Monday, July 30, 2018

Schools : International Day of Friendship ! Resources & stories !




credits: Elyx Yak
@UN

"Our world faces many challenges, crises and forces of division — such as poverty, violence, and human rights abuses - among many others - that undermine peace, security, development and social harmony among the world's peoples."

UN

The International Day of Friendship is an initiative that follows on the proposal made by UNESCO and taken up by the UN General Assembly in 1997.
It defines the Culture of Peace as a set of values, attitudes and behaviours that reject violence and endeavour to prevent conflicts by addressing their root causes with a view to solving problems.



credits: United Nations
@UN

The General Assembly recognized that enormous harm and suffering are caused to children through different forms of violence. It emphasized that the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence should be instilled in children through education

If children learn to live together in peace and harmony that will contribute to the strengthening of international peace and cooperation.
The Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace adopted in 1999 set 8 areas of action for nations, organizations and individuals to undertake in order for a culture of peace to prevail:

  • foster a culture of peace through education;
  • promote sustainable economic and social development;
  • promote respect for all human rights;
  • ensure equality between women and men;
  • foster democratic participation;
  • advance understanding, tolerance and solidarity;
  • support participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge;
  • promote international peace and security.




The International Day of Friendship is also based on the recognition of the relevance and importance of "friendship as a noble and valuable sentiment in the lives of human beings around the world".
The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that "friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities."

To mark the International Day of Friendship the UN encourages governments, international organizations and civil society groups to hold events, activities and initiatives that contribute to the efforts of the international community towards promoting a dialogue among civilizations, solidarity, mutual understanding and reconciliation.




Winnie the Pooh
by A.A. Milns
illustrated by E.H. Shepard
1988

Curiosity & Resources:

In 1998, the UN Secretary’s wife, Nane Annan, named Winnie the Pooh as the 'Ambassador of Friendship' at the UN. 

Winnie the Pooh created by the English writer A.A. MilneMilne is most famous for his two Pooh books about a boy named Christopher Robin after his son, Christopher Robin Milne, and various characters inspired by his son's stuffed animals, most notably the bear named Winnie-the-Pooh

Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed bear, originally named "Edward," was renamed "Winnie-the-Pooh" after a Canadian black bear named Winnie, which was used as a military mascot in World War I, and left to London Zoo during the war. 




The real stuffed toys owned by Christopher Robin Milne and featured in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories

"The pooh" comes from a swan called "Pooh." E. H. Shepard illustrated the original Pooh books, using his own son's teddy, Growler, as the model. The rest of Christopher Robin Milne's toys, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo and Tigger, were incorporated into. They are on display in the New York Public Library Main Branch in New York.



Winnie the Pooh
by A.A. Milns
ilustrated by E.H. Shepard
1st edition

Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) is the first volume of stories about Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A. A. Milne and illustrated by E. H. Shepard. It is followed by The House at Pooh Corner

The book focuses on the adventures of a teddy bear called Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends Piglet, a small toy pig; Eeyore, a toy donkey; Owl, a live owl; and Rabbit, a live rabbit. The characters of Kanga, a toy kangaroo, and her son Roo are introduced later in the book, in the chapter entitled "In Which Kanga and Baby Roo Come to the Forest and Piglet has a Bath". The bouncy toy-tiger character of Tigger is not introduced until the sequel, The House at Pooh Corner.



The House at Pooh Corner
Winnie the Pooh
by A.A. Milns
ilustrated by E.H. Shepard
1st edition

A. A. Milne's stories, and two characters – Rabbit and Owl – were created by Milne's imagination. 

Winnie the Pooh is, of course, the perfect Ambassador of Friendship. He is adorable and timeless. He believes in diversity and welcoming all friends. Pooh is an optimist and a ‘people bear’. He is committed to his friends... and honey! And, he is wise way beyond his years, especially for a bear with very little brain.

Note: Students can read or ear Winnie the Pooh online (1998 edition, original book). And share the special role played in their friendship by Winnie the Pooh.




