Empathy to Impact: Student Voices on Global Citizenship Education & Community Engagement

Guiding Question:
  • How might we empower our students, beyond personal projects, to have a greater say in their learning through increased student agency.
Key Takeaways:
  • Student agency and the importance of learning experiences, like personal projects, to create opportunities for students to explore different interests outside of the curriculum.
  • Raising awareness of complex issues, like child labor, and child trafficking, that are difficult topics to navigate, but important to understand for even our youngest learners in school.
  • Turning learning, research, storytelling and navigating the publishing process into a children’s book to educate children in our community.
If you have enjoyed our podcast, please take a moment to subscribe, and also please leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. The way the algorithm works, this helps our podcast reach more listeners. Thanks from IC for your support. 
  • At the time of publishing I don’t have information on how to purchase Kweku’s Brave Choice: A Story of Courage and Hope, but I will update here when it’s available. Stay tuned.
  • Learn more about how Inspire Citizens co-designs customized student leadership and changemakers programs
  • Connect with more stories from the Inspire Citizens network in our vignettes
  • Measuring the IMPACT of Service Learning projects and initiatives 
  • Access free resources for global citizenship education
  • You can book a discovery call with Inspire Citizens at this link
  • Share on social media using #EmpathytoImpact
Episode Summary 

On this episode, I meet Maria Bella, a high school student from Lincoln Community School in Accra, Ghana. As part of her studies, Maria Bella learned about child trafficking, and child labor, a complex issue that impacts her local community. She is passionate about humanitarian work, and chose to dedicate her work for her personal project to creating a children’s book to educate local children about this important issue. Join me, as we explore her journey to becoming a published author and shall she use this opportunity to further her learning as a humanitarian and set her sites on a potential career path. 

Discover a transformative podcast on education and learning from a student perspective and student voice, exploring media, media literacy, and media production to inspire citizens in schools through a media lab focused on 21st-century learning, empathy to impact, Global citizenship, collaboration, systems thinking, service learning, PBL, CAS, MYP, PYP, DP, Service as Action, futures thinking, project-based learning, sustainability, well-being, harmony with nature, community engagement, experiential learning, and the role of teachers and teaching in fostering well-being and a better future.

What is Empathy to Impact: Student Voices on Global Citizenship Education & Community Engagement?

Empathy to Impact is a podcast designed for educators dedicated to global citizenship education. We explore themes of sustainability, service learning, student leadership, and community engagement, empowering students to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable future.
While educators grasp the “why” and “what” of global citizenship, this podcast delves into the “how”. Through engaging storytelling and student voices, we provide authentic connections to curriculum, and showcase practical tools and frameworks that you can implement in your classroom.
By viewing learning experiences through the lens of Empathy to Impact, we can inspire students to take meaningful steps toward becoming global citizens and transform the culture of education in our schools.
Join us as we amplify the voices and stories of students who take ownership of their learning and make a difference in their communities.

This podcast is brought to you by Inspire Citizens.