SAI International School starts off on the right global foot in 2019. Apart from SAI teachers completing AFS workshops in Inter Cultural Learning and, the school has taken up an AFS Membership. We will be offering our students short-term and long-term programmes that include student exchange programmes and hosting opportunities with participating AFS Member schools abroad. These programmes will be launched at the beginning of every academic school year and parents will have the opportunity to enroll their child accordingly.
In order to meet the AFS Member School criteria SAI School also had to offering global citizenship training to 50 students from classes 8-12. These lucky students will be the ones to take this programme forward for years to come. The workshop for the students was conducted on Monday, January 7, 2019. Students attended the workshop which imparted training on United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how to become the Change Agents. As part of the training, Shri Sujit Mahapatra, Founder, Bakul Foundation spoke on his own struggles, challenges and success of becoming a change maker. He elaborated on how he is linked with the SDGs like Education and environment.
Through interactive talks and collaborative hands-on activities, participants explored their own role as global citizens and change makers. The aim of the workshop is to gather youths to reflect on the issues affecting the world and how they can work together to help advance the UN-SDGs.
The AFS training is an ongoing developmental process aimed at imparting intercultural competence. It aims to equip the teachers with skills that will enable them to work in environment filled with diversity and help them in edify students to become Global Change makers and leaders in their own field. AFS encourages people to embrace their “learning to live together” philosophy and foster intercultural understanding to create positive change for a more just and peaceful world.
THE VIRUS GAME: Students had to secretly pick two people they were linked to. As they walked around in a circle one person was randomly picked to have a virus and they were asked to come to the center of the circle and sit down (DEAD). All other students who were linked to infected student also had to join the middle circle…..and so on until nobody was left. It was an interesting experiment that clearly shows how our thought and actions are intertwined. Honesty also became a crucial element to the game. If people were not honest then the game would not work. Ultimately the virus effected the entire groups….there were ultimately no winners as everyone it interlink in some way.
The feedback from students was anything but static. Students took careful note on how they felt during the game and how it pertained to everyday life.
Participating in AFS programmes help with a child’s global competence, the “power skill” young people require to make their impact on an increasingly diverse world and global economy. These programmes inspire kids to become active global citizens that are prepared to communicate, collaborate and lead across differences that tackle the world’s greatest defining challenges, transforming them into true global change makers.
Students have the opportunity to live with a family in another country. Enjoy different traditions. Take time to appreciate, value and deepen their insights about other perspectives, cultures, religions and important world issues. They will be able to go to school in their host country, learning new languages and finding ways to connect with people from other cultures and backgrounds- skills that they take back home and use for a lifetime. The AFS experience allows kids to discover new things about themselves and their place in the world while turning challenging situations into valuable opportunities to grow and become more mature.
Global Dimension 