Backpacks for Change
Ensuring Education in Places Where it Lacks
Backpacks for Change
A project that creates physical backpacks with a variety of simple and high quality educational challenges for children in conflict zones and refugee camps. Each backpack is filled with a series of activities that promote the development of the most important competences of this century: Creative thinking, collaboration, empathy, digital literacy, green competences, scientific thinking, among others.
Because education is a universal right and is the key to ensure a better and more equitable future.
WHY?
“Because education is a universal right and the key to ensure a better and more equitable future”
Children in conflict zones and refugee camps often face little to no access to education, resulting in an increased vulnerability and lower competence profile throughout their lives. By offering free and accessible education to children in these situations, these backpacks offer the opportunity to develop several key competences to empower, educate and break the vulnerability cycle and succeed in their lives. With a focus on self development, empathy and care for one another, these backpacks also foster the development of common values and educate for peace.
HOW?
Each backpack will contain a complete set of activities and instructions that allow anyone (with reading ability) to deliver education to the children around. The activities will require no prior knowledge nor training. They will be created in a way that allows anyone to be the educator.
WHAT?
EDUCATING FOR COMPETENCEIS
Each backpack will include several hands-on DIY (do it yourself) projects such as electric and solar powered cars, remote controled vehicles and others, which will allow the development of several key notions and competenceis related to emerging technologies and innovation thinking.
CITIZEN SCIENCE
Citizen Science is a powerful tool to promote understanding and trust in sceince as well as the development of key life competences. Backpacks for Change will include kits that will allow children to measure water parameters, air quality, among others, ensuring that the spark for science remains alive even in the most vulnerable places.
ASTRONOMY FOR DEVELOPMENT
Astronomy is a fundamental science that helps us understand our place in the Universe. By looking up and discovering how small we are, we also remember how precious our existence is. Each backpack will contain hands-on Astronomy activities, bringing awareness to several important astronomical wonders.
ART FOR EMPATHY AND CARE
Art, mindfulness, movement and other techniques will be included in each backpack to promote emotional healing and empathy. With a focus on personal development and peace each backpack will include writen scripts that anyone can read to promote moments where physical activity meets emotional development and well-being.
PERSONAL GEOGRAPHY
Backpacks for change will include at least one activity related to storry-telling and expression of the children’s emotional world. Personal Geography is a powerful tool to develop a sense of place, a self identity and foster hope in the future, keeping dreams alive. It embeds arts with memories and emotions.
ACCESSIBLE AND CLEAR
All proposed activities will include clear and simple guidelines, allowing anyone who can read to use them and share with the others. These backpacks will not require prior training nor the presence of an educator. They are meant to reach all children in all situations, empowering them to become life-long autonomous learners.
WHO?
This initiative is run through a collaboration of partners with a vast experience in different fields. It gathers organizations with a high quality professional profile in the field of innovative education as well as partners with a deep knowledge and connection to children in conflict zones and refugee camps. Additionaly, several partners in the field are invited to co-create these backpacks, ensuring that they achieve their highest impact in those who need them.
