European Sustainable development week

The celebration of  European Sustainable Development Week in Estonia lasted  from May 1st until June 6th 2017. It was a cooperation project between AIESEC in Estonia and NGO Mondo, Estonian National Coordination of UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (supported by UNESCO National Commision and Estonian Ministry of Education and Research).

The two AIESEC volunteers, Amy Corcoran and Wentao Pu both came to Estonia from Canada. In cooperation with Mondo’s experts we developed the following workshops:

1) Multuculturalilty in Canada

2) Orienteering game on SDGs

3) Comics on SDGs

4) Sustainable consumption

 

Project was devided in five stages:

2-5 May – Cultural preparation and introduction to #globalgoals

• Arrival
• Introducing SDGs
• Global Education seminar day

8-12 May – School related preparation

• NGO Mondo’s school workshops
• Planning and preparing ESD workshops for schools
• Call for visits for the schools

15-19 May – School visits

• Finalizing ESD workshops
• 05 Multuculturalilty in Canada at Paldiski Ühisgümnaasium – Grades 9-11, 35 students, 2 academic hours, contact teacher Riina Talvik

22-26 May – School visits

• 05 Multuculturalilty in Canada at Ülenurme Gümnaasium – Grades 9-11, 110 students, 2 academic hours, contact teacher Milvi Tisler
• 05 Orienteering game on SDGs* at Nissi Põhikool – Grades 5-9, 100 students, 3 academic hours, contact teaher Day-Lee Holm
• 05 Orienteering game on SDGs at Narva Soldino Gümnasium – Grade 8, around 100 students, 4 academic hours, teacher Tatjana Okuneva. Overnight stay in Narva.

 Mondo koomiksite töötuba ÜG 6.-7.klassidele from Ülenurme Gümnaasium on Vimeo.

29 May -6 June – School visits

• 05 Orienteering game on SDGs at Pala Põhikool – Grades 4-8, 80 students, 3 academic hours, contact teacher Grete Stina Haaristo
• 05 22.05 Comics on SDGs at Ülenurme Gümnaasium – Grade 7, 70 students, 3 academic hours, contact teacher Milvi Tisler

• 06 Comics on SDGs at Jüri Gümnaasium – Grade 8, 40 students, 3 academic hours, contact teacher Kristi Mänd
• 06 Sum up meeting between AIESEC and Mondo

Altogether the ESD week activities reached over 550 students in differenet parts of Estonia adding up to 21 academic hours of workshops, exchanges and positive thinking!

 

 

World Food Week brought fresh ideas and tastes to Väike-Maarja

World Food Week in Väike-Maarja (in Lääne-Viru county) took place on 16th to 20th of November in 2015. The activities stroked senses and encouraged to think about food and its origin.

On 17th of November we had meetings, lectures and cooking classes with an inspiring guest, Mrs Liina Saaremäe, a representative of NGO Mondo. The subject of the day was “Food in Ghana and Ghanaian food”.

The day began with Liina’s meeting with our pupils in elementary scool (1st-4th classes). We learned that Liina is an Estonian school teacher, who was deployed by the NGO Mondo to the Republic of Ghana in West-Africa to do volunteer work. As an introduction, every child had to choose a candy: raisin in cocoa, almond in cocoa or hazelnut in cocoa. They were told about the cocoa and the fact that in Kalevi kommivabrik nearly 70% of cocoa comes from Ghana, a country which was the main topic of the day. Pupils learned about Ghanaian life, society and food. The best questioners were awarded a bookmark-rulers and teachers received different proverbs to discuss their significance in classes. The pupils were shown and given to sniff a kalebass – a bowl made of pumpkin, from which people in Ghana are eating.

 

Liina’s lecture to the 5th-12th graders and students from vocational school

On the same day, we had a next meeting in Väike-Maarja with Liina and our older students from 5th-12th classes and vocational school. At first, Liina opened the meaning of volunteering. Her volunteer work in Ghana took place in 2014. As we learned, her responsibility was to develop cooperation, global education and humanitarian assistance. Her specific tasks in Ghana were teachers methodical training and food projects, plus additional lessons to teach children to read and write. With numerous images and stories she shared her moments in Ghana – so called ice cream (or frozen juice in a plastic bag), Ghanaian national dishes, custom to carry things on your head, we all learned the Ghanaian hello “toma-toma” and the Ghanaian approving rhythmic clap. It was eyes-opening and interesting to learn that food and eating is of vital importance in Ghana, and a private activity – even so private, that the dinner guest is left alone to eat in the hut. Our students were directed to think about the one billion people in the world who live below the poverty line.

