GSL Global Goals Competition

In these uncertain times the world needs socially conscious leaders like you now more than ever. Below are some practical tips to get you started: 

1. Practice Global Citizenship: Educate yourself about COVID-19 and how to stay healthy. Follow guidelines issued by your local authorities and spread the world on social media about the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 health advice.
2. Foodbanks: Food banks are a critical source of stability for any community facing a crisis — whether it’s a tropical storm, economic recession, or pandemic. As the pandemic worsens, food banks around the world will face increased demand and fewer volunteers. You can donate to local food banks in your area to help families in need and, if you’re fully able to, you can volunteer at them to help sort and deliver supplies.  
3. Engage with others: Social distancing is necessary to curb the pandemic. It’s also going to be isolating and emotionally draining for people worldwide who will be cut off from regular companionship. You can help ease people’s isolation by checking in on friends and family members, and joining online communities to provide companionship to people who are alone. Remember the elderly and vulnerable are less likely to have access to smart phones or the internet so consider letter writing, bake cakes or do a letterbox drop to let people know you are thinking of them, create positive and hopeful messages or art in your community to inspire hope and remind people they are not forgotten.
4. Delivering Goods and Medicine: People who have COVID-19 or who are highly vulnerable to complications from it are advised to stay away from crowded areas. That presents an obvious dilemma: how are they going to get food and medical supplies? You can help by delivering supplies to elderly or vulnerable people in your life, or by supporting groups that are providing this service — look online and on social media to find out about groups in your community. 
5. Donate: The World Health Organisation have launched the COVID -19 Solidarity Response Fund [INSERT LINK: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/donate] to support WHO and their partners in a massive effort to help countries prevent, detect, and manage the novel coronavirus – particularly those where the needs are the greatest.
6. Share your ideas: Global Social Leaders is a movement to which thousands of young people worldwide belong, share your innovative ideas and any actions by blogging or posting on social media using the hashtag #globalgoals

All teams are invited to enter next years’ competition, and we actively encourage you to do so regardless of the stage your project has reached this year. For those whose project plans have been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic it’s important that you deliver the project you had planned and make a positive impact on your community.

Every team entering the 2020-21 competition will receive bespoke feedback, a named certificate and the chance to win!

If your team has been affected by school closures, or these are a possibility in the near future we would like to share some general advice to keep your Global Goals project going and help you maximise your impact during any periods of self-isolation:

GET ON THE SAME PAGE

If your team’s school has been temporarily closed you may feel thrown off course and lose sight of your objectives. Without a regular face to face meeting it’s more important than ever that your team share a common goal and understand the specific outcome you want from your project.

Make sure you can explain in plain, simple writing why your project exists and what it is trying to accomplish and make sure everyone is in agreement. From there, develop a step by step plan to achieve your goals and objectives that can be carried out from home. When team members share a vision that they can rally behind as a group, alignment becomes easier even if you are not seeing one another face to face

Ensure your goal (or goals!) is specific and measurable, relevant and time based – SMART and that you assign responsibility for each step to a member of the team. You can read more about SMART goal setting here and we challenge you to set your very own 5 SMART goals for your project – https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals.php Having clear, SMART objectives will help you to track the impact you are creating throughout the project and recognise when you are being thrown off course.

KEEP TALKING

Communication becomes even more important when you’re in self isolation and if you plan to continue your social action project during this time it’s important everyone in the team stays in touch and supports one another. Share regular updates of your progress and ensure you understand what others in the group are doing to stay on track. You may already be using digital tools to facilitate communication but if not now is the time to set up that Whats App or We Chat group, create a team email address which every member of the team can either view or be copied into, set up google hangouts or video conferences so that you can continue to meet as a team and support one another.

BUILD YOUR SUPPORT BASE

Although it can feel lonely, remember that you’re not the only ones stuck at home looking for distraction or entertainment online! With isolation comes a heavier reliance on social media to stay connected to your community so this could be the best time to launch a social media campaign to build support for your cause.

