Dubai
Students of GEMS International School in Al Khail were recently visited by Kailash Satyarthi, the recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, who briefed them about his new campaign called ‘100 million for 100 million’.
The child rights activist from India spoke about the role of youth as “future leaders of tomorrow” in solving world problems. The new initiative promotes “the power of youth” within schools and universities across the world.
Satyarthi said: “The power and impact that children can collectively create is incredible. As the future leaders of tomorrow, you can ensure that every child has equal access to education and freedom. Through this campaign, people can create a strong value towards driving global citizenship and help address some of the most pressing issues around the world.”
He also spoke at length on issues in countries like Africa and parts of Asia and shared his experiences with children who have been subjected to child labour. He stressed on how privileged people are in the Middle East to have access to quality education and resources, which should be used to bring about significant change.
Dr David Ottaviano, principal of the school, said: “Schools are now actively trying to incorporate global citizenship within their practices. It brings to educators and other people that work with children, the calling to connect the world and the world’s problems to our students and Satyarthi was eloquent at doing that. He put all the concepts down in a simplistic way for our students to understand.”
Among other topics, the discussions focused on educators in schools and universities today and how education can help students take responsibility for the world they are inheriting.
The 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was shared by Malala Yousufzai, a young Pakistani campaigner for girls education.
