May Newsletter: Global Action Week, Upcoming Events, and More
GCE-US Global Action Week in DC and Around the Nation
Across the country, government leaders, advocates, teachers, students, celebrities, and communities joined together to promote Education for All during an exciting Global Action Week, which took place April 19-25.
Education for All Act and 1GOAL U.S. Launch
In Washington, D.C., the Global Campaign for Education, U.S. Chapter (GCE-US) hosted a Capitol Hill press conference with Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), who introduced the Education for All Act of 2010, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA). The EFA Act provides a roadmap to create a Global Fund for Education. Actress Jessica Alba also joined the standing-room-only event to launch the 1GOAL: Education for All campaign in the United States. 1G OAL seeks to make Education for All the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Top officials from the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, as well as representatives from the DC United soccer team, spoke at the news conference, and GCE-US coalition members attended to show their strong support for Education for All.
Support Grows Around the United States
Americans from across the nation participated in Global Action Week. Teachers around the country taught a “Lesson for All” to explain the urgent need for universal education and teach students how to get involved.
Click here to watch sixth-grade teacher Tracey Lally from Melbourne, Florida teach her class the “Lesson for All.”
In Denver, more than 200 students, government leaders, teachers, and professional soccer players attended a rally at the Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy to raise awareness about Education for All. More than 30 teachers at four schools in the Denver area pledged to teach the Lesson. (See photo below of former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb speaking at the Global Action Week event in Denver.) In Florida, at Emerald Cove Middle School in Wellington, teachers and students participated in a roundtable discussion on global education, and in Philadelphia, community leaders and activists participated in a workshop to highlight the needs of the millions of out-of-school children around the world.
John Lennon Educational Tour Bus
In support of the Global Campaign for Education and 1GOAL campaign, the National Education Association worked with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a non-profit state-of-the-art mobile audio and HD video recording and production studio, to travel to high schools throughout New York City during Global Action Week. At each stop, students created original music videos with the 1GOAL theme. The videos will be uploaded to the GCE, 1GOAL, and Lennon bus websites in the coming weeks.
For more media coverage of Global Action Week, click here.
Get Involved
This year’s Global Action Week may be over, but the opportunities have only just begun. You can still teach the “Lesson for All” in your classrooms or around your community. Team up with friends and family to teach the Lesson at your weekend soccer game, after church, or with your children’s class. Click here to download your “Lesson for All.”
Check out this blog post on the ONE Campaign’s website - share your own thoughts about Education for All.
News and Updates
The Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution will host leading academics in the field of comparative education to reflect on the state of global education policy on May 13. Click here to read more about the event.
Mercy Corps is recruiting youth in the United States for Global Citizen Corps. Click here to read more.
GCE-US recently launched a new website with more ways to get involved. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Check us out and tell your friends!
