August 22, 2018, Executive Director of the Northern Forum Mikhail Pogodaev held a meeting with the head of the Helsinki City Education Department Liisa Pohjolainen, the principal of Ressu IB World School Ari Huovinen, and the senior lecturer of the Ressu Oksana Mustonen.
The participants of the meeting discussed the projects of the Northern Forum in the field of education. Particular attention was paid to the issue of partnership between schools of two countries. Also, the parties discussed the project of the International Arctic School (IAS) and the implementation of the project of the Arctic Council "Children of the Arctic".
The International Arctic School is created on the initiative of the Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and is aimed to develop international cooperation between the Arctic countries in the field of educational activity.
It will be located on the basis of the State autonomous supplementary education institution of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Sosnovy Bor Recreation and Health Center by forming a single innovative educational complex.
The mission of the School is to develop the human and personnel potential of the countries of the Arctic region as the main factor of economic and social development in the context of cross-border cooperation.
Goal: Integration of the federal and international standards in the field of education for the preservation and development of human capital in the Arctic and the North.
Objectives:
- Creation of an innovative model of the School to ensure the quality of education, successful adaptation and comprehensive development of the Arctic region through the individualization of the educational process, the formation of universal educational activities and key competencies of future school graduates.
- Participants’ self-development in the educational process through networking with educational institutions of Russia and the World, to organize a system of continuing education and international cooperation.
- The development of international regional cooperation through the international organizations of the United Nations, UNESCO, the Arctic Council, the Northern Forum and the organization of creative interaction (including the educational programs of partner schools abroad, educational exchange projects for children), the integration of the basic values of Arctic civilization into universal values of the educational process.
International Arctic School in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is an integrated organization that is called to implement network technologies and provide quality education of the world standard to children of Siberia, the Far East of Russia and the countries of the Arctic region.
The international status of the School is confirmed by the ongoing programs of the International Baccalaureate (IB), accreditation in the Council of International Schools (CIS), international educational projects of the UN, UNESCO, the Arctic Council and the Northern Forum.
The International Arctic School is a full-time school in which conditions for harmonious and all-round development will be created.
The languages of teaching in the International Arctic School – Russian and English.
Forms of education: group, network, individual consultations, project activities, mixed-age groups and distance learning from teachers from foreign countries.
Training will be organized under the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs.
International project "Children of the Arctic: Pre-school Education"
It is worth noting that the idea of this innovative project was originally created Yakutia, where specialists, ten years ago, researched the problems of nomadic education and the preservation of small schools in the rural areas.
The project "Children of the Arctic" is aimed at a joint study of the most successful practices in the field of free pre-school education for children of the indigenous people of the North. It is about creating conditions to study history, state and native languages, consolidating their knowledge of traditional natural resource use. In addition, it is planned to develop educational programs, methods and recommendations for teachers, to find new approaches to integrating the younger generation of indigenous peoples of the North into modern society while preserving the original way of life. As there is a gap in gaining proper knowledge while being in school, difficulties in mastering the school curriculum because of the huge gap in the level of preparation, and this fact puts them in a serious obstacle in terms of obtaining higher education. At the same time, special attention should be paid to finding certain balance in the upbringing and education of indigenous children of the North, so that the educational process does not harm them, not taking them from their way of life, because losing their identity, indigenous students do not always find themselves in modern society, as they can be victims of social ills.
Partnership of schools
The project, led by the Republic of Sakha, is dedicated to the development of the partnership of schools in the North. The leading organization is the Yakut State National Gymnasium, within the framework of the project, the leading own project "School of Life in the North". Work on the project has been carried out since 2008 and it included activities such as:
International educational video links, olympiads, presentations, educational and research projects for primary schools, meetings of schoolchildren of twin cities and so on. Activities are organized with orientation for primary, secondary and senior classes separately, with the main focus on international events focused on high school students..
As part of the project, the Yakut National City Gymnasium cooperates with West High School, Romig Middle School, Turnagain Elementary School (Alaska) and School No. 3 (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug).
Purpose: To organize the conditions for the functioning of the school of life in the North, based on the intercultural communication of the peoples inhabiting the North and to conduct a study on the conceptualization of the Northern world picture.
Programs in the project: Language program "Cooperation between schools"
Purpose: the cultural and educational dialogue "school of life in the North" between students, teachers and educational institutions of the Northern regions, the formation of conditions for the implementation of intercultural communication and implementation of the intercultural competence of students.
Program "Eco"
Purpose: education in schoolchildren of an active life position, inculcation of love for the native northern region.
Program "National Sports"
Purpose: to maintain and promote national sports in the field of protecting and promoting the health of children and their physical perfection; creation of conditions for training in national sports.
Программа «Дизайн и конструирование национальной одежды».
Цель: изучение национальных традиций в создании и технологии национальной одежды народов Севера.
Program "Design and construction of national clothes"
Purpose: to study national traditions in the creation and technology of ethnic dress of the peoples of the North.
In addition, Tatyana Martynova, director of the State Specialized Correctional School "Boarding School", presented the Northern Forum project "Inclusive SMART-ART Festival" Claim yourself! ".
International inclusive SMART-ART festival "Declare yourself!" Is held for institutions that implement inclusive education and special (correctional) schools.
The founder of the Festival is the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
The organizer of the Festival is the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), State Educational Institution "Republican Special (Correctional) Boarding School", Resource Center for Support of Inclusive Education of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), "Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts".
The festival is held with the support of the Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the State Assembly (Il Tumen) of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the international non-governmental organization "Northern Forum", the State Committee for Arctic Affairs.
Purpose: To create an open inclusive educational space for the countries of the Arctic region.
Objectives:
- To contribute to solving the problem of the inclusion of children with limited health opportunities in general cultural processes;
- Establish informative creative contacts and cooperation between organizations dealing with inclusive education in the countries of the Arctic region;
- Change the stereotype of the perception of "special people", showing their strengths and creativity;
- To promote the image of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) as a place for the development of progressive spiritual, intellectual and cultural trends;
- Establish informative creative contacts and cooperation between organizations of the countries of the Arctic region dealing with the problems of inclusive education;
- To realize the right of children to care and special help, which are reflected in the most important international and Russian state documents: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other acts.
As a result of the meeting, agreements were reached to support projects and cooperation between the schools of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the city of Helsinki, the Republic of Finland.