International Unit - Websites and resources

Here we provide links to websites of interest, as well as details of useful resources for promoting and teaching international issues.

On this page:

• Africa Week Contacts
• Opportunities and Resources for young people in the EU
• Rising to the Climate Challenge
• British Council Education news
• Freerice.com
• Katine Village Project, Uganda
• BBC World Class resources
• Europe Direct Centres in Scotland
• Amnesty International: Human Rights Education in Scotland
• EU Funds - New Funds, Better Rules
• African links to Edinburgh schools
• UK Office of European Parliament resources sheet
• Let's explore Europe!
• Xplora portal launched
• Eco-Agent site
• BBC Languages
• Other links

Dougie Hudson - African Drumming and Dance

Dougie is a vibrant personality and an energetic dancer and musician. He recently led a very successful day of workshops during Craigour Park Primary School's Africa Week. He worked with P5 - 7 at Craigour Park. He charges £300 per day. Dougie plays with the band Salsa Celtica (www.salsaceltica.com) and he regularly leads workshops for Dance Base.

His description of his workshops:

"In brief in a 40-50 min session I present a workshop that presents the combined arts of rhythm, dance, song and theatre. I do this using 20 mins in a circle doing warm up, dance and song. Then for the last 25-30 mins move to my drums (enough for 25 drums + other instruments) for creating an all rounded experience of the ancient magic equation of ritual.... I use African drums, dance and songs, but I talk about the art of our human nature also - our need/desire/want to make music to explain the events of the world around us."

Gift Amu-Logotse - African story telling / drumming / singing

Amu is originally from Ghana and he also led some workshops during Craigour Park's Africa Week. He charges £300 per day and he is happy to work with all ages. He was popular with all classes from the nursery up to P7. He told the children an African story with themes relating to Global Citizenship. The children also learned an African chant.

Amu uses his work in Scotland to support his community farm in Ghana. See www.wumenucommunityfarm.org

Denise Walker - visual artist

Denise worked with Craigroyston Primary School pupils on the successful Children as Artists project. Denise is an artist and a GTC registered teacher. She has made African masks using cardboard with primary school pupils in the past. Expect to pay around £200 per day plus material costs.

Chief Suleman Chebe - African drumming

See website for more information: www.drummingupbusiness.org

Raquel Ribes (Miro) - African dancer

Raquel works part-time as a nursery teacher at Westfield Court Nursery School. She also leads several workshops for Dance Base www.dancebase.co.uk

Creative Links team

The Creative Links Team can provide contact details for all of these artists. Contact the Creative Links Team on 0131 469 3956 or 0131 469 3105.

New European Parliament brochure: "Opportunities and Resources for young people in the EU"

The European Parliament has just produced a new brochure "Opportunities and Resources for young people in the EU" giving details of: Erasmus, Comenis, Leonardo, Grundtvig, EU Youth in Action Programme, A Career with the EU institutions, Internships, Educational resources and Euroscola.

Copies can be obtained from the European Parliament office in Edinburgh - epedinburgh@europarl.europa.eu or bulk copies are available from http://www.europarl.org.uk/publications/PUBordermain.htm

Rising to the Climate Challenge: a myth-busting booklet

NEWLY AVAILABLE!! - Climate change myth-busting booklet SEAD's new 16-page booklet "Rising to the Climate Challenge" is now Available to download from their website at www.sead.org.uk

The booklet is designed to help people cut through the fog of confusion and mixed messages about climate change and to be a useful resource for community groups and individuals all over Scotland. It is produced as part of 'Switch On to Climate Change' - SEAD's community-based programme to support people wanting to take collective action to limit climate change.

For more information, contact: lorraine@sead.org.uk

Education News is a monthly web bulletin that updates schools and colleges on British Council managed education projects and other international education opportunities open to Scottish education institutions.

For the current edition see: http://www.britishcouncil.org/scotland-educationnews

HOW YOU AND FREERICE ARE HELPING BY PLAYING A SIMPLE WORD GAME

As the staple diet for over half the world's population, rice is a key component in World Food Programme's operations, whether helping flood survivors in Bangladesh or feeding hunger's less high profile victims: from those living in shanty towns in Jakarta to the mountain villages of Bolivia and Nepal. Give free rice to hungry people by playing a simple word game.

www.freerice.com

http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine

The Guardian has launched a three-year development project, to improve the lives of the 25,000 inhabitants of Katine, a village district in rural Uganda. Here, they will explain where donations go, how aid works, and how lives are changed.

Go to the Guardian's website and find out about Katine, in northern Uganda, which for the next three years will be the centre of a unique experiment between a newspaper, its readership, a bank and an NGO. Together, they are going to try to help the people who live here to make a significant difference - harnessing the power of 21st century communications, expertise, resources and good will to help change lives still trapped in the 14th century.

Two resources from BBC World Class

The Great African Journey is Link Community Development's new fundraising event for schools and youth groups. They are aiming to travel nearly 8,000km’s from the tip to the toe of Africa – all without leaving the UK! This is a huge task so they will need the UK’s kids to get involved to help complete it in one year. All money raised will help children in Africa get a better education. So whether you are a keen swimmer, cyclist or even a skateboarder, to find out how to your school or youth group can get involved and to get you free event pack, visit www.lcd.org.uk

Cambridge Education Foundation (CEF) has plans to introduce a new audio project for pre-existing school links. The project, called “SoundAffects”, will be run by professional broadcasters and will enhance a cross section of existing school partnerships with high quality recorded audio, allowing children in partner schools to listen to each other talk about the detail of their lives and establish relationships through audio. The project is currently seeking funding and hopes to begin work during 2008 with a pilot stage which will involve a group of UK schools and their partners in Ghana and Sri Lanka.

