The Global Schools Program is proud to continue celebrating and recognizing Advocates for their hard work and efforts in contributing to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The newest cohort of Advocates, who started their journey a couple of months ago, has already shown the power education can have in changing their communities. Below are the featured 7 Advocates of the Month for September. Congratulations to all!
Anthony Bryan De la Rosa Valdiviezo
Since starting his journey as a Global Schools Advocate, Anthony has been doing an excellent job within his school to achieve this mandate. One of his first activities was introducing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in his institution through a workshop with the authorities and all the teaching staff. The workshop motivated his colleagues to implement interdisciplinary projects oriented to Sustainable Development.
Additionally, as part of his journey, Anthony has been encouraging respect, reflection, and care for the environment by creating a vertical garden in his classroom. He further added that all of his conducted activities and the introduction of the SDGs to his students have awakened their interest to know, study, and contribute to resolving global problems.
Amar Sad
From videos and PowerPoints, Amar Sad, an Advocate and teacher from Syria, has done a number of activities to present the SDGs to her students. Amar has taken her mandate beyond the limits of her school, as she has also reached out to neighboring schools to instruct them about the Global Schools Program, SDSN, and Education for Sustainable Development by taking advantage of digital tools.
In addition, Amar has also created a Podcast channel where she discusses the SDGs for her audience of sixth-grade students. Through the podcast, Amar had the opportunity to introduce each of the Goals, their importance and targets, and why it's so necessary to implement solutions to achieve them. Amar also uses the podcast to ignite discussions about each Goal in class, where students have been actively participating.
Cynnie Netravali
Global Schools Advocate Cynnie Netravali, from India, is an educator and change-maker. Cynnie believes that all learners and students can make a difference in the world, and by following this mantra, she has successfully advocated and introduced sustainability for them to have the available tools to do so. Through her work as an educator, Cynnie has successfully laid the foundations for a sustainably developed future.
Zainab Asif
Zainab Asif is an Elementary Educator in the UAE who has demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting the SDGs among her students. More precisely, her efforts have been focused on addressing SDGs 3,14, 15, and 15 through various engaging activities. From students cultivating plants to learn about nature preservation to exploring stories about ocean protection and celebrating International Peace Day, Zainab is fostering self-awareness and empathy as well as creating a strong sense of community.
Furthermore, Zainab has initiated an Eco-Green Club as an extracurricular activity, extending the impact of SDGs on students beyond classroom hours. With the vision of creating a community of environmentally conscious and empowered individuals, members have already had the chance to implement their first project focused on SDG 13, Climate Action. Students worked on poster making and presentations to raise awareness of climate change and its environmental impact.
Zainab's commitment extends beyond the classroom, as she now shares her insights on ESD through a blog. As she continues with her mandate, she plans to collaborate with her colleagues and seniors to further advance ESD implementation within her school community and in wider initiatives.
Valbona REÇI
As soon as she started her mandate, Valbona's first task was to meet with the school principal to familiarize her with the Global Schools Program, its goals, the importance of ESD, Valbona's role as an Advocate, and the importance of signing the pledge to introduce sustainability into the curricula. Since then, Valbona has successfully continued her efforts in her school to advocate for SDGs 4,5, 13, and 16.
Likewise, to kick off the 2023-24 school year, when preparing the geography subject for 10th-grade students, Valbona decided to focus on the topic "Climate Change and I," which will introduce the SDGs to the students. Partnerships have also been an important part of Valbona's advocacy journey, as she has partnered with her colleagues, schools from her country and abroad to fulfill her mandate, and even NGOs to raise awareness of the importance of justice and peace through a documentary film that is premiering soon. Most recently, in honor of the European Day of Languages, Valbona and her students created a video and promoted the importance of learning foreign languages to achieve intercultural understanding and raise awareness about the rich cultural heritage of the European continent. The activity concluded by conveying a message in 13 different languages about stopping climate change.
Rosita Beidaghi
Rosita Beidaghi has been an active Advocate for introducing the SDGs and the mission of the Global Schools Program to her school community. To achieve this, Rosita has implemented a series of workshops for teachers and students on different campuses of her school. One of the biggest goals of Rosita has been to motivate teachers to implement SDGs-related projects and integrate ESD into their curricula regardless of the subject they are teaching. Finally, to further align with the mission of Global Schools, Rosita encouraged the school administration to sign the pledge to become an official member of the network of schools. By doing so, the whole school is committing to joining an active global network working towards the SDGs.
Naomi Nancy Nakhumicha
Naomi Nancy Nakhumicha is a Global Schools Advocate who has been several times recognized and awarded for her amazing work in promoting women's empowerment, climate action, and quality education. Since starting her official advocacy journey, Naomi Nancy has collaborated to bring the SDGs to her lessons inside and outside the classroom. She has also been championing ESD by participating in several initiatives such as SDG 16-related Peace Club, SDG 13-related Mazingira Club, and SDG 15-related Wildlife Club. Other activities of Naomi Nancy also include sourcing wheelchairs for people with disabilities, training women on clean energy, and coordinating peace walks in Kakamega County.
Izabella Matos
Izabella Matos is not only a Global Schools Advocate but a Coordinator for the National SDG Movement and a Pedagogical Advisor at Santa Chiara College, which is a member school of GSP's network. Through her passion for sustainability and her new role as an Advocate, Izabella has developed a teacher training program and implemented the SDGs into the curriculum, which has resulted in a positive impact on the engagement of school and local communities, including the families of the students. Moreover, as a result of training as a Global Schools Advocate, she has implemented a curricular restructuring in her Pedagogy classes at Pio Décimo College. Finally, through her outstanding work, Izabella participated in the presentation of a paper on the actions of Santa Chiara College at the 11th Annual International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD).
