We, at Utpal Shanghvi Global School, staunchly believe that the global crisis is a colossal matter of paramount priority, and to mould the ‘Gen -Z’ minds of the future entrepreneurs, we hosted a virtual Inter-School Competition to effectively guide our youth in the right direction.
Harriet Tubman rightly said, ‘Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.’ We, at USGS, believe that today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders; we just need to divulge the ‘global changemakers’; and most importantly, empathetic, modest human beings from within them.
‘We are Global Changemakers’ initiative was a brain child of our class 8 and 9 students and the Global Perspectives faculty, The objective of this event was to sensitize the young impressionable minds to global issues. Creating a generation of smart, sensitive, solution seekers to present sustainable options for a better tomorrow equipped with transferable skills like critical thinking, research and collaboration in a practical real world context is a much needed step to bring about this change. Global Perspectives makes the individual think differently, making education much more meaningful. This inter school competition was based on the following ten targeted taglines keeping the Sustainable Development Goals in mind.
Pledge for a poverty-free nation.
Education is not a luxury, it is a necessity.
A handful of Dough…a heart full of hope – End Hunger.
Green is the new cool. Help stop the warming.
The Solution is No Pollution.
Gender equality is a human right and not a female fight.
Act Responsible, Think Sustainable.
Today’s Wastage is tomorrow’s Shortage.
Save the Paws of the World.
When Climate can Change, why can’t we?
It was spread over a month with 150 + students taking part from 31 schools, within India and across the globe sculpting their ideas around thematic categories like:
5. GAME MAKERS, GAME CHANGERS- Teacher’s Category
Everyone loves to play a game, and when instruction incorporates creative and multisensory merriment to combat and obliterate learning fatigue and frustration, all the learners will rise to the occasion. In this category, teachers needed to design a board game/ online game or any other game format illuminating our young minds to face the Global issues.
Saturday, October 9, 2021, was the grand finale of ‘We are Global Changemakers’ an Inter school Competition. We closed the event with an online Quiz ‘Join the quiz for the changemakers biz’ with 19 schools and 38 students participating including schools from Africa, Indonesia and Nepal.
We had an amazing lineup of eminent personalities to motivate and talk to our students during the event.
Dia Mirza – Actor, Producer, UN Secretary General’s Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Ambassador Wildlife Trust of India, Artist Ambassador Save The Children, Board Member Sanctuary Nature Foundation, Global Ambassador IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare)
Miss Gabriel is an Ambassador for the Indian Ocean Quest Global International Co-Chairperson Ocean School based in India and the Founder of the Young Environmentalists Programme. She is a Distinction Gold certified Environment Educator CEE India with Education Honours from the Loreto House, in Kolkata. She also has experience in Sea Turtle Rehabilitation in the Maldives and Indonesia, and is an award winning environmentalist, trained and certified by the former Vice President of the United States of America, Mr Al Gore. She is an alumni of the Harvard Business School Leadership programme, and is currently researching Ocean Plastics, the Powai lake located in Mumbai, and is conducting research on Tribal Communities.
Mrs Kavita Sanghvi is the principal of Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial School, with more than 20 years of experience. She was nominated as one of the Top 50 teachers by the Varkey Foundation for the Global Teacher Prize award, and is committed to spreading the UN Sustainable Goals to allow children to look forward to a beautiful and secure future.
Miss Sayanti Sengupta, a Technical Advisor for Social Protection and Climate at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre based in Berlin. With over 4 years of experience managing various projects ranging from Social Protection and Climate Adaptation, to Water and Sanitation, based in countries such as India, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
An alumni of our institution, Heeta Lakhani is a climate educator from Mumbai, India, with a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies & Resource Management from TERI University, New Delhi. She has been active at the local as well as international level since the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in 2015.
What was the Join the quiz with the changemakers biz all about?
This contest was all about reinstating the magic of teamwork, it’s about experiencing the thrill of a competition and understanding the spirit of collaboration.
#Research #analyse #give a solution
Eligibility: Grades 7 and 8
There were four rounds conducted. The rounds consisted of audio and visual clippings.
Round 1: FLASH A SOLUTION
Objective of the game: Learners will apply critical thinking skills to provide sustainable solutions and build resilient communities.
Round 2: Caption in a GiFfy
Objective of the game: Learners will interpret the GIF and raise awareness of the role of creativity and innovation through the GIF’S and by extension help in unleashing the gratitude in today’s youth.
Round 3: A voice for a cause
Objective: Learners will be encouraged to reflect and call for action bringing a change as Gen-Z influencers.
Game no 4: Quiz it quick
Objective: It will focus on improving learning outcomes by boosting engagement, participation, and motivation through competitive, game-based learning experiences.
Thank you for the opportunity to interact with all the wonderful children! It was my pleasure. I hope the school will continue engaging with children on the SDG’s and teach them tangible approaches to achieve the goals at an individual level. Our children unfortunately have inherited a climate crisis and it will take their planetary stewardship to truly bring the urgent change required to reverse the impacts of global warming. They must question industry, governments and policy and ensure nature is protected and systems are decarbonised. Children are the conscience of society so long as we educate them. All my love and good wishes.
–Feedback from Ms. Dia Mirza- Chief Guest
I just wanted to get in touch and express my gratitude for inviting me to the “We are Global Changemakers” competition this weekend. It was definitely inspiring to hear the solutions and ideas from these young people. I have a couple of feedback points to state: The organization of the event was perfect. I could see how tech savvy the school and students are, with everything (virtual backgrounds, slides) organized ahead of time. Special thanks to Neelam who was constantly in touch with the judges for any questions we had. The facilitation done by Ms. Sneha and the two students was spot on throughout the competition: encouraging, friendly and flawless. The content for each of the rounds was so well selected. I am impressed with the choice of topics, I think everything that is worth discussing today was included in the competition. So a big KUDOS to the team who did the background research in setting up the rounds and bringing forth such crucial topics. The time management aspect could slightly be improved, maybe by having fewer teams, or fewer rounds, since I felt the teams who came towards the end of round 3 for identification of the famous personalities, did not get the same amount of time/support to think through like the teams that went right in the beginning, and it was all a bit rushed at the end. But overall, a huge CONGRATULATIONS for pulling off such an event online, and setting an example for other schools to follow. I will be happy to be part of future events such as this, since I found it to be really inspiring. Thanks again and best wishes to the school and students.
– Feedback from one of our judges: Ms. Sayanti Sengupta
Feedback from some of the participating Schools:
Thank you so much ma’am, I must say the event was very well coordinated and well planned. I am glad that we could be a part of it. Bombay Scottish Powai
– Bombay Scottish Powai
Our kids really enjoyed being a part of the quiz today. They got to learn many things. Thank you
– Stepping Stones High School
Thank you.. it was a fabulous event and the quiz was so innovative and well conducted.
– JBCN Oshiwara
Looking forward to continuing participating in such events.
Kudos to your entire team for organizing it so well
– Omkar International
The event was successful. Congratulations! Also, thank you for the fantastic opportunity your school has given us. This kind of event is good exposure for our students.
– Global Sevilla , Indonesia
The event garnered praise from all quarters and truly proved to be a path breaking step towards a better world. Without the unstoppable efforts and immense support of all participating schools and students, we couldn’t have achieved this great feat. We had immense pleasure in working together as a ‘team’. Marking Henry Ford’s wise words, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” our co-operation and co-ordination helped us walk the path to success!