Winnie-the-Pooh
The Complete Collection of Stories and Poems
A.A. Milns
E.H. Shepard

The beautiful new edition, re-designed for Pooh's 90th anniversary in 2016, brings together four volumes in one stunning slipcased gift book: 

  • Winnie-the-Pooh, 


  • The House at Pooh Corner, 


  • When We Were Very Young, 


  • Now We Are Six. 
A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh is nothing less than a true children's classic. Winnie-the-Pooh may be a bear of very little brain, but thanks to his friends Piglet, Eeyore and, of course, Christopher Robin, he's never far from an adventure. 



Adolescent boys practise parkour in Gaza
©UNICEF/NYHQ2014-2063/Romenzi

Education:

"Friendship & solidarity can inspire peace."
UN (United Nations)


"Through friendship - by accumulating bonds of camaraderie and developing strong ties of trust - students can contribute to the fundamental shifts that are urgently needed to achieve lasting stability, weave a safety net that will protect us all, and generate passion for a better world where all are united for the greater good."
International Friendship Day places particular emphasis on involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity.
The need to have an educational system which promotes the value of piece is so important! And that begins in younger ages at school.

Involving young people, as future citizens and young leaders, in school activities that include different cultures, promote international understanding and respect for diversity, and defending a shared spirit of human solidarity that takes many forms - the simplest of which is friendship.

  • Organise activities throughout the year that help raise awareness of Friendship Day by encouraging students, parents and community to join a Friendship campaign;
  • Small ideas and actions for culture of peace at the school level need to be contextualised in the greater level of world peace and the Global Goals;
  • Choose to mark the day, whatever the scale of students activity, their commitment matters;
  • Invite your students to create curricular activities at school and sharing with schoolmates from different schools, in different countries, using social media as an exchange project.
  • Help to spread the word about Friendship or attend an event in your city or community. 
Let us all work towards a movement for ‘everyday peace’, ‘total peace’, ‘noble peace’ where peace is a process not an event.

G-Souto

30.07.2018
Copyright © 2018G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Creative Commons License

Schools : Intl Day of Friendship ! Resources & he Legacy : resources & stories bG-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References: UN

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Summer holidays... just a weekend !




Good afternoon from the center of Portugal! Perfect summer day admiring the nature around me in the country. Enjoying every bit.

Wherever you are I hope that you're having a great time too.




Parque das Artes/ Curia, Portugal
credits:  ©GSouto


Despite my best efforts to slow down time, only today I could go out for a summer break! Only two days...

Summer break is obviously one of the best things humankind has ever come up with, I am excited! It's my 'first' break of this summer. 

I will be going to the pool in the morning, revisiting the beautiful park in the afternoon, taking a coffee on the terrace, walking.

At night, I'm going to an outdoor concert. There, lucky me, I will 
observe the lunar eclipse. Wow! Witnessing once-in-a-lifetime meeting in the sky: the longest 'blood moon' eclipse of the 21st century, flanked by a big, brilliant Mars as it heads toward its closest approach to Earth since 2003.

I'll be back to posting the normal Roundup in the next week.

G-Souto

28.07.2018

Copyright © 2018G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Creative Commons License

Summer holidays... just a weekend ! by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.


Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Nelson Mandela Day : Be the Legacy : resources for teachers & students !






Nelson Mandela
credits: UN





Nelson Mandela Centenary 2018
Be the Legacy


(...)
It matters not how strait the gate, 
      How charged with punishments the scroll, 
I am the master of my fate, 
      I am the captain of my soul. 

William Ernest Henley, Invictus


Nelson Mandela International Day 2018 marked 100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela (18 July 1918). The Centenary was an occasion to reflect on his life and legacy, and to follow his call to “make of the world a better place.” 





Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

The Nelson Mandela Foundation was dedicating this year's Mandela Day to Action Against Poverty, honouring Nelson Mandela's leadership and devotion to fighting poverty and promoting social justice for all.

"Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It's an act of justice."

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela devoted his life to the service of humanity - as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.








Education:

“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve."

