Global Messengers

A NEAD Project (May 2006 to March 2009)

Global Messengers home page

The Global Messengers project aimed to provide practical support to key education professionals with an interest in local/global issues who visit schools as part of their work. The key target groups for Global Messengers (GMs) were:

Here's a job description of a Global Messenger (DOC file, 51 KB).

As a result of this support the recruited Global Messengers helped hundreds of teachers and schools in the Eastern Region to equip their students to actively participate in our increasingly globalised world and culturally diverse society. This increased provision across East Anglia was far far more than could have been achieved by NEAD alone.

By the end of the project over 150 Global Messengers had been recruited and supported. The key project tool was the Global Messengers Pen Drive.

Front of a NEAD Global Messengers Pen Drive, with logo

Many of the the recruited Global Messengers had suggested to NEAD project staff that they did not have the time to read all of the current teaching resources nor, research new sources on the Internet. Project staff, therefore, researched and identified a number of key websites; others were suggested by existing Global Messengers. As a result of this a ‘mini website’ of the most useful weblinks was created and loaded on to a Pen Drive.

For ease of use, the collected websites were listed under a number of key headings headings: Images and perceptions, Global Issues, Cultural Diversity, Human Rights, Sustainability, Student Resources, Global Citizenship, and finally a list of the best sites to obtain Teachers’ Resources.

Back of a NEAD Global Messengers Pen Drive, with web address

This simple tool enabled Global Messengers to easily provide up-to-date information about resources, initiatives, campaigns, etc to teachers they met in the course of their work.

The GM Pen Drive was launched at the Norfolk Professional Development Centre on October 18th.

The Pen Drive is a fabulous idea… this use of technology is fantastic, it shows new ways to communicate, to teach and how to find new ways so that we can engage with local/global issues

Fred Corbett (Deputy Director of Early Years, Schools, Communities for )

Advanced Skills Teacher Alex Savage at the launch of the Global Messengers Pen Drive

Since then, the pen drives have been distributed to over 150 Global Messengers from the target groups (above) and a further 100 guest Global Messengers. The response to the pen drive from Global Messengers was overwhelmingly positive. It was seen as a simple, innovative and important tool which enabled them to highlight and easily access information and resources for the promotion of the global dimension in schools, classrooms and so on.

Other means of support for the ever-busy Global Messengers came from a regular , and information exchanged between Global Messengers and NEAD staff.

The Future

After April 1st 2009 we aim to:

Join NEAD and download the Pen Drive’s contents, or be sent a Pen Drive.

Global Messengers Resources

Some of the resources, activities, and information developed or found by this project are listed below. Your web browser requires JavaScript and Adobe’s Flash Player to access some of this content.

The list of activities is as follows:

Some ASTs and LEA advisers have been developing lesson plans for events like Black History Month (October each year), Fair Trade Fortnight (March) and Refugee Week (June). These and other NEAD projects can be found on the Projects page.

Lastly some useful documents for Global Messengers:

Links to more resources can be found in our Resources section.

This project is funded by the Department For International Development’s Development Awareness Fund with support from , Suffolk Children’s and Young People’s Services, Norwich City Council and Oxfam.