iEARN in Action, November 29, 2006

"Thank you very much for the email I received from iEARN. We are really glad that our work is appreciated. It really means a lot. We have actually noticed that peers learn better from each other, taking advantage of iEARN together with the tools available. Caring about our nation also enables us to have the heart and determination to do what is right."

- Student, Gaborone Senior Secondary School, Botswana.

Seeking Partners: iEARN Projects!
1. "Special Place" project facilitators invite you to join.
2. Coordinators of iEARN Child Labour Project announce new project logo.
3. ENO Programme invites schools to join climate change campaign.
4. Interested in studying birds and other wildlife?
5. New 'Music Around the World' project.
6. U.S. Primary school teacher seeking partners around Africa.

Resources, Contests, Websites and Announcements!
7. See new photos of the 2006 iEARN Conference in the Netherlands.
8. iEARN Noticias en Español y otras idiomas.
9. Seeking iEARN/New York State-Moscow Telecommunications Project teachers from 1988-1993.
10. YES Program expands in Mali, Senegal, and Ethiopia.
11. Adobe Youth Voices completes initial workshops in India, UK, and USA.
12. iEARN-Sierra Leone students make it to final 20 in BBC's search for "The Best New Group in the World."
13. UNICEF/VOY call to action.

Upcoming Events!
14. iEARN-Pakistan to host Training of Trainers in Karachi.
15. YouthCaN 2007, NYC, USA, April 23, 2007.
16. iEARN-Egypt to host 14th Annual iEARN International Conference and Youth Summit, July 2007.  

Recent Events!
17. iEARN-Egypt hosts national beginners workshop, November 21-23.
18. iEARN-Indonesia workshop, November 20-21.
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Seeking Partners: iEARN Projects
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1. SPECIAL PLACE PROJECT FACILITATORS INVITE YOU TO JOIN! "So far, we have participants from Taiwan, Nepal, Indonesia and Romania. If you would like to have your students know more about your local special places and also those in other countries, we welcome you to contact us for a partner school matching. We strongly believe with teaming schools, the outcome of this project will be improved. Please take a look at a tentative schedule. For more information, please contact Doris Tsuey-ling Wu in Taiwan.

2. COORDINATORS OF iEARN CHILD LABOUR PROJECT ANNOUNCE NEW PROJECT LOGO! The new logo was designed by Nino Koshadze of Italian school "Tsiskari", Tbilisi, Georgia. Nino's logo was submitted by his teacher, Khatuna Marauli. The logo can be seen on the project web site at: http://www.iearn.org.au/clp. Click here for project description.

3. ENO PROGRAMME INVITES SCHOOLS TO JOIN CLIMATE CHANGE THEME AND CAMPAIGN. Register by December 18. Theme will last from November 2006 to January 2007. You find resources and free activities on the ENO website. Most of the activities are available in 10 different languages. See http://enocc.blogspot.com

4. STUDYING OUR BIRDS - AND OTHER WILDLIFE IN OUR GARDEN -TOGETHER! "Students from primary schools in different countries will study about their birds and other wildlife in to their yards, and will also deal with sustainable development. They will exchange information with each other. To know more of our activity enter our site http://www.yardbirds.org.il/eng/eng.htm. I manage the activity and will connect teachers who want to participate with teachers in Israel. Waiting for you to contact!!" Shlomit Lipschitz in Israel

5. NEW 'MUSIC AROUND THE WORLD' PROJECT! An exchange and discussion of music from all over the world, for instance, instruments around the world, and styles of music in performance. Peace through Music will be the theme for all topics. Interested? Contact Joy Lo-Bamijoko in the USA and Wiwi Rosaria in Indonesia.

6. US PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER SEEKS PARTNERS AROUND AFRICA. "I am a teacher of 23 eager third grade students from Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, PA USA seeking to partner with other third or fourth grade classes from different countries in Africa. We hope to establish long lasting relationships sharing cultural and daily experiences via projects possibly using e-mail partnering, sharing pictures, writing stories, keeping journals or making videos. As one student said, let's start building a bridge over the Atlantic Ocean to make new friends. Please let me know if you are interested in pursuing our bridge building." Jenny Hutchison in the USA.

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Check it Out! Resources, Contests, Websites, Announcements.
(This includes resources that are not part of iEARN)
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7. READY FOR SOME FUN MEMORIES OF THE iEARN 2006 ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN THE NETHERLANDS? New photos at http://www.iearn2006.nl.

8. iEARN NOTICIAS EN ESPANOL Y OTRAS IDIOMAS. We would like to say "Thanks" to Julieta Alvarez in Argentina for translating each of the iEARN News Flashes into Spanish for distribution to almost 3,000 Spanish-speaking teachers! We would love to circulate the News Flashes in other languages as well. Would you like to help? In French? In Russian? In Arabic? In Swahili? In Dutch? Write us: newsflash@us.iearn.org about how you can be involved in getting this newsletter to iEARN participants who speak different languages.

