Student reflections
Five takeaways about global education: Key-learnings from attending the SDG-4 Seminar Jyväskylä in 2022
By Jorina Sendel
How do you feel reading the news, nowadays? Do you sometimes also feel like a catastrophe is following the others? Have you ever thought about the influences of these catastrophes on global education? We live in a time of crisis. This has an impact not only on our personal lives, but also on education systems around the world. Catastrophes like the COVID-19 crisis, wars, and natural catastrophes are affecting formal education.
Workshop “Promoting global citizenship education through linguistic diversity”
By Beñat Etxeberria Illarregi
This workshop was presented by researcher Deborah Darling from the University of Helsinki. The main objective was to examine how the meaningful inclusion of language diversity in education can contribute to an appreciation of the cultural diversity and culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
First, we discussed about the concept of citizenship – how it can be understood, depending on different contexts as well as its dynamic characteristics. Having a citizenship does not mean that that person belongs to a specific country or that feels identified with it. Moreover, it is important to point out that not all nations in the world are nation-states. I personally believe that instead of giving importance to citizenship(s), languages are more crucial when it comes to discussions around a diverse world. In this sense, citizenship is a way of manifesting certain rights as well as obligations. Languages, however, mark an essential way for people to not only communicate, but to transmit and negotiate values.
Given this background, I consider it vital not to make assumptions about students’ citizenship and cultural or linguistic backgrounds because they could be unrelated. Furthermore, cultural, and linguistic differences should be applied as a way of promoting culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. As Deborah Darling mentioned, language policy is a key factor in multilinguistic contexts, hence an effort should be made in order to try to include all learners.
Lastly, the workshop attendees discussed how to work on linguistic diversity in the future of an increasingly globalised world. English has been established as the lingua franca and it enables us to communicate in different contexts across the globe. However, minor languages should also be enhanced to preserve cultures and share their main values and traditions.
Workshop: “Emerging fibers – Teaching and learning about sustainable fabric development”
By Iina Hyyppä
