Amigos | Aurora Now! Foundation | Diversity Web | Hidden Histories | I*EARN |
KIDLINK | Multiculturalpedia | One World-Next Generations | Y?

Background: I*EARN (The International Education and Resource Network) <http://www.iearn.org/> is a large non-profit, global community of elementary through secondary schools in 60 countries. Its vision and purpose is to "enable young people to undertake projects designed to make a meaningful contribution to the health and welfare of the planet and people."

Audience: Elementary - High School students; Educators

Types of Activities Offered: I*EARN projects fall within several curricular areas:

• Creative and Language Arts
• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Math
• Science and Environment.

There are also action projects to get students involved in real-world causes and learning circle projects designed to establish school-to-school connections. Though the information on the site is in English and Spanish, other languages may be used within projects, including French and Portuguese.

Sample Pages from Their Site:

• A Day in the Life: Cross-Cultural Comparisons- Students are encouraged to write accounts of typical days, special days, experiences that have left an imprint in their memory and on their life. For all ages.
  
• First Peoples-Indigenous people around the world are linked together in this project in order to conduct an exchange of ideas, cultures, and art. People from indigenous groups in the USA, Thailand, South Africa, Argentina and Australia are currently involved. For all ages.
• The Contemporary is an international telecommunications magazine written by teenagers in the project. It gives students a format for sharing issues of national and global concern. For ages 5-18.
• Street Children-students around the world share their views on the issue of street children. For ages 15-18, but younger students are welcome.
• Planet Friendship-a project that promotes looking for commonalties, rather than differences, in order to create friendships around the world. For all ages.
• Kindred-a look at the twentieth century through family histories. Stories about childhood experiences during each decade of the twentieth century are shared with others in the project. For all ages.
• Stop Violence Project-an examination of how socialization factors vary in different communities and countries. Using violence prevention and conflict resolution curricula, students will compare attitudes and influences. Included in the project is a new activity: Student and teacher discussions on the Balkan conflict--with active participation from persons directly affected in the region! For ages 12-18.
• A Vision is an international literary magazine that publishes art, poetry, and prose created by secondary school students. Its purpose is to use art and the medium of creative writing to demonstrate that despite linguistic, cultural, ethnic and racial differences, teenagers around the world share the same hopes, fears, interests and concerns. This project has received an award from Columbia University for Best High School Publication in the United States two years in a row. For ages 12-20.

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Support Available: By joining I*EARN you have access to some wonderful support materials including:

• Full access to all ongoing, online curriculum-based projects for all teachers and students at a school/organization;
• A searchable online database of people and projects;
• A 50-page project description book; A 100-page directory of I*EARN schools across I*EARN's 75-country network;
• Program support;
• Newsletters and twice monthly online newsflashes;
• Annual International Teachers' Meeting and Youth Summit;
• An interactive CD-ROM "how-to" of online project work;
• 24- hour CU-SEE Me videoconferencing reflector site.

Costs: There is a fee for school participation that covers cost of support materials, newsletter publication, and various services provided by I*EARN.

To Join In: To join I*Earn, you can download an application form from the Web and mail it to I*EARN. Support information will then be sent to you . You may also request information be mailed to you prior to sending in an application form (http://www.iearn.org/infoform.html).

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Background: KIDLINK <http://www.kidlink.org> is a non-profit grassroots organization working to help children through the secondary school level be involved in a global dialog. Currently, students from over 135 countries are participating in KIDLINK activities, either as individuals or as part of a class. KIDLINK is based on the idea that getting kids around the world to talk to each other will allow them a direct experience with friends, having the common experience of childhood, but often in very different circumstances.

"By hearing a range of opinions and developing familiarity with different ideas, we can hope to overcome some communication barriers and solve some problems in a more cooperative manner. We hope that when Kidlink kids become adults they will take a more global and long-term perspective on issues, rather than acting to maximize local, short-term interests."

KIDLINK's participants live in countries all over the world and have very different views on social, ethical, legal, and moral issues. KIDLINK encourages participants to value these differences, and use them as a means of helping students gain a better insight into all views of a particular issue.

KIDLINK has ongoing activities in Arabic, Danish, English, French, German, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Macedonian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Saami, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish

Audience: Elementary - High School students; Educators

Types of Activities Offered: Both adults and students volunteer their time to make activities possible. KIDLINK offers activities from simple keypal exchange forums to global classroom projects.

• email-based activities
• a real-time interactions
• art and music exchange
• a web-based messageboard discussion area where students can discuss a variety of topics and issues.

Volunteers at KIDLINK are also involved in an action project to help empower others worlwide and bring them into the global community. They have developed Interent community centers for the poor in Brazil, Mexico, Peru and South Africa. They are also working with indigenous peoples to help them develop projects to celebrate their culture (Amazonas,Nenets, for example).

Sample Pages from Their Site: Students can find activities and support from information provided on their site, though many of the activities take place via email.

• The Bridges Project-<http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/Bridges/index.html> is one example of a specific diversity project currently running on KIDLINK. Presented in both English and Japanese versions, students around the world work together using art, photography and music to bridge language barriers in order to gain an understanding of each other.
• The Who Am I? Project-<http://www.kidlink.org/kie/nls/index.html> is another type of diversity project that KIDLINK offers. It is presented in twelve different languages and timetables are set up for schools in both northern and southern hemispheres. The different modules in the project are multi-disciplinary activities designed around themes that explore self, community, family history and human rights.

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Support Available: Each KIDLINK forum has behind-the-scenes coordination for teachers. Global classroom projects provide moderators for support. Volunteers working in each forum are also available for support.

Costs: KIDLINK is a non-profit organization and charges no fee to participate.

To Join In: Participation is free, but all youth participants must submit personal a presentation by answering the Four KIDLINK Response Questions: (1) Who am I?; (2) What do I want to be when I grow up? (3) How do I want the world to be when I grow up? (3) What can I do now to make this happen?

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Amigos | Aurora Now! Foundation | Diversity Web | Hidden Histories | I*EARN | KIDLINK | Multiculturalpedia | One World-Next Generations | Y?