Global Dimension Blog

As part of a series called Exiled in the UK, BBC News has looked at the different influences on the political and cultural identities of young refugees living in Britain. These are written up in an feature, Exiled youth lead double lives which reports on refugees and the children of refugees who have fled their homeland due to war and conflict. It makes fascinating reading and highlights the different pressures brought to bear on young refugees.

Here are a couple of great video clips celebrating today's 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The first one is from an American organisation, the Human Rights Center:

The second one is from Amnesty International:

You can find further information on 60 years of the UDHR in our online article.

 The British Red Cross have just produced a really good end-of-year photo news quiz for 2008. Based on high-quality news photographs from around the world, it is designed as an educational quiz and can also be used in class to encourage open discussion. You can download it as a PowerPoint file from: www.redcross.org.uk/standard.asp?id=89407. This page also includes all the questions for the quiz and suggestions for how to run the activity.

The quiz is an extension of Newsthink!, the regular free e-newsletter for teachers from the British Red Cross, which looks at the stories behind the headlines and suggests ideas for further discussion in schools. Well worth signing up for, if you haven't already...

We've added quite a few teaching resources to the Global Dimension resource database this month. Follow the links to find out more.

There are three new free DVDs available from the aid charity World Vision. Never Give Up is a resource for upper secondary and post-16 which focuses on the impact of HIV/AIDS. Another resource for this age group, Stitched Up, looks at the issue of child labour, while Water World is a game looking at water use, for primary and lower secondary children.

New ActionAid resources include the free PowerDown Climate Change Toolkits, one for primary schools and one for secondary schools, as well as their new Chembakolli Story resource, celebrating 20 years since the Adavasi people successfully marched to reclaim their land.

Some resources were added to link in with Armistice Day on 11 November which this year commemorated 90 years since the end of World War I. The People of the Great War resource from the Imperial War Museum looks closely at the real lives of people from many countries who were affected by that conflict. And from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Remember Me focuses very much on the act of remembrance whilst Let Us All Die Like Brothers commemorates the tragic sinking of the troopship Mendi.

Looking ahead to Human Rights Day on 10 December, and this year's 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we've added a Human Rights Teaching Pack from the United Nations Association and the Respect! pack from Save the Children.

Finally, whilst modern languages would seem to be an ideal subject area in which to explore the global dimension, there don't seem to be many language-related 'global' resources. So it's great that SCIAF have produced Citoyens du Monde - la Vie en RDC, a resource which enables students to find out about life in the Democratic Republic of Congo through the medium of French.

As part of International Education Week, Teachers TV is looking in detail at the situation in India and how the challenges and rewards of teaching there vary from or resemble those we may be more familiar with.

Picks of the week include:

Going to School In India
Millions of children in India go to school in classrooms, fields, or tents, and get there by whatever means possible. This programme reveals how important teaching and learning is to India's children and families.
» Find out more or watch online at: www.teachers.tv/video/29288.

Teaching Empire - How Do They Do It in India?
As the British Empire becomes a set topic at Key Stage 3, this programme looks at the other side of the coin and explores how the subject is taught in India.
» Find out more or watch online at: www.teachers.tv/video/29387.

» For a full list of India programmes, including Action! Teacher videos made by teachers from four schools in India and the UK which showcase examples of their own classroom practice, go to: www.teachers.tv/india.

This useful little booklet has been published by DCSF to support their Sustainable Schools Strategy, and is the latest in a series of 'Top Tips' for sustainable schools. The ten tips include suggestions like "Explore local, topical issues from a global perspective", "Find out what impact your school's buying has on other countries" and (maybe best of the lot?) "Promote optimism and action".

You can download the booklet as a PDF from Teachernet or order hard copies from DCSF Publications at Prolog (email: dcsf@prolog.uk.com, tel: 0845 60 222 60) quoting the reference number DCSF-00683-2008LEF-EN.

 To coincide with World Food Day on 16 October, Oxfam have produced a series of lesson plans examining and explaining the role of food in our lives and the problems that, for many people, surround it. The rising cost of food and fuel is impacting on people all around the world and, sadly, we are on the brink of a humanitarian crisis – with up to 1 million people, who live on the edge of poverty in 30 countries, at risk of hunger because of food shortages. You can download Oxfam's resources and get further information at www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/world_food_crisis/.

This Geography & Food slideshow might also be useful for World Food Day - you could adapt it for discussions about food in your local area. It's aimed at primary but could be adapted for other age groups.

Slideshare is a potentially a great web resource for teachers - lots of slideshows to browse through and share.