NEW YORK

In March 2017, Instituto La Paz students travelled and participated in their first International MUN conference in New York. During the National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN) opening session in the UN General Assembly Hall, delegates were addressed by several speakers regarding the creation of service learning projects. One of those talks was given by the Malala Fund and it inspired and captured the imagination of our small group of delegates. Over the course of the conference, our young group of delegates, guided by Miss Gaby Navidad and myself, inked out an initiative that would raise awareness around education in Mexico and hopefully lead to more girls going to school.

Upon our return, we set about this task by contacting the Malala Fund, CINU and several Senators. Within weeks, we had convinced Lindsay Guetschow (Malala Fund), Mariana Castro (CINU) and Senator Sylvia Martinez to support the initiative. The idea was simple and broken down into 3 parts: a) Raise awareness on girls’ education by hosting Malala Film Debates. b) Amend the Mexican educational laws to incorporate the UN Education Plan for Peace into education programs. In other words, implement MUNs from primary through university throughout the whole of the Mexican nation. c) To stage an Expo, Ted Talks and Concerts to generate funds in order to establish schools in poor regions of the country. The initiative signed by cross-party representation was sent to the Education and Legislative Studies Commissions for their analysis and corresponding opinion. Follow this link to see the speech in full: http://www.pan.senado.gob.mx/2017/12/senadora-sylvia-leticia-martinezelizondo-adiciones-al-articulo-7-de-la-ley-general-de-educacion/

So now, as we enter 2018, our eyes, hearts and minds at Instituto La Paz have turned to focus on the next stages of the initiative. We will keep you posted as our inspirational students and teachers continue to work towards their goals of equality.

As of this date: a) We have hosted Malala Film Debates in the Senate (25/8/17) and at the Museum of Memoria y Tollerancia (25/11/17), inspiring many schools and corporations to follow suit. b) We have met and continued to work with Malala and her fund on reaching set goals and creating new ones. c) We began the process of having the educational law amended on 12th December 2017, when Senator Sylvia Martinez proposed the Senate to modify Article 7 of the General Law of Education, with the objective of incorporating into teaching programs the principles and methodological strategies of Education for the Culture of Peace, embodied in the Educational Model of the United Nations.

Con los aprendizajes, habilidades y atributos del perfil de la comunidad IB, los alumnos de quinto grado lograron crear fabulosos dispositivos donde compartieron con sus compañeros los tipos de energía existentes así como sus manifestaciones.

Los alumnos crearon dispositivos para ejemplificar cómo la energía eólica, hidráulica, eléctrica, solar, entre otras, además de transformarse, también ayudan a hacer más simple la vida de las personas.

Esta fue una tarea de desempeño súper divertida donde los alumnos, con ayuda de su creatividad y con materiales de reuso, pusieron manos a la obra para diseñar sus propios prototipos y dispositivos.