Celebrations & Recognition

The eventful year of 2014 saw two marvelous celebrations of the power of children, manifested in the “Be The Change” conference which took place in Ahmedabad, India and the “Sea Of Change” held in Taipei, Taiwan.

The Be The Change conference was a stunning example of the fact that it does not matter how old you are or which part of the world you come from, as

long as you believe that you CAN, change will happen. The average age of the child attendee at this 2 day conference was only 14 years, and the attendees came from 22 countries across the globe. All these inspiring superheroes lit up the stage with their magnificent presence, sharing with a crowd of more than 500 people the inspiration that drives them, how they dealt with the hurdles and what they took away from participating in DFC.

Both the days of the conference radiated ounces of energy, so much so that it was nearly impossible to spot a single face that left the space without a wide smile on their face or tears in their eyes. This year, Design For Change really proved the power of celebration and collaboration. To make this BTC grand, we saw masterclasses by some of the most brilliant personalities in their respective fields. The highlight would definitely be Abhijat Joshi (filmwriter), Jaaved Jaffrey (actor) and Arnab Choudhary (film-maker, animator) at the BTC celebration. The three of them shared how important it is for them to remember the “I Can” spirit especially because of the industry they work in. Despite tremendous failures and innumerable opportunities where they could have let of the “right” thing to gain a little more fame or wealth, they stayed true to their values. Although the three of them are really distinct personalities, the one thing they agreed on was how the kids at the conference have reignited

hope in them and how proud they are to endorse the spirit of Design For Change. The one thing we can all never forget, however, is Jaaved Jaffrey’s little stand-up comedy act that wrapped up that masterclass.

There were endless more memories I’m sure - the tea break conversations, clicking selfies with the celebrities, marvelling at brilliant graffiti art in the making, the Parle-G installation that took various shapes and sizes, the mind blowing performance by Dhaaravi Rocks!

Catch glimpses of the celebrations here.

The first ever Sea Of Change conference was an unimaginable success. With a whopping attendance of 800 people, it was a “true celebration of children, culture and change,” says Kiran Bir Sethi. The stories that were highlighted in the conference were nothing but inspiring and DFC Taiwan made it marvelous by inviting some very inspiring personalities to interact with the attendees.

Mr. Candle, who is a performer in Taiwan, shared with the kids the importance of grit and courage in anything they do. David Liu, who is an ex-animator from

Disney and has contributed to the production of The Lion King, Mulan and various other renowned films, shared with everyone the importance of imagination in the marriage of his passion, compassion and competence. Another important personality at this conference was Mr Lin, a Taiwanese educationalist, who truly exhibits the fact that action is the most important thing to create change.

A 113 children had the pleasure of attending this event, and truly learnt to appreciate each other as superheroes. At both, the BTC and SOC, every child was made to feel not only recognised for their talent, determination, creativity and good work, but they felt like real SUPERHEROES. Therefore my friends, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Watch the opening video of the conference here.

Stories of Change

Some of the most inspiring Design for Change stories of 2014 were -

BENIN – Fighting Against Forced Marriage.

Helene’s story has been one of the most moving stories of change that DFC has received. In a village where girls are forced to get married, Helene chose to take a stand for herself and her peers and speak out against this practice. With the guidance of FAWE Benin and mentor Tome Constant, not only did Helene successfully convince her own family and the family to condemn this practice, but she also traveled all the way to Ahmedabad, India to share her incredible story at the Be The Change Celebration 2014 and left the audience with goosebumps.

Watch her story here.

PORTUGAL – A Story Tale for All

6^th grade students of the Escola Eugenio de Andrade in Portugal realized that the magic of listening to stories was absent for their peers who could not hear. To bring this experience alive, these students identified a popular Portuguese children’s story, narrated it in sign language and recorded it on video, thus gifting the experience of ‘listening’ to a story to all their friends.

Watch the video here.

COLOMBIA – Where Our Culture Lives On

Jean and his friends at the Etnoeducativa Bilingue Inga Mocoa School were very sensitive of the fact that their generation was losing touch with traditional Inga culture of their ancestors. With all their collective 17-year-old optimism and determination, Jean and his friends created systems and designed a curriculum through which their younger peers could experience and inculcate their culture and language. As he shared his story at the Be The Change Celebration with a unique wisdom and sensitivity, the audience knew that the future of the Inga culture was in incredibly capable hands.

Watch his story here.

CHILE – A ‘CAN’teen for All!