Nelson Mandela

Literacy is one of Mandela's legacy. Literacy is the most important skill for an individual to acquire and develop. An empowerment tool that gives access to further education and new opportunities. And digital skills or digital literacy complete the education in our days, absolutely necessary in the XXI century jobs.
Students in Europe and some other continents are enjoying summer holidays. But Nelson Mandela Centenary can be include into school curriculum next back-to-school, in August or September.

There, teachers will invite students to take action and inspiring to Be the Legacy by celebrating a "Mandela Day" at school, a Freedom racing or a Freedom Rugby match. Why not?

Include all the activities into a cross-curricular Civics project.




credits: Elyx Yak

On Nelson Mandela Foundation :

UN Mandela day:

Teachers must doo a pre-selection of all those resources preparing their lessons to the next back-to-school.

Level:  All levels 

The resources and activities will be adapted to the level educators are teaching.







Other resources: Biopics 

  • Mandela Long Walk to Freedom (2013)







A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.


  • Invictus (2009) 

Invictus by Clint Eastwood based on the book by John Carlin






Invictus
Clint Eastwood, 2009


Synopsis: 

Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique
venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on  a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.


  • Books:




Playing The Enemy
Nelson Mandela and The Game That Made a Nation
John Carlin

Synopsis

Beginning in a jail cell and ending in a rugby tournament- the true story of how the most inspiring charm offensive in history brought South Africa together. After being released from prison and winning South Africa’s first free election, Nelson Mandela presided over a country still deeply divided by fifty years of apartheid. His plan was ambitious if not far-fetched: use the national rugby team, the Springboks-long an embodiment of white-supremacist rule-to embody and engage a new South Africa as they prepared to host the 1995 World Cup. The string of wins that followed not only defied the odds, but capped Mandela’s miraculous effort to bring South Africans together again in a hard-won, enduring bond.


Level: High Junior Schools; Secondary education; Further education (film & book)






The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
 Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela ((Foreword)
Sahm Venter (Editor)

The 250 prison letters selected, Mandela wrote most of these long, thoughtful pages in the knowledge that few were reaching their intended recipients: his wife, Winnie, his children, or old friends and comrades. The philosophy of “living in truth” is more readily associated. The letters were not a reflection of prison world, they were his escape from it.

 “As a prisoner doing hard labour, I am experiencing considerable difficulty in preparing to write four subjects in one examination, and any concession you can offer in this regard will give me a fair chance of showing competent knowledge in each subject I offer…”

Nelson Mandela, The Prison Letters

You can read the review of the book here

Level: Secondary education; Further education

  • Poem: Invictus by William Ernest Henley

(...)

It matters not how strait the gate, 
      How charged with punishments the scroll, 
I am the master of my fate, 
      I am the captain of my soul. 

William Ernest Henley, Invictus

The poem that inspired Nelson Mandela in his 27 years of prison can be read on Poetry Foundation here or eared (podcast) here

Students can learn more about the British poet William Ernest Henley.


Level: High Junior School; Secondary education; Further education









  • Mandela Doodle: 

In July 18, 2014, Google celebrated the anniversary of Mandela’s birth with an interactive Doodle. Starting with an illustration of the former leader, young students can click through a number of his most well-known quotes, coupled with illustrations depicting stages of his 'Long Walk to Freedom' by Doodler Katy Wu 

  • Video for kids:







  • App for kids:

Mandela – story and games






screenshot : Mandela – story and games
via Best Apps for Kids


“Mandela – story and games” was a picture book biography of Nelson Mandela, especially for kids/pupils, developed by digiSchool for free. An interesting app that has been retired. Each picture represented an important part of Mandela’s life, which were presented by a narrator.







However the video above could be include into primary school curriculum as suggestion to talk about Nelson Mandela - his values and resilience - to the kids. 

It can be enriched by different activities that teachers must prepare, depending of the age or level they are teaching.

Level: (3rd and 4th grades).


Hope all these resources to celebrate Mandela could be helpful to my usual readers, teachers from different countries and continents.


"It is easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build."

Nelson Mandela

G-Souto
18.07.2018

updated 18.07.2023

Copyright © 2028G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Creative Commons License
Nelson Mandela Day : Be the Legacy : resources for teachers bG-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.