Written by Jihan Adnan Khan
Taking inspiration from a social activism course we had taken earlier, Selena and I decided to conduct a social activism club of our own; this time with younger children i.e. students from grades three to six. We felt the need to inform the children concerning prominent world issues and how they could be addressed. Some of the key matters we discussed were gender equality, world hunger, poverty, climate change and other such UN sustainable goals. Apart from this, mental health, bullying, Islamophobia, the distinction between negative and positive campaigning and the different types of rights were also addressed. The members of the club also familiarised themselves with and took inspiration from various young activists like Greta Thunberg and Malala, ultimately developing social campaigns for the causes they felt most passionate about. Through this activity they were able to better their public speaking and creative skills. We hoped that by the end of this workshop/club the students would be more tolerant towards other people, cultures and global problems by having a more holistic approach towards life. Our main aim was to instil the IB values in the young minds and help them develop attributes like caring, open-minded, knowledgeable, communicator and inquirer to name a few. In the near future we also plan to conduct a social activism workshop at a school for underprivileged children. This is for the purpose of broadening our club members’ horizons by allowing them to interact with children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Through this workshop we also hope to enlighten other young minds so that they too would be able to advocate for the causes they feel strongly about.
