between September 28th and
October 2nd which educates their students about the
SDGs, and what they can do to help achieve them.
Don’t know where to start? Start with our two-page
insert in this newsletter about the SDGs and the cam-
paign, and follow up by visiting ACGC’s website. And
don’t forgot to check out the various campaign websites
below!
www.tes.com/worldslargestlesson
Pictured are Lasha, Reana, Sean, Abdul, and Deanne