If you are interested in your link being considered for inclusion in the project please e-mail penboreham@ntlworld.com or SWINBURNEC@aol.com

There are now four Europe Direct Centres in Scotland. You can drop into these centres in person or contact them by phone or e-mail.

The services you can expect to get from them include:

• Funding opportunities
• Living, working and studying in the EU
• Computers with access to the EU's europa website
• A whole range of free publications, brochures, guides on:
  • How the European Union institutions work
  • The Treaties that underpin it
  • The laws which it makes and implements together with our government Its main common policies - on farming, fisheries, trade and competition
  • Schemes and programmes in other areas such as jobs, research, education, health, the environment, culture, equal opportunities

In Scotland there is one ED centre in Inverness, one in Aberdeen and two in Edinburgh:

• Aberdeen Europe Direct, Aberdeen Central Library, Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen Tel: 01224 652502 e-mail: europedirect@aberdeencity.gov.uk
• Europe Direct Centre, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Capital House, 2 Festival Square, Edinburgh Tel: 0131 221 2999 e-mail: Roger.Horam@edinburghchamber.co.uk
• Europe Direct Centre, Youthlink Scotland, Rosebery House, 9 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh Tel: 0131 313 2488 e-mail: europedirect@youthlink.co.uk
• Europe Direct - Highlands and Islands, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Cowan House, Inverness Tel: 01463 244571 e-mail: europedirect@hient.co.uk

Amnesty International Scotland aims to promote Human rights education (HRE) - knowledge and understanding about human rights, and the skills and values to put them into practice - in all areas of Scottish Learning. This is done through a number of projects and initiatives, and in partnerships with a variety of other organisations. Much of their work is done in partnership with IDEAS (the International Development Education Association of Scotland), a coalition of Development Education Centres and NGOs in Scotland including:

• Junior Urgent Actions in Gaelic
• Teaching resources
• School speakers
• TeachRights
• Youth conferences

Visit the IDEAS forum website at http://www.ideas-forum.org.uk/

This publication is a beginner guide that explains the new financial rules, procedures and funding opportunities for the period 2007-2013 adopted by the European Union. It is especially useful for newcomers to EU funds and explains the main sources of funding available to small companies, NGOs, young people, researchers, farmers and public bodies.

To order online a hard copy visit: http://www.eurodesk.org.uk/youthworkers/publications

It can also be downloaded as a PDF file at: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/other_main/funds_rules_en.htm

Eurodesk and Europe Direct: Euro Bulletin August Edition (PDF)

See our interactive map showing the links that Edinburgh schools have with areas of Africa, including details of what activities each school is involved in to support their link.

If your school has a link with Africa, or any other partner abroad, let us know by emailing claire.soper@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Resource sheet of ideas for schools and community groups, including quizzes, giveaways and a link to The Institute for Citizenship's "Speak Out" on European Citizenship on-line debating forum.

Download the Resource Sheet [Word, 75kB]

Xplora portal, a new European gateway for science education, was launched at the European Network of Science Centres and Museums conference on 10-12 June in Vantaa, Finland.

"Research and science start with curiosity. School should be about encouraging this curiosity in children," said Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research.

As well as a providing a resource for primary and secondary education, Xplora has been created for those involved with science education. It is also intended to improve science teaching across Europe by providing new tools.

http://www.xplora.org

A fun educational website for children and young people designed by the European Environment Agency (EAA). Users become an Eco-Agent and take on a mission to protect the environment.

The site uses games, quizzes and challenges to address the key environmental issues of air pollution, climate change, transport, waste, chemicals and water pollution.
http://ecoagents.eea.eu.int/index_html

BBC Languages have set up a club to send foreign language teachers, tutors, trainers and lecturers regular free e-mail updates on BBC language courses, TV programmes, internet activity, competitions plus an information service on the language world in general. If anyone would like to join you can register via the website www.bbclanguages.com

Send My Friend To School - Every child has the right to go to school. But there are 80 million children who miss out because of poverty. JOIN UP! to show world leaders that every child should go to school.

SCOTDEC - provides resources, training and support to educationalists to embed the global dimension into community and classroom practice and whole school policies - covering areas such as,citizenship, sustainable development, human rights and justice and equality issues.

eurodesk - European opportunities for youth workers and the latest European Resources in Scotland to borrow and to order online

Worldwise - The World Development Movement Scotland's active global citizenship education programme resource

Campaign for Global Education - "Education is a human right and a foundation for a better life. The 2006 Global Action will help convince the world's leaders to give every child the chance to go to school." Angelina Jolie, 2006 http://www.sendmyfriend.org

International Development Group, Scottish Parliament - IDG provides an open Scottish forum for discussion between MSPs and organisations working in Scotland on international aid and development issues to raise wider public awareness of these issues, through regular seminars.

Control Arms - Education resource supported by Amnesty and Oxfam for community awareness and campaigning

Global Gateway - a new international website, enabling those involved in education across the world to engage in creative partnerships

Science: The Global Dimension - new publication with resources and ideas on how to give a global dimension to science lessons

Learning Channel - Portal that allows organisations and individuals working in education to share experiences

Oxfam: Coolplanet - Award winning website helping teachers bring global issues to the classroom

Global Gang - aimed at 8-12s, packed with global news, real-life stories, photos and video clips

Action Aid - aimed at both Primary and Secondary students, offering resources free to download

Save The Children - offering a range of free materials for teachers and pupils

School Net Global - website for children to promote intercultural understanding and language learning