Already since October 2015, arche noVa has been working in Lebanon for better educational opportunities for Syrian refugees and has been carrying out expansion and maintenance measures at schools, which benefit both Syrian and Lebanese students.
Bringing global issues into the classroom
In order to equip the teachers at the local schools with the necessary knowledge and material for a successful lesson design, the Lebanon team of arche noVa organized together with the Society for Social Support and Education and the arche noVa education team already three method workshops - this year finally again analog and on site.
Three days of ESD at its best
The workshop was well attended: 40 primary school teachers from three schools participated. The three days included everything from team challenges, games and methods on the SDGs to lively discussions, creative group work and a field trip. To ensure that everyone could understand the topic well, the content and materials taught were translated (from English) into Arabic.
To get a very practical insight, the workshop participants visited the waste sorting plant of the NGO arcenciel.ae. The group also learned about SAMEoceans' "NoPlasticSea" teaching methods. The workshop was rounded off on the last day with a collection of ideas to get the whole school active as a sustainability actor in the sense of the "Whole School Approach".
Next steps
Even though the workshop only lasted three days, the subject matter goes far beyond that. The teachers took away a lot of valuable knowledge and new ideas that they can now apply in their schools and gradually put into practice. The topics of plastic and garbage are to be taken up in the classroom, and garbage separation will also be introduced at the three schools. Waste is to be recycled where possible - some schools were already implementing measures such as upcycling packaging into utensils for use in the classroom. In conclusion, the workshop left a lasting impression on all participants - and it certainly won't be the last.
