Trusting children as agents of social change, involving them in the search for solutions to social problems from their schooldays, spreading the ‘I Can’ virus to them as founder Kiran Bir Sethi, of Indian origin, likes to say. This is Design for Change, a movement established in more than 35 countries which, with the help of Fundación Telefónica, will reach Spain and six more countries in Latin America – Chile, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Uruguay.
The Executive Vice-President of Fundación Telefónica, Emilio Gilolmo, and the founder of Design For Change, Kiran Bir Seth, have signed a partnership agreement through which the educational methodology will be implemented in schools in these seven countries.
Under the agreement, it is expected that in 2016 more than 6,000 teachers will be recruited in seven countries to work with more than 70,000 pupils on projects which exemplify this methodology.
This innovative project, based on Design Thinking, introduces creativity and design to education and promotes three key aspects for building a basis for learning: empathy, creative and critical thinking and teamwork. This methodology requires that the teachers who will take on the role of facilitator are trained beforehand and that the pupils go through a self-learning process.
The children put their ideas into practice
The ‘Lab I Can’ training sessions allow the teachers to explore the basics, experience the work process and practice useful skills to develop specific projects in the classroom. In addition, teachers who take part in these training workshops will carry out a project with their pupils during the school year which will only be completed when the children have put their ideas into practice and had the experience of participating in a national event in which the winner will have the opportunity to present their project at an international level.
