NAISAK Students Takeover For World Children's Day - Press Release

Last week, our students came together with fellow Nord Anglia Education students around the world to raise awareness of children’s rights by addressing some of the most pressing questions facing the planet in a social media chain reaction which has spanned the US, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. The call to action by Nord Anglia Education students, marked World Children’s Day on 20 November, which is also the anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Over 24 hours, NAISAK and Nord Anglia students worldwide set and answered questions about the issues that matter to them, sharing their video responses via social media. Together, they made their opinions heard to raise awareness and challenge people to take action on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, encouraging us all to play an active role in creating the future we want for our children.

This event was part of UNICEF’s World Children’s Day campaign #KidsTakeOver - a day when students take over schools, businesses and government organisations around the world to raise awareness of children’s rights. Nord Anglia students worldwide took over schools as well as regional and central teams for one day.

“This World Children’s Day we want children to have fun, with a purpose,” said Najwa Mekki, Head of UNICEF Media. “It’s a day of action for children, by children. We want them to campaign in their schools and communities to help save children’s lives, fight for their rights and fulfil their potential.”

In response to a question from our Nord Anglia Schools in Thailand, Vietnam and Jakarta, Mr Livesley met with the primary school student council to discuss if the world’s deserts are the best place for new sustainable communities. They researched current eco-friendly cities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to see how technology was being used to create zero emissions communities. They discussed the pros and cons of building in the desert and concluded that although it was a good idea, other countries also need to use renewable energy to convert their cities and become more environmentally friendly.  Zaid Moola 6A, Tanvi Pawar 6N and Arissa Binti Azmi 4A then worked with Mr Livesley to create a short video to share what we had discussed before continuing the chain by asking ‘Should we allocate more money to seeking an alternative planet to live on rather than trying to protect Earth?’ to other Nord Anglia schools.

Ms Harvey’s Year 10 Geography students took a short break from their current topic to look at the Chain Reaction question for the Middle East which was ‘Are the world’s deserts the most sustainable place to build the futures largest cities?’ The students split themselves into groups and used a mixture of laptops and iPads to research their points. They then gathered back in their groups and made lists of the pros and cons of building sustainable cities in deserts. The students then collated the main ideas and one group took charge of filming the question and answer. Abhishek Selvakumar and Nur Tasneem Binti Samsuddin were our spokespeople and Wan Ardini Wan Edrin, Sharmita Sivam, Shesha Taylor and Aleena Nadeem were the filming and directing crew. Most of the work was conducted during class with the final filming taking place at lunchtime. The students were completely self-led for this topic only confirming facts and issues with their teacher. They came at the question from both sides and created an unbiased answer, which looked at all aspects of cities in a desert.

Mr Pontich said, “I am delighted that our students had the opportunity to share their voice with other children from around the world on this special day. I was particularly impressed not only by the videos that were made but also by the inspirational activities that occurred throughout the day in lessons. I am filled with pride by each and every one of their contributions.”

Betina Biju, a Year 6 student from Mr Livesley’s class said, “This was a very enjoyable experience for us and it was great to be given the opportunity to show everyone that children have rights. It has made us realise that we have to try to make everything fair for all children and has taught us to be thoughtful towards those less fortunate than us.”

This event was part of Nord Anglia Education’s work with UNICEF to empower students and raise awareness of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals using the World’s Largest Lesson, a teaching and learning initiative co-led by UNICEF.