11-year-old Daniela, Christian and their friends from the George Chaytor English College in Temuco, Chile, took on a problem that they faced in school everyday – the older and taller students would monopolize the school canteen and the younger ones would go back empty handed, not even reaching the counter. In their wonderfully spirited re-telling of their journey at the Be The Change Celebration, Daniela and Christian shared the most important lesson they had learnt in the process – “In order to get respect, you must first give respect.“

Watch their story here.

CAMEROON – Having a BALL!

Sister Vicki and her 5-year-old kindergarten students at the Ecole Maternelle Saint Joseph Manyanet Yaounde-Cameroun proved to the world with this fantastic DFC story that you are never too young to be a design thinker! With a systematic, democratic process that many adults could learn from, these children chose to address the problem of not having a football to play with. With their wonderful brainstorming and prototyping, it was only a matter of time before they succeeded!

Watch their story here. 

DENMARK – Come As You Are

15-year-old Astrid, Camilla and their friends at Skorpeskolen in Helsingoer, Denmark found themselves feeling insecure about how they looked because of the images of ‘beauty’ as portrayed in the world around them. To show their friends and the world that real beauty lay on the inside, they organized a fashion show encouraging the friends to “come as they are” and flaunt who they were and not what they wore.

Watch their story here.

PERU – Christa McAuliffe School

“In reality, today, education has to do with creating, not repeating, not memorizing. Design for Change enriches regular school curriculum.”

The Christa McAuliffe School in Lima, Peru believes deeply in the idea of Design for Change and the tremendous power that DFC has. The Principal, Sara Mendoza, describes how DFC has been comprehensively integrated in her school and the impact she has seen.

Watch her share her thoughts here. 

ISRAEL – Jury Process

Behind identifying the standout stories from every Design for Change School Challenge, is a dedicated, exceptional jury which analyses the DFC project through multiple lenses following a rigorous evaluation process.

Meet the wonderful 2014 Jury panel from Israel and have a listen to what they look for in the stories that come to them, and their thoughts on Design for Change.

Watch the video here -

DFC Impact

In 2009, when Design For Change was first launched, over 700 stories of change impacting were submitted by children across the Indian subcontinent. The following year, Design For Change went global receiving a little over 2000 stories from children around the world. 

Today the Feel Imagine Do Share (FIDS) framework is being used 

by children in over 30 countries to lead more than 10,000 stories of change. Ongoing research suggests that children’s confidence developed through the projects, improves academic scores as well. Teachers share that facilitating DFC projects help them discover strengths of their students, develop faith in their capabilities and get to know what the children think and feel about the world around them. Research conducted by The GoodWork Project in 2009 reaffirmed the impact of the DFC curriculum on the development of skills like collaboration, creative thinking & empathy. 

In the past year, DFC impacted over 2 lakh students and approximately 30,000 teachers in over 30,000 schools across the world. 

Class of Rowdies

Reported and posted by David Wygant.

This video clip appeared on my Facebook News Feed a week ago.  Many thanks to Reena Ramanan for sharing what looks like an original post by Pranjali Madhur.  As the video clip begins, a new teacher is entering her classroom for the first time and finds the students enjoying themselves a little too much.  From that first meeting, she transforms the class and students by what she does next, and by what she doesn’t do. 

I hope you enjoy this CLASS OF ROWDIES.  

Did you identify any FEEL-IMAGINE-DO-SHARE elements?

As this video shows and tells, the education-development of our students and youth is more about setting their spirits free in a safe space then it is about anything else.  This is a universal truth that applies everywhere because all children are really the same. It is only in becoming adults that unimportant things, beliefs and biases begin to overwhelm the truth. What is the truth?  The truth is simply that we are all cut from the same cloth.  Yet, each of us have our own personal set of unlimited possibilities and potential. We can all fly if only no one will clip our wings!

Credits: www.5thspace.in

Doug David - Canada

Global Catalyst

Story told by David Wygant

Author’s Note:  It is always my privilege to write the Global Catalyst stories.  Their stories are always amazing and inspiring.  As Doug tells his story, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it with him. 

We are thankful that our Design for Change (DFC) team is both blessed and challenged by the same things at the same time.  We are thankful because sometimes in life only the challenges come without the answers and blessings.  In our case, all of us on the DFC team are full time teachers.  Finding the amount of time we’d like to dedicate to the effort can be difficult, which is our challenge.  On the other hand, we are also blessed by our full time teaching status.  Through our instruction and example as teachers, we can blend the I CAN spirit and mindset into everything we say and do.  We never lose the opportunity to integrate the “design thinking model” into all of our moments.