BUILD PARTNERSHIPS

Another constructive use of your time during this period is to focus on developing partnerships. A well-selected project partner can be a valuable source of advice, resources and even funding. Consider contacting organisations, NGOs or private companies in your country or local area that already do similar work to yours. These organisations are likely to have valuable expertise in your chosen field and may be receptive to working with those with complementary aims. They may share their knowledge with you and tell you what has worked well for them and could provide ideas for your own project.

So, be bold, make approaches and remember you have nothing to lose and potentially everything to gain!

SHARE YOUR STORY 

We would love to know how your team is overcoming the obstacles that this global pandemic has placed in your way. You belong to a worldwide movement of socially conscious young leaders and many others will be in the same boat so if you have any personal experiences or success stories to share about this time, please submit a blog which we can share with other young people!

Please click here to share a blog.

GET PLANNING FOR PHASE 3!

From 1st April – 1st May we will be inviting teams to submit your final project report. You may want to use this time to start thinking about creative ways you can communicate your project in written and digital formats. The Projects Library on our website is the perfect place to find inspiration. It is a collection of previous year’s projects that were either highly commended or reached the finals of the competition. You can learn a lot from looking at similar projects to your own, try searching by the Global Goals you have selected to focus on and see if there are any ideas you could borrow!

Due to the current situation we are all facing, with over half the world’s student population (over 850 million young people) subjected to school closures, many of this years’ Global Goal Competition teams have been working remotely and in isolation, a number will have been forced to put their project on hold temporarily. We expect that the majority of final submissions we receive will have been created before major planned actions or events have taken place. Impact will therefore be much harder to evidence for many of our teams.

In light of this, the weighting of the three components of the judging criteria in the Global Goals Competition has been adjusted for the 2020-21 cohort. This year we are affording a greater importance to section 1 (The team’s learning and knowledge gained) and section 3 (special recognition) than section 2 (impact).

We are aware that due to school closures you may not be able to make the progress you would have liked with your projects. This is entirely understandable and under the circumstances we expect most Global Goals teams will be affected in some way.

We want you to know that we value your health above all else. We ask that you follow the advice of the WHO and local authorities and do not put yourselves or others at risk. Please seek official advice before going ahead with planned events or team meetings relating to your project.

If you are able, we strongly encourage you to continue your efforts in whatever way you can. If you cannot make progress at this time then rather than withdraw  from the competition we suggest you place your project in ‘hibernation’ for the time being. Either way you should submit a final report by 1st May, regardless of the stage your project has reached. This is the only way your team members will receive recognition for the efforts you have made this year and a named certificate.

Please note that we do not expect your social action to have concluded by the point of final submission and will be asking our judges to take into consideration these extraordinary mitigating circumstances. This programme is as much about your personal development and learning journey as it is the impact your social action delivers and we want to celebrate each and every one of you for the incredible work you have done in this competition!

We understand that school closures and social distancing have presented specific challenges to teams, one of which is producing a digital report. We are still asking teams to upload a digital element to their final submission, even if this is not in the format you had originally planned. Digital submissions can be in the form of a video or visual presentation such as Prezi, once which should suit your situation regardless of whether you have collected footage, photos etc along the way.

The 3 minute digital submission enables GSL judges to see more detail what you have envisioned and achieved through your projects. We are interested to see how you can communicate your creativity and learning journey through a format other then the written report.

If you are stuck for ideas and would like to see some examples of previous team’s efforts for inspiration you can take a look at the Projects page of the GSL website here.

Yes! We understand that over the course of an extended project such as this team members may come and go. It is our intention to recognise all students who have made a contribution to the team, regardless of the stage they have joined the programme. Up to seven team members can be listed on the final submission form and all will receive a named certificate. The names on the final submission form do not need to match the team registration or Phase 1 submission.