NEWS

Civic Voices in Northern Ireland and the USA

The Civic Voices programme, a scheme to bring together young people from countries with a history of conflict to learn the lessons of the past and work towards a more harmonious future, is being promoted by the NASUWT in Northern Ireland. A delegation from NASUWT Northern Ireland

recently visited the USA to learn more about the inspirational ethos of the project. NASUWT member Simon Lemon, a Civic Voices Fellow, describes his experience and explains how schools in Northern Ireland can get involved.

“In today’s society we often take an apathetic view towards democracy, taking it for granted, or even seeing it as a job for others. Teaching citizenship, history and RE for eight years, I have become increasingly alarmed at pupils’ lack of knowledge of ‘the troubles’.

They look back in amazement when I describe how my childhood was shaped by the conflict; checkpoints, bomb scares and searches on entering shops were all part of normal life. “Some will say that the fact that our young people do not identify with such tragic events shows how far we have come.

I would beg to differ. “I believe a society that does not recognise the difficulties, wrongs and victims of its past is destined to repeat its failures. It allows prejudice to linger and means that the acceptance of a shared future remains a dream. “The Civic Voices programme, co-ordinated by the

American Federation of Teachers (AFT), aims to ‘harness the stories of the past to inspire the citizens of the future’, making it an excellent project to address these concerns. “The International Democracy Memory Bank project brings

together eight countries emerging from conflict or having democracy denied: the USA, Colombia, Georgia, Mongolia, Northern Ireland, the Philippines, Poland and South Africa. “Pupils in each partner country record interviews with local community activists who have participated in human rights activity, transcribing their interviews and uploading them to the Civic Voices website (www.civicvoices.org).

I was eager to be involved with the project, which is co-ordinated locally by NASUWT Northern Ireland. “I became a Fellow of the programme along with NASUWT member Louise O’Prey. Our role will be to expand the implementation of the project within Northern Ireland. “Our first ‘task’ was to embark on a Civic Voices Fellows visit the Albert Einstein Memorial in Washington DC
two-week study visit to America to meet with the Fellows from the other partner countries.

It was an inspirational visit, which saw us launch the project officially in the Library of Congress in Washington, teach in schools in Maryland and New York and visit important civil rights sites in Washington DC and Birmingham, Alabama. “My highlight was meeting Janice Kelsey and Carolyn McKinstry, participants in the Children’s March of 1963 and, in Carolyn’s case, a survivor of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. These women were living historical narratives and brought emotion and humanity to events I have taught out of textbooks for ten years.”

Get involved

If you are interested in including your school in the Civic Voices project, there are two courses running this summer. More details are available from Karen Sims at NASUWT Northern Ireland on 028 9078 4480 or by emailing rc-nireland@mail.nasuwt.org.uk.


Tool to stay safe online

An NASUWT member has helped develop a new way for schools to assess their online safety. Ron Richards has been working on a new diagnostic tool for schools to review their e-safety policies and practices. The online 360° safe Self Review Tool allows schools to assess their current provisions for Internet safety and security and suggests improvement actions they could consider. It also provides links to resources and good practice guides and allows schools to compare their provisions with other schools. Ron has developed the tool through his work as E-Safety

Consultant for the South West Grid for Learning Trust, which provides broadband and learning services to schools in the South West of England. The tool is available to all schools, not just those in the South West region. The website also includes downloadable template policies on cyber safety and gives the opportunity for schools that meet the required benchmarks for e-safety, to apply for a 360° safe eSafety Mark. The website can be found at www.360safe.org.uk.

www.nasuwt.org.uk