As in Väike-Maarja we also have a vocational school, Liina held a cooking course for vocational students and their supervisors. Together they prepared a Ghanaian dish called „red-red“ that was served with fried bananas. The participants all agreed – the result was delicious. Liina had only positive words about the active cookers, who were even ready to take a next cooking lesson by the end of the class.

 

Degustation of different countries breads

During the week our pupils had a possibility to taste various countries breads, participate in photo competition of world food and recipes. Food provided by the school canteen was also by the week theme, from different regions of the world – Ukrainian, Italian, Chinese, the Mediterranean, Estonian. Primary school added a playful nuance – a guessing game about the region of the food for the children.  Different nationalities from the Vao refugee center nearby came to school to introduce, share recipes and offer their snacks – Ukrainian pancakes with cottage cheese, biscuits from Afghanistan and Dagestan.

 

There’s no doubt, World Food Week brought new tastes and ideas to Väike-Maarja. We are grateful to all the people, who contributed to the success of the World Food Week, especially to you, dear Liina, and NGO Mondo!

 

Heili Nõgene

Public Relations Specialist

Väike-Maarja Gymnasium

Wondering around on the food planet. 21. – 25th of September in Laagri School

Do you like pasta? Or pizza or hamburger? What about blood sausage? Do you know how far your food is grown? Do you know how this food was produced? These are only some of the questions that we hoped to raise during nature week in Laagri School. Nature week is our tradition and there is diferent subject every year. Food is something that can be related to every subject and every pupil in school.

Here are some actions done during our nature week:

* Food art – tens or even hundreds of food pictures were drawn. Of course discussion about them was essential.

* Games, games, games… Many teachers found a way to talk about food with games. There was also „Food planet“ game with hidden riddles for all pupils. Another bigger game was about fair trade. We managed to borrow this from Estonian Environmental Board and was a great help to find answers where do bananas, cocoa, coffee and cotton come from. 

* Food films with discussions. Some classes were shown different movies about food and how does it get to their plates. „Banana split“ was everybodies favourite.

* Photo competition – not many photos came in but which did were really mouth watering. The aim was to show how much of our everyday food origins from ohter (far away) countries.

* Traditional exhibition of what can be found from our gardens. There was colourful selection of pumpkins, big mushrooms, weird looking potatoes and so much more.

* Traditional bread day. Smaller pupils had a chance to taste bread from different places of the world and compare these to Estonian bread. Some classes made funny but healthy sandwiches.

* Ghanian cusine. Some lucky classes prepared Ghanian drinks and of course tasted their masterpieces. „Too much chilli…“ they thouht.

* Also many groupworks, discussions and even math exercises about food took place in diferent lessons.

I think we can be sure that every pupil learned something new or had a new experience. And there is over 700 of them. Thanks to all of the teachers who saw this as a oppourtunity and brought some food related ideas in their classrooms. And thanks to Mondo for materials to make it happen.

2 in 1: Dramatic play and creative learning method

Teachers! Creative learning method for students!

Dramatic play – MILLET
African people have always had festivals at the time of harvest. In Africa the festival is of a religious nature and has lots of dancing and music. Dancers wear costumes and each dance tells a story. The stories range from a good ghost who looks after their crops and scares away the bad ghosts who try to spoil the food. It is important to celebrate the harvest. The students from Zanlerigu Junior High School performed a dramatic play about millet.

Creative learning method: „A video storyteller“

This is a creative learning method using African students’ dramatic play about millet.

Instructions:

• Watch the video about the performance of Zanlerigu Junior High School students once
• Using your fantasy, imagination and the words given below, think up a story for that video.
• Write it down.
• Teacher/classmates choose 1-3 most interesting and unconventional stories for telling others.
• Tell your story while watching the video once again.

Tips for a successful storyteller:

• Pay attention to the time and movements!
• The story must be interesting and complete (with proper introduction and ending aswell) and fit in to that video.
• Try to be as much as creative as you can!
• Speak clearly without rushing.
• Balance your voice tone!
• Remember that the dance needs a specific story too!
• Answer the questions: What they are talking about? What’s the situation? Why are they singing, dancing? What’s the point of this story/performance?

10 keywords you should use in your story:

• millet,
• gods,
• advice,
• celebration,
• family,
• food,
• dance,
• harvest,
• national,

You can start like this:

Once upon a time in October 2014 there lived a family in Zanlerigu. One day Father …

Wish you a lot of fantasy and useful minutes with this video!

Read all the posts by Zanlerigu Junior High School
Read all the post by students from Ghana.