World Teachers’ Day, celebrated annually on October 5, is a perfect opportunity to thank teachers for their hard work, and offer resources to support them in the future. AFS collaborates with more than 15,000 schools worldwide in delivering global competence education to young people, and this work would be unimaginable without the teachers who are constantly finding innovative ways to develop young global citizens.
This World Teachers’ Day, we invite all educators interested in developing global competence in their students to download and use our free resource, the AFS Effect+ for the Classroom Toolkit for Educators, as well as to join our upcoming capacity building program.
A flexible and free curriculum that can be used in any classroom
The AFS Effect+ for the Classroom Toolkit for Educators, recognized by UNESCO-APCEIU, focuses on teaching Active Global Citizenship & the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for high school students. It is based on a modular and flexible curriculum, with step-by-step instructions for lesson plans, learning goals, discussion guides, activity sheets, and all supporting materials.
AFS developed this Toolkit because we believe that teachers and educators around the globe are key to achieving our mission of a more just and peaceful world through intercultural learning. This mission also aligns with the Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, in which teachers play a crucial role. The global crisis brought on by COVID-19 made it even more clear that teaching young people to understand one another and the world around them, as well as empowering them to contribute to more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable communities, is no longer optional.
Teacher certification, resources and international recognition through a virtual capacity-building program
AFS is proud to announce our continued partnership with The Cyril Taylor Charitable Foundation that provided grant funding for a second year edition of the AFS Effect+ in the Classroom Capacity-Building for Teachers. 300 teachers from over 15 countries will participate in this 8-month international virtual training program, engaging close to 7,000 students in Global Citizenship Education. Delivered by AFS Intercultural Programs and our national organizations in Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, India and Malaysia, plus the Latin American Alliance for Intercultural Education (the alliance of AFS organizations in Latin America), AFS Effect+ for the Classroom will equip teachers to introduce students to the UN SDGs and develop lifelong intercultural skills to make progress toward these goals.
This program has three parts:
- the AFS Global Up Educators, a 8-week virtual learning certification which includes self-paced video modules, facilitated live sessions, discussion forums and quizzes;
- access to teaching resources, tools for self-reflection and connection with teachers from over 15 countries to share experiences and best practices through a virtual community of practice; and
- the opportunity to get international recognition for a social impact project developed by students with their teachers’ guidance for the 2022 Cyril Taylor Young Leaders Awards.
Interested teachers in the participating countries can apply to join the AFS Effect+ in the Classroom program by October 20, 2021 extended to October 24, 2021. Program activities begin in November 2021 and will close with the Sir Cyril Taylor Young Leaders Awards which will be held in June 2022. For more information, please contact Dylan Peterson, AFS Effect + for the Classroom Project Coordinator at AFS Intercultural Programs.