Students fly to London to debate global issues

Students from the Zainab School joined students from across the Middle East and the UK in London this week on Saturday, March 13, 2010, to debate global issues and build greater understanding between the two regions.
 
In London they will meet pupils from their UK partner school GEORGE SALTAR COLLEGIATE ACADEMY at a one-day global citizenship conference organised by the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms Programme.

 
The five Yemeni students and one teacher travelled to the UK after winning the British Council’s ‘I’m a Global Citizen’ competition held last autumn in the Middle East under the council’s Connecting Classrooms programme.  The group was selected for its power point presentation on terrorism.

 
Following the youth conference at the British Council’s headquarters, the Yemeni students and teacher will spend four days in Birmingham learning more about life in UK schools and local communities and raising awareness and understanding about life in Yemen.
 
They will be joined in the UK by 80 students from schools across England and Northern Ireland and 5 other competition winning schools from Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar Bahrain and Saudi Arabia who are all involved in the international school linking scheme.
 
During the youth conference the students will have the opportunity to discuss key global issues such as climate change and globalisation. The event aims to encourage cross-cultural dialogue, build stronger links between young people in different countries and encourage them to think about their role in a global society.
 
Amy Cottage, Regional Education Project Manager at the British Council Middle East, said:
 
‘This will be a fantastic occasion for students from across the Middle East and the UK to debate the issues together that affect them all as future global citizens. It should stimulate a fascinating discussion about major issues such as the environment and globalisation from the perspective of young people growing up in different parts of the world.  Together with the time they will spend with students at their UK partner schools, this trip to the UK will provide our Middle East competition winners and the UK students with a real first-hand insight into each other’s lives. This will help them develop skills and cultural awareness to be able to make a positive contribution to our global society.’

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