five years ago I had the simple thought that to prevent world conflicts, we should focus on increasing global awareness and understanding amongst cultures through education. All children, everywhere and no matter what age.I thought of a website, maybe created by Google and sponsored by governmental educational institutions. A website, on which any school, college, academy and university is able to connect and work together throughout one network. Share and learn.
Imagine Roman from Amsterdam and Azizz from Oman, both seven years old. Exchanging hobby's and thoughts one hour per week through the net's translator program. How do you build an airplane?
Or Lars from Sweden, 12 years old and Charles from Dakar brought together through the net to write a geographical paper on each others countries. Learn while exchanging information.
Apparently the interest is BIG. Institutions at educational fares where blown away by the idea, a minister of education in the Netherlands saw potential too.
The only problem is the idea. It's too BIG. I would need all the time in the world and the right people around me to set this one up.
Hi Alice,
ReplyDeleteI have just filled out my profile on this Blog.
Please read it and tell me what you think of it.
I am open to suggestions!
A rainbowhumminglollipop greeting from Amsterdam,
Yvo
love it!
ReplyDeletedear,
ReplyDeletesee that is just the thing, a brain storm is not enough. Best would be to get Google involved, have a whole team set up for this, start a cooperative with education ministers from all around the world. Imagine all the different education sectors, levels as we already have in the Netherlands??? We should start simple, the smallest children first and slowly build out to all these different schools and academies, create school programs wherein children need to connect with each other on different topics and with different tools. This is soooooooooo tooooooooo big.
To start meeting with Google would be the best, see if there is any interest at all. Option two could be Gates, Bill Gates....
yeah, right....were am I reaching at....
Alice I happen to know personally the director of Google Netherlands. I tell you more tonight. mum
ReplyDeleteAlice, option three: Richard Branson?
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if Google would be interested since it's getting more and more...(wanna make bucks?) corporate. On the other hand I do realize they're unlike the majority of the 'old money' companies out there:
tinyurl.com/yey4vbb
I'm in no way connected to the corporation so maybe your mum can convince me the above 'conclusion' is rubbish. Have the two of you spoken about this yet?
So, thinking on this one. I get it's Bigness, like you put it.
But remember, even Big Things have their 'singular starting point'.
Think all living things, both an elephant and a mosquito and every creature in between are firstly being:
- conceived (being the initial idea popping up in your green thinking mind :),
secondly:
- growing inside an egg or the mother's womb (brainstorming fase) and
thirdly:
- being born ('realization' of the idea).
and finally:
- nurture and later on educate it (bring it up, grow it, Big-ing it).
My main point being: how to give birth to your idea since you have already (solely, hail Mary!) conceived it.
While writing this I suddenly realize I'm one handshake away from Willemijn Verloop*, director of War Child Nederland.
She's my good friend and my neighbor's** sister.
I might ask her some advice on how to pull off smth like this. What do you think?
In the mean time I'm spreading the word, like your personal mr J.!
Another idea that pops to mind: how about trying to integrate this idea into the Scuola Europea reunion in Amsterdam? Or at least submit it to the Europarty FBgroup. Should this one be about partying only? Not familiar with the Europarty etiquette, yet :).
Per ara, bona nit.
Take Care and do Share!
Yvo
To your CC (nice nick! :) mum: how's that!
* info Willemijn: tinyurl.com/yzkey9a (in dutch)
** being Fleurine : www.fleurine.com (she's Green too!)