One Week to Change One Billion Lives

His name is David Dixon. Her name is Chantelle Baxter. They are 25 years olds and co-founders of a non-profit organisation called Project Eight (http://projecteight.com.au/) . They are considered amongst the Brightest Young Minds in Australia (http://www.bym.com.au/home). Chantelle has just been asked to present TEDxYouth Conference in Perth. Remarkable people!

For the last two years they have been finding ways to empower and enable young people to become socially responsible leaders and active citizens. They have been mainly working in Africa, but now they have just launched a global contest for primary school students in Australia that will contribute to changing one billion lives worldwide.

What is it?

Its called the Worlds Largest Design for Change School Contest.

How does it work?

Students across the globe are given a challenge. They must take a problem from their community and over the period of one week, they must design, create and implement a solution.

The Design For Change contest is aimed at students aged 10-13 years. It’s teacher-friendly AND flexible. Each participating school gets to implement the contest in their own way, to fit in with school terms, holidays and other curriculum demands and requirements. You may choose to spend 30 minutes a day for 5 days on Design for Change – you can create a schedule that will work best for you and your classroom.

The toolkit will guide you and your students through a simple four step process and your classes project can be as small or as big as you like. Each school is asked to record their stories of change using video or photos. Your schools’ story will be uploaded onto a global website. The best stories of change from around the world will become part of a worldwide curriculum that will be presented at the United Nations.

Who else is doing it?

Over 32,000 schools in India participated in the contest in 2009. In 2010 the contest has gone global, and 18 countries around the world are now participating. Its estimated that over 250,000 children across the globe will participate this year, making this contest the largest social movement of young people EVER.

The contest was designed by the Head Teacher of the Riverside School in India – Kiran Bir Sethi. We highly recommend that you watch the short and inspiring video (http://www.designforchange.com.au/teaching-kids-to-take-charge) to get a powerful insight into the contest and what it makes available for the children who participate.

How do I get involved?

Currently, they only have enough space for 30 primary schools across Australia who would like to take part in the Design For Change Contest in Term 3 or early Term 4 (2010). The contest will meet essential learning standards (VELS, K6 etc.) for grade 5 and 6 curriculums across Australia. It also is perfect for inquiry approach.

For more information go to http://www.designforchange.com.au, or alternatively, contact either David Dixon on 0401 123 123 or Chantelle Baxter on 0407 804 412. Program availability is strictly limited.