At this stage our fundraising is modest, but sufficient.  There is growth one step at a time, and there are blessings to count.  Any money we can raise, or that we receive, we’ve donated back to the local nonprofit organizations to help those in need and to help fund projects.  In our giving, we receive too.  Our school district has given us “release time” so that we can meet and plan as a team.  In all schools, time outside of the classroom is beyond precious.  By spending this time together, our planning is clear and focused, helping us keep forward momentum as a team.  Looking ahead, our goal is to find a way to raise enough funds so that we can bring a small group of people to Mexico for the 2015 Be the Change Conference.

We are a very motivated group.  The importance of educating both the heart and the mind is a key driver for all of us.  The rewards are huge when we see children finding meaning and purpose in their lives.  As they learn to become change makers, we see in all of them the emergence of the connection between life inside school, and life on the outside.  This process is service learning at its best.

Our most inspiring moment as a team was when we had a student showcase of all the I CAN projects designed and implemented by the students. It was in May of 2013 that over 200 Superheroes shared their stories of change.  My most personally inspiring moments occurred when I visited Ahmedabad in 2013.  At the Be the Change Conference that year I met children and adults from all over the world who shared a common inspiration, and were the most inspiring group of individuals I’ve ever met. 

Now, our vision is all forward.  We see future growth in the DFC-Canada program in our school community and beyond.  We’ve recently ordered copies of the 2014 I CAN book and plan to share them across the school district in kits that will include the Feel, Imagine, Do, Share “design thinking model.”  The kits will also include supporting documents that are meant to ignite inquiry, curiosity and design thinking around current issues like poverty, biodiversity, children's rights, and the power of the media.  

Stay tuned.  Canada is working hard, and the best is yet to come!

BIO INFORMATION

Doug heralds from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada.  He and his family are currently living in Courtenay, British Columbia.  

In 2013, Doug completed a Masters of Education from Vancouver Island University with a focus on Educational Leadership.  In 1997, he completed his undergraduate work at the University of Victoria with an emphasis in teaching elementary art.

Doug began teaching after he completed his undergraduate degree.  He currently works in an informal leadership role as a District Curriculum Support Teacher in School District #71 Comox Valley.  In 2014, Doug received Canada’s Prime Minister’s Award for Achievement in Teaching.

His travels have taken him to New York City, San Francisco, and to many places in his native Canada.  In 2013, he travelled to Ahmedabad, India to attend the 2013 Be the Change Conference.

María Paula Torres Laverde - Colombia

Global Catalyst 

Story told by David Wygant

Change can be difficult, but not for Design for Change (DFC) Superheroes.  DFC Superheroes transform the world through the amazing and creative projects that they FEEL, IMAGINE, DO and SHARE.  DFC is about watching the kids learn that “they can” so that each can say I CAN, and in the end say WE DID.  These words mirror Maria’s words when she describes selecting winning projects in Colombia.  

“Every time we select the winning projects is an inspiring moment because each initiative is so amazing, creative and transformational.  They help us believe in the change.  For example, in 2012 our first year, the winning project was a project in which they recycled cooking oil from their school and turned it into handmade soap.”

Maria tells that what they have seen in Colombia, she is sure must be happening around the world.  During an eight month period of time she traveled around the world, and learned how inspiring it can be to discover and know other cultures, and how small the world really is.  

DFC offers many challenges and opportunities to grow.  She has new friends who share the same passions for helping Superheroes create a better world.  To gain all of these things, she has had to work hard.    

“Reaching out to many schools so that we can get a minimum number of projects has not been easy, but we have worked hard.  It has been a constant learning process.  “

I asked Maria about the rewards and specific learnings.

“In Colombia we are inspired learners now.  We are inspired by the children who are changing the world through DFC.  Every year we have learned something new.  There have been learnings about the projects, the calendar and timeline, and about our website and internet efforts.”

These days, Maria’s smile is a little brighter.  When asked about the future, she says, “I want to be a happy person, and do what makes me feel fulfilled professionally and personally.”  No doubt, both Maria and DFC can look forward to a bright future.

BIO INFORMATION

Maria currently resides in Bogota, Colombia, and was born there. She is a lawyer with a Master in Human Rights.  Her legal studies began at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.  Maria then studied  her Masters in Human Rights in Madrid, Spain, at the Carlos III University.  While in Madrid, Spain she traveled extensively in the area. 

Maria has broad international experience across several organizations including the International Organization for Migrations, the International Red Cross in Spain and the International Toledo Center for Peace.

This year’s conference, the 2014 Be the Change Conference was her first.