Brazilian and Korean Students Meet for the First Time

On October 18th, IVECA Global Coordinator Hind El Mimouni held an informal Virtual Live Class for our partner schools in Brazil and Korea. What began as a friendly interaction for these classrooms evolved into a warm, lively session to greet one another and become familiar with the procedures of IVECA’s unique synchronous teaching methods. Throughout the hour-long #LiveClass, students on both sides of the camera (and world!) were visibly jubilant and could barely contain their excitement in being able to finally communicate in real time over #Zoom.

This informal #LiveClass allowed students to put a face to the names they interacted with on a weekly basis through #IVECA Virtual Classroom. Student and teacher introductions were met with great energy and positivity. The entire hour was filled with laughter and smiles!

Brazilian students shared informative presentations about their culture and daily lives, while their partners in Korea gave presentations about their own personal histories and individual interests.

After the class presentations, the Brazilian and Korean teachers spoke about their cultural and linguistic similarities and differences and demonstrated how these were instances that both parties could learn from and be inspired by. Our Live Class participants all reinforced their commitment to #globalcitizenship, the importance of guiding their curriculum alongside the #UN #SustainableDevelopmentGoals, and the challenges and rewards that come from an #international and #intercultural collaboration.

This #LiveClass was a resounding success for #IVECA educators and students. Even with the first live interaction, it represented the potential impact of a 21st Century, interculturally competent, and ICT-based curriculum allied to the mission of the #SDGs and #educationforglobalcitizenship.

The World Innovation Summit for Education in New York

The World Innovation Summit for Education in New York (#WISENY) on Sept 22 during the UN Global Goals Week:

Sharing the sense of #WorkTogether among educators and students across the globe, we send our great admiration and appreciation to those innovators who tirelessly devote themselves to exploring and collaborating towards a better education and society for the next generations.

As a partner with WISE, #IVECA organized a Showcase and Panel session on “Global Peer-to-Peer Virtual Learning Environments for Innovation and Inclusion” asking the following questions:

What educational approaches can maximize the benefits of the augmented interactivity in a way to ensure the prosperous future of ALL?How should we transform education system and learning environments to be suitable for the 21st-century global digital society?How do the multi-stakeholder partnerships work in implementing and scaling up such innovations in education?

(More details: https://tinyurl.com/y736k5v3)

Our very special thanks go to the school community members in #ButlerTech Ross High School in Ohio and Maria Luiza Formozinho Ribeiro High School in Brazil, panel speakers, IVECA’s staff, and youth volunteers. So grateful for the leadership and  #globalcitizenship demonstrated by all the key players in the school systems from the students to the superintendent, school administrators, teachers, and university faculty.

We appreciate #WethePeoples in education could show a case of making the fundamental contribution to achieving the #SDGs in local and global partnerships with all concerned and for all in diverse conditions in the world.

Bridging the Divide: Using Technology to Grow Intercultural Competence

During the week of September 17th-21st, #IVECA International Virtual Schooling participated in Global Collaboration Week 2018 – an annual international conference that serves to connect students, teachers, and classrooms “to demonstrate global collaboration and bring awareness of the value of global education.”

This event, of which IVECA has been a partner for the past two years, is an effective way for educators and school faculty to learn about our work and our mission while catalyzing participants to become innovators and leaders in the field of global education. We held three separate Webinars over the course of the weeklong event and communicated a deeper understanding of IVECA’s commitment to sharing a vision of global education that is to foster intercultural competence.

IVECA’s specific contribution to #GCW 2018 comes in our unique approach to global education. Although this conference is open to organizations around the world, IVECA stands out for its long-standing dedication and contribution to the growth of intercultural competence, our role as an NGO in special consultative status with  #ECOSOC  and #UNDPI, and our commitment to supporting the #SustainableDevelopmentGoals.

IVECA staff Ms. Hind el Mimouni and Ms. Aline Wilbert, with support from Dr. Eunhee Jung, co-directed all three Webinars. During the conversation with educators and school faculty who tuned in from different time zones around the world, they demonstrated how IVECA’s specific mission and vision is available and achievable to all who are interested in making the world a more interconnected, understanding, just and peaceful place. Through a simple assessment, our Program Coordinators can identify how IVECA’s curriculum of intercultural competence can be seamlessly integrated into any school’s existing curricula. Instead of hampering or complicating a teacher’s lesson plan, IVECA’s synchronous and asynchronous programs bolster the ability of teachers and students to interact and learn through our Virtual Classroom.

Our Program Coordinators were able to connect teachers in Ecuador, Brasil, and Tunisia during the Global Collaboration Week 2018 to our #VirtualClassroom so that their schools can begin a dialogue with a partner school on the other side of the world. IVECA’s methodology proves that teachers and students, when given the opportunity to ask questions, share stories, and connect with people of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, are able to develop a better understanding of #interculturalcompetence and our shared community as #globalcitizens.

Our goal at IVECA for #GCW2018 was to initiate a conversation with those that might not otherwise have heard about the successes and importance of our work. To that point, Global Collaboration Week was a triumph for IVECA and the advancement of #global  education, #global citizenship, #interculturalcompetence, and the #SDGs. We look forward to strengthening the bonds we made with students and educators last week and the opportunity to participate at #GCW for years to come.