EduVentures

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EduVentures is in Namibia registered non-governmental organization , which the Education for Sustainable Development promotes.

Focus

The specialty of the program is the combination of environmental education and research . The program is implemented in the form of small research projects in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism , the National Museum of Namibia in Windhoek , state and private schools, universities ( Namibia University of Science and Technology , University of Namibia ) and other Namibian non-governmental organizations. Under the motto “children working for heritage”, schoolchildren can collaborate on research projects with Namibian and international scientists. The 14- to 24-year-old youngsters not only gain knowledge about the connections between biological diversity , added value and sustainable use of natural resources , but are also made familiar with scientific procedures and working methods. Especially with participants from socially disadvantaged groups , the motivation should be laid to actively and responsibly participate in determining their own and the future of the community and to act as a role model and multiplier on their environment.

background

According to UNDP , Namibia is one of the countries in the world with the largest difference in income distribution . For large parts of the population, this development disadvantage is reflected in the unequal distribution of opportunities for a good education and appropriate career choice.

This situation was also the motivation of the Namibian teacher Nicolas crown of Immanuel Shifidi Secondary School in Katutura and the South African biologist Tharina Bird, curator for Arachnologie at the National Museum of Namibia in Windhoek , in early 2003, based on the Agenda 21 , the educational program EduVentures to Life call. The aim was to sensitize young people from disadvantaged strata of the population to their natural environment and to relieve the financial and personnel workload of the scientific work at the museum through trained voluntary assistants. The founders hoped that this combination would strengthen the social and environmental interests of the new generation.

At the beginning there were pedagogically scientifically guided collective expeditions to remote areas of Namibia to collect and provide ecological data for the National Museum of Namibia. These include the description of new species , the inventory and distribution density of different species as well as environmental monitoring to assess changes in ecosystems . International scientists and teachers are now taking part in the EduVentures program, and students from all social classes of different origins are included in the projects.

activities

Expeditions

EduVentures' core business is expeditions with young people between the ages of 14 and 17 to remote, relatively unexplored regions of Namibia, such as the island mountains . Through these expeditions the participants gain important knowledge about the connections between biological diversity , value creation and sustainable use of natural resources . Real scientific data are collected. But also important qualities such as stamina, incorruptibility, a sense of community and curiosity are given to the young people for their further life. This synergy of personal development and serious scientific research is EduVentures' unique selling point. The young people should later actively use what they have learned for the benefit of society by setting role models, acting in an environmentally conscious and responsible manner. Participation in activities initiated by EduVentures should serve as a key experience, which also shows the students the direction for later career orientation.

The program is aimed primarily at young people from socially disadvantaged groups. In order to strengthen the sense of community, more and more participants from privileged backgrounds have come to EduVentures since 2005. The inclusion of hearing impaired children is also an integral part of the program. In addition, the first positive experiences were made with participants from rural areas of Namibia. When it comes to the composition of the group, the EduVentures team always pays attention to a balanced relationship between girls and boys. Thus, the origin of the participants reflects the entire social spectrum of Namibia. Not least because the expeditions also involve physical exertion, the young people become a committed community and thus multipliers for the rest of Namibian society.

Research camps

EduVentures offers particularly committed and interested students the opportunity to take part in research camps every two years. These essentially follow the principle of the expeditions, but with the special feature that it is up to the participants to think of a topic for the expedition that they want to work on. They independently carry out experiments and measurements that are intended to help answer previously asked questions. The results of these research camps are then presented and evaluated by a jury during “National Science Fair” competitions, comparable to Jugend forscht . In addition to the experiences already mentioned, which the participants have on expeditions, the students learn to take on additional responsibility and to work on and present a topic precisely and independently. You decide the approach yourself and get support and start-up help from mentors.

International Day of Biodiversity

On the occasion of the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 , EduVentures was given the honor of organizing and carrying out the “ Biodiversity Action Day ” in Namibia on behalf of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and in cooperation with Geo . The media-effective event was organized around the Brandberg massif , which as the Inselberg is home to a particularly high number of endemic species . Over a hundred participants gathered between May 7th and 9th at the foot of the massif to attend the event and do their part to make it happen. The aim of the campaign is to bring various population groups and interest groups closer to the enormous importance and high status of biological diversity and to draw attention to the prevailing grievances: What is biodiversity ? What do we need them for? Why are we continuously losing species , genes, and entire ecosystems - faster than ever before in history? What are the consequences of this? What will it cost us? How can we reverse this development? The right answer to all of these questions should be found by means of various action groups. These covered topics such as plants , arthropods , mammals and archeology . One of the consequences was an extraordinary parliamentary session on biodiversity, organized by Environment Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah , as well as a conference at which researchers discussed the treasures of the Brandberg's species.

literature

  • Meike Wulfmeyer: Education for Sustainable Development in a Global Context. The example of Namibia, Iko-Verlag für Interkulturelle Kommunikation (July 2006), ISBN 3-88939-814-6

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Regional information pages (LIS): Namibia - Macrosocial Structure ( Memento from May 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Page 4: Society, Culture & Religion, Rich poor country
  2. ^ Die Presse.com/Wirtschaft: WISSEN: Gini coefficient . dated January 9, 2006
  3. ↑ Online magazine of the German Commission for UNESCO: Education for Sustainable Development - Key to Change in: Shaping Global Justice ecologically - The Mission of Rio, Issue 11–12, November / December 2003