IPA

From tiny acorns …

From a very small beginning nine years ago, the Challenge to Change project has continued to expand. Each September Presentation Primary and Post-Primary schools are invited to participate in this Development Education project. From September to June, students work on their chosen topic focusing on issues of justice, human rights, sustainability and interculturalism. They seek to raise awareness and bring about a greater understanding of their chosen issue. Students are empowered to explore ways in which their local actions can impinge for the better on global issues.

Challenge to Change Seminar

From early morning on Thursday 10 May 2012, the Springhill Court Hotel, Kilkenny, came alive with energy, enthusiasm, passion and creativity as students from 27 Presentation Primary and Post-Primary schools gathered to celebrate what they had learned from participating in the annual Challenge to Change project. Having set up their projects, the students busied themselves explaining what they had discovered, engaging with their audience, sharing their learning, answering their questions, surprising their visitors with intriguing puzzles and questionnaires and learning from the work of other students.

Each participating school was invited to send eight student representatives to the Seminar. In addition to presenting their project throughout the day, these students had the opportunity to participate in one of five simultaneous workshops focused on development education issues. Shane O’Connor from Trocaire facilitated a workshop entitled C2C Our Climate while Lizzie Noone from Concern facilitated a workshop on Education and Child Labour. Eamon Cagney delivered a Drumming workshop while Fergal O’Connor guided students in their Dreams for a Better World. Patsy Toland, Self-Help Africa, encouraged his audience to engage with the topic Are You Equal?.

This year’s topics

An indication of the complexity of the topics chosen can be gleaned from this list:

Presentation Primary George’s Hill - Human Rights for You, Me, Everybody
Presentation Primary Carrick-on-Suir - Our Footprints, Our World
Presentation Secondary Clonmel - Climate Change and its Effects on Poverty in East Africa
Scoil Bhride Naofa Kildare - Barbie versus Ken
Scoil Chriost Ri Portlaoise - The Slums of India – a Moral Issue
Scoil Mhuire Clondalkin - Scoil Mhuire in Bloom
Presentation Secondary Warrenmount - All Work No Play! Becoming the person you are not!
Scoil Mhuire Portlaoise - Sustainability in our Community
Presentation De La Salle Bagenalstown - Fair Trade, Fair School, Fair Life
Presentation Primary Clonmel - Sow and Grow!
Colaiste Bride Secondary Clondalkin - Life is Precious, So are Girls
Scoil Áine Clondalkin - Dumping our Waste on Others
Sacred Heart Primary Portlaoise - Feast or Famine?
Presentation Secondary Mitchelstown - Less Education leads to More Exploitation
Holy Trinity NS Fethard - Switch on the Lights to Human Rights
Presentation Secondary Thurles - Indian Outreach Project
St Joseph’s Primary Mountmellick - The River of Life
St Joseph’s College Lucan - Many Cultures, One World
Scoil Mhuire Thurles - Knit a Square for Africa
Presentation Secondary Kilkenny - Prejudice and Inequality in Education
Presentation Primary Portarlington - When You Save Energy, You Save the World
Presentation Secondary Ballingarry - Indian Immersion Project
Presentation Primary Waterford - Near and Far – Presentation Schools at Home and Abroad
Presentation Primary Maynooth - Famine – Hunger, Then and Now!
Presentation Primary Kilkenny - Energy
Presentation Senior Primary Mullingar - Homelessness: at Home and Abroad
Our Lady’s College Drogheda - Poverty in Ireland

Comments from the students who attended the Seminar
In response to the question “What can you do as a result of what you heard today?” students replied:

• I can now debate and prove a point that I believe in.
• I will start saving more energy.
• Buy Fairtrade.
• I learned how to make the world a better place.
• Raise awareness, spread what we have learned to people in our school.
• I will write a piece or do a bit of artwork for the Self-Help Africa book.
• Look deeper into the new topics I discovered like gender inequality.
• Look deeper into the roots of situations and not just glance at the top problem.
• I can put what I learned today to good use and try to bring it into my everyday life.
• Try to promote human rights as much as possible.
• Be careful because the smallest things we do can hurt other countries.

When asked what they like most about the seminar, students said:

“I liked when people asked me questions and I was able to tell them about my project.”

“Learning about the different moral issues in our world and how we can work together to change them.”

“Raising awareness, seeing other students’ projects and everything was so much fun!”

“The workshops were fantastic. The whole experience was enlightening. Everyone was extremely friendly and informative. The variety of projects and schools were inspirational.”

“The enthusiasm of the pupils, especially at primary level.”

“I loved talking to people and telling them all about our work on human rights.”

It is heartening to see how enthusiastic students, teachers and parents are as they try to make our world a better place for all and, as Nano did in her day, shine a light into the darkness. A special word of thanks to our Principals, our teachers and our students who continue to champion such worthy causes, asking the hard questions and seeking answers. Finally a word of thanks to our funders – Irish Aid, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Presentation Sisters. As in previous years, the full story of Challenge to Change 2011-2012 will be available when the Challenge to Change book is published in the autumn.

If you need any further information or you wish to become involved in Challenge to Change 2012-2013 email preseduc@eircom.net.

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