9. LOOKING FOR TEACHERS FROM 1988-1993. 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of iEARN! Over 10 million students have been involved and impacted since we started this amazing network in 1988. Graduate students from New York University in New York City are examining the long-term impact of iEARN work. They would like to contact teachers and students from New York State in the US and Moscow in Russia who were involved in the pioneer project "New York State-Moscow Schools Telecommunications Project" and iEARN from the first five years of our network's history. If you know of teachers and/or students from this very early period, contact anniversary@us.iearn.org.

10. YES PROGRAM EXPANDS IN MALI, SENEGAL, AND ETHIOPIA. With excitement, iEARN-Ethiopia, iEARN-Mali, iEARN-Senegal and iEARN-USA announce the YES program's expansion into Mali, Senegal, and Ethiopia! Following successful visits with US Embassy and Ministry of Education representatives in Bamako, Mali and Dakar, Senegal and a Partner's Meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, we are very excited for the recruitment of students for the 2007-08 school year. The YES Program is made possible through funding from the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. For more, see here and here.

11. ADOBE YOUTH VOICES PROGRAM COMPLETES INITIAL WORKSHOPS WITH PARTICIPANTS IN INDIA, THE USA AND UK. Adobe Youth Voices is a global philanthropic initiative that empowers youth worldwide to comment on their world using multimedia and digital tools. Adobe has organized a unique collaborative of leading youth media nonprofit organizations with strong track records, global experience, and a common vision, including Arts Engine, Inc., Educational Video Center, iEARN-India, iEARN-UK, iEARN-USA, Listen Up, and What Kids Can Do. As part of the program, video, audio, digital photography, animation, and web design projects are now under way at participating schools and nonprofit organizations in New York, New York; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco and San Jose, California; London, England; Bangalore, India; and Delhi/Noida, India. For more, see here.

12. iEARN-SIERRA LEONE STUDENTS MAKE IT TO FINAL 20 IN BBC'S SEARCH FOR "THE BEST NEW GROUP IN THE WORLD." The BBC World Service programme 'The Beat' recently featured an interview with Rashid Peters of iEARN Sierra Leone about his teenage refugee band, BUMP, click here. Vote for them here. Rashid performed the song, "No War," as a delegate from iEARN-Sierra Leone at the iEARN Annual Conference in Slovakia in 2004. More of their music can be found at http://www.childsoldiers.org/ourvoices/.

13. UNICEF/VOY CALL TO ACTION. Every day, in every part of the world, the rights of girls are violated. Governments are asking how they can work to stop this discrimination and violence against girls. This question cannot be answered without young people who know their issues best - and have clear ideas about how to solve problems. The UN's Working Group on Girls and UNICEF's Voices of Youth, are asking you to circulate this youth version of an expert report and have them say what should be done. Your students' recommendations and suggestions will be presented at the 51st annual Commission on the Status of Women at United Nations headquarters in February-March 2007 and will influence how the world works to stop discrimination and violence against girls. For versions of the report in English, Russian, Spanish and Swahili click here. After reading the report, students can submit their ideas (by January 15, 2007) here.

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Upcoming Events
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12. iEARN-PAKISTAN ANNOUNCES TRAINING OF TRAINERS, 2006-2007 IN KARACHI, DECEMBER 10-14, 2006.  http://www.iearnpk.org/TOT/06/index.htm.

13. YouthCaN 2007 EVENT TO BE HELD IN NEW YORK CITY ON APRIL 23, 2007. Watch http://www.youthcanworld.org for details of this and other YouthCaN events happening around the world. YouthCaN is a year-round network within iEARN of students using telecommunications technologies to undertake and/or share environmental work locally and around the world.

19. iEARN-EGYPT TO HOST 14TH ANNUAL iEARN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND 11TH YOUTH SUMMIT, JULY 21 - 26, 2007 IN CAIRO. Connecting Cultures...Respecting Differences. A global dialogue for development and sustainability. Check out the new conference website, designed by iEARN-Egypt students and alumni: http://www.iearn2007.net.

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Upcoming Events
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17. iEARN-EGYPT HOSTS NATIONAL BEGINNERS WORKSHOP, NOVEMBER 21-23. Teachers learned about iEARN and its activities, mission and vision, project based learning, classroom management, motivation and integrating collaborative projects into the curriculum supported by Global Connections and Exchange. Welcome them here. For more about iEARN-Egypt: http://www.iearnegypt.org/.

18. iEARN-INDONESIA HOSTS WORKSHOP, NOVEMBER 20-21 AT SMA 8 PEKANBARU RIAU, INDONESIA. 34 teachers joined an ICT training and introduction of iEARN and edukasi net. Welcome them here. For more about iEARN-Indonesia, see http://www.iearnindonesia.org/index.html.

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TO SUBMIT AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE NEWSFLASH: Send your announcement (2-3 lines) to newsflash@us.iearn.org.
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iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) is a global non-profit network that empowers teachers and students to undertake projects designed to make a meaningful contribution to the health and welfare of the planet and its people. Started in 1988, iEARN is currently active in over 120 countries, with 1,000,000 students participating as part of their education. iEARN-International: http://www.iearn.org

Download the 2005-2006 iEARN Project Book: http://www.iearn.org/projects/projectbook.html (available in Arabic, English, French, and Japanese) or for a full listing of iEARN projects, see: http://www.iearn.org/projects/
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