[sl] Second of Mariel's Voices of Youth, Global Kids Related Post
We had posted a few days ago Mariel's first blog post about the UNICEF Voices of Youth program. Now she has posted a second one entitled "Educating and Raising Awareness Through Virtual Reality" and also posted more photos.
So, well... Yup. I decided to try not to post the same on Blogger and MySpace, so this one stays only here. It's more of a... secret blog, I know, plus we don't want that freaky sir insulting me again, no matter how fun you found it o.O And it's, oh, so quiet!Our workshop area (photo by Global Kids)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/holymeatballs/309991499/Hello, everyone!
This is Mariel again. So far, this week has been amazing. Now I’m here to tell you all a bit about the contest and the events that have taken place so far.
Let us begin by some very basic information: What is a World fit for children?
In 1990, World leaders gathered in a summit dedicated to children. In it, they made international agreements on things governments would have to do to ensure children a fair environment. Eleven years later, they gathered again to see all the things that had been done and their effects. They realised that, despite the advance in many aspects, some were still far from being what they had planned eleven years earlier. Taking this into account, they established a series of points and paths governments would have to take from then on. All of them are concerning four main issues:
Education – How can we achieve a universal, quality basic education? In other words, how can children from all over the World have access to quality basic education?
Health – How can all children have access to the health access they deserve whenever they fall sick?
HIV/AIDS – How can the pandemic that is putting children’s lives in danger -as it breaks their families, prevents them from studying and makes them a focus of discrimination- be controlled?
Abuse/exploitation – How can children live in an environment in which they aren’t attacked or exploited?This leads us to the contest - A World Fit for Children Building Contest, the biggest one in Teen Second Life so far, and organized by Global Kids and UNICEF ^^
http://www.flickr.com/photos/holymeatballs/309991506/in/set-72157594397737153/
Photo by Global KidsWhat is the contest about? Well, in a few words, teens are required to make buildings on Teen Second Life that pretty much represent the ways these four main issues have to be addressed. They were taught about these issues in an interactive, 2-hour workshop (that was very fun, too!) They can build anything they want – from an exhibit to interactive games. The three best buildings will receive awards, of course :)
Before I go on to the events, I’d like to share a few images of the contest area!
December 16 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/holymeatballs/328633042/
December 18 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/holymeatballs/328691616/
December 20 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/holymeatballs/328716554/In the World Fit for Children Festival on TSL, we’ve had a few events going on…
Workshop
http://www.flickr.com/photos/holymeatballs/321380247/in/set-72157594397737153/ (photo by Global Kids)First of all, the workshops. At least one participant in each team (though the workshop was open to anyone who wanted to join it) had to be present in one of them. I attended one as well, and I had a lot of fun. For two hours, we had interactive activities related to the objective to the contest. In one we had to make our own pictures to represent one of the four issues, and the others would have to guess it when we saw it. Also, there was a scavenger hunt with prizes.
Daily events
http://www.flickr.com/photos/holymeatballs/321380247/in/set-72157594397737153/ (photo by GlobalKids)Everyday, we all gather on Global Kids’ Island on TSL for the daily event. In it, people who won the scavenger hunt (the ones who found most eggs and answered the questions correctly) were given their awards. Also, the most popular building of the day is announced. TSL residents can vote for each building in the vote boxes.
Monday panel on Voices of Youth
http://www.flickr.com/photos/holymeatballs/326556434/ (photo by Global Kids)After the daily event on Monday, I had the honour to be in a sort of panel to tell TSL residents a bit about our beloved Voices of Youth ^^ I just answered a couple of questions and told them about what we do on here and how it’s changed our lives, hehe.
Party with Henry Jenkins from MIT o.O
http://www.flickr.com/photos/holymeatballs/328619496/ (photo by Global Kids)Well – to me, this one is unbelievable still. For an assignment/project at school, I quoted a couple of his works, which gave me an idea on how to put it all together. His works are my main source there. I found that out until I was shown one of his works, and then told he’d be on TSL to talk to us. I’m still amazed, hehe. The party rocked, Alpha Zaius was great as a DJ, and Henry Jenkins answered some of our questions ^^ (I still feel ashamed, though – poor Barry, who was hosting the event, must have been secretly wishing for me to stop asking so many questions. How obnoxious can I get? Sorry!)
Well – even if it doesn’t sound like so much, this week’s been very hectic and exciting. We are less than 24 hours away from the deadline, and I can’t wait to see the results…
In my next post, I will tell you a bit about other people’s opinions, the projects themselves and the final events and results.
Greetings from Mexico!
To visit her site, click here.
