WLF Ambassador Program empowers individuals around the globe to be change-makers.
With young leaders like Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai taking to the world stage, we can see the power and potential in developing the leadership and advocacy skills of the global citizens who want to do no less than changing the world. How better to help the leaders of tomorrow flourish and thrive than through education?
The benefits of promoting leadership
Educators, schools, workplaces, and organizations are in a position not only to inspire future leaders but equip them with the skills, networks, and experience they need. Literacy empowers children, and once empowered, children can grow to lead their communities towards shared goals for development.
How can we develop leadership?
The World Literacy Foundation’s Ambassador Program is a fantastic platform for participants to advocate for the eradication of illiteracy by joining a network of like-minded people; gaining leadership, communication, fundraising, and PR skills; and feeling empowered to have an impact on our global community.
Other ways to cultivate leadership
We can also encourage young individuals to develop leadership skills through group projects, giving students responsibility for tasks or decisions, involving them in extracurricular activities, modeling, explicitly explaining leadership behaviors, and leadership programs that cultivate the skills and experience needed to make an impact.
Importance of global citizenship
Guiding learners to engage with the world as global citizens is important for teaching them empathy, understanding, and promotion of human rights, as well as preparing them for an increasingly globalized further education and employment climate.
Growing global citizens
The first step towards creating global citizens is creating literate populations. Aprende Leyendo, the fundraising focus of this year’s WLF Ambassador Program, uses the project “Dingo App” to deliver locally-tailored content to empower students to be global citizens through literacy.
This is a fantastic initiative of the World Literacy Foundation to provide children from low-income backgrounds in Colombia the means and opportunity to learn valuable literacy skills in both Spanish and English and prepare them to take an active role in their communities.
Other strategies to grow global citizens
Educators around the world are using strategies such as forming digital networks, engaging students in collaborative projects, and prompting students to question and understand the world around them, to equip learners to become active global citizens. Literate, empowered, and impassioned children will become leaders in their communities and the world.
If interested in participate in the WLF Ambassador 2020 and speak up for those who cannot read and write, register now at https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/ambassador/
*The WLF Ambassador Program registrations will close on June 14, 2020.
Written by: Ashley Emmerton
Image Sources:
- Photo by Kiana Bosman
- Photo by Bill Oxford
Other sources:
- https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
- https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/ambassador/
- https://www.classcraft.com/blog/features/
- https://www.educationworld.com/
- https://theconversation.com/
- https://aprendeleyendo.com/dingo-app/
- https://www.coolcatteacher.com/students-global-citizen/
- https://www.globalcollaborationweek.org/
- https://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/