Online Course for Educators
Children and Youth as Agents of Positive Change
Session 5 – Children and Youth as Agents of Positive Change
Dear participants,
Welcome to the fifth session of this course.
During the previous sessions you were introduced to the Transformative Pedagogy and its different elements, how they are interconnected; role of education in empowering children to meet ethical challenges; and how to create safe, inclusive and participatory learning environments. We discussed the child as someone who needs protection and care but we also recognized the agency of the child.
The agency of the child is at the heart of the Transformative Pedagogy. One of the strongest components of the Ethics Education Program is that children and young people are empowered to take action and develop their own initiatives for community engagement and transformation both at individual and collective levels.
Children’s meaningful engagement and active participation through collective and collaborative actions is what we ultimately want the learning experience to be, bringing together children of different background, faiths, beliefs and cultures. Empathy, solidarity and interconnectedness with those who are seen as “the other” is truly transformative.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts, spaces, opportunities and empowerment for children to voice themselves and to take actions may have also become limited. We must ensure that children are active partners in our work to build back better and defining a new normal that is more just and peaceful.
During this session we invite you to reflect on the agency of children, become inspired by child-led initiatives and to identify how you can empower children in your own context, ensuring that they are actively engaged and take collective actions that can contribute to the transformation of their own lives and their communities.
Inspiration…
Watch this animated video about a child-led project: “The Food Bank”, a project initiated by Arun, a young boy from Coimbatore, India who at the age of 14, together with several other children, impacted the lives of thousands by initiating a food bank. This project was recognized by Arigatou International as the Most Inspiring Children-led Project in 2018, for articulating spaces for children to reflect about the ethical challenges in their communities, with support and opportunities for them to develop their own initiative to respond collectively to the needs of the most vulnerable.
Similar to how Arun and his friends were inspired, empowered and supported to lead collective actions to transform their community, we can also invite and support the agency of children to respond to the ethical challenges they face during the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmqhN1xYZk&feature=youtu.be
Download below a simple guide that highlights different consideration to make as you support children-led initiatives and projects in your school or communitty.
Working together to transform the world:
children-led
initiatives and projects
Enabling the Agency of Children
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Toolbox
Here you will find several resources that you can use with children aged 4 to 18 in intercultural and interfaith contexts, to support you creating safe, participatory and context-sensitive learning opportunities supported by our Ethics Education Transformative Pedagogy.