Toronto, ONT – 6 August – TakingITGlobal, a Toronto-based youth entrepreneurship organization has launched its first ever Sprout initiative. Sprout is a global e-course which helps young people (ages 16 to 30) develop their own environmental and social project ideas and create lasting change in their communities. The program is funded by the Pearson Foundation which contributes to education and literacy projects around the world. 26 young visionaries from 12 countries are participating in the first Sprout course and will be assisted by 16 e-mentors from nine countries.
“At TakingITGlobal, we believe that there is no shortage of innovation in the world, just a lack of capacity to implement social and environmental projects effectively,” says Emily Briggs, Sprout program manager. “This program ensures that young people who aspire to create positive changes in the world, have the knowledge and skills to bring their ideas to fruition.”
The program was announced earlier this year and TakingITGlobal received more than 200 applications from aspiring entrepreneurs, each of whom had their own ideas for creating social and environmental transformations in areas such as health, sustainable transportation, environmental education and eco-tourism. For the 26 who were chosen to participate, the summer involves a three-and-a-half month e-course, including eight weeks of consecutive lessons. Together with the e-mentors, the students develop their project plan, think critically and work collaboratively to build their e-portfolios. Once the instruction phase is over, they have one month to perfect their plans before submitting them to Sprout for final review. At that point, they’re ready to execute the projects although many of them get started while still in the e-course.
Denise Matias, a 25-year-old Sprout participant from The Philippines is developing a program to address environmental issues of waste segregation and deforestation by recycling paper: “While passion is important in eco-social entrepreneurship, knowledge has equal significance. The Sprout e-course makes sure that we have a good background on both,” says Matias.
The online nature of the Sprout program is in keeping with TakingITGlobal’s commitment to harness Internet technologies to cultivate youth leadership and engagement in social and environmental issues. Sprout activates this in many ways, including:
Online learning design - bridges the gap between traditional, institutional education and the types of competencies and capacity required to create meaningful change in the world. The Sprout model focuses on innovation and learning, life and career skills, along with information and technology skills. The result is a participatory learning community in which social connections exist together with explorative, collaborative and autonomous learning.
Enhanced online learning platform – Sprout’s in-house tech team customized a unique Sprout classroom space, based on TakingITGlobal’s TIGed classroom platform, that allows for the most progressive and innovative user-centred design and functionality. This includes seamlessly branded design work, an administrative hub, e-mail and calendar application integration, an accessible and intuitive e-portfolio system as well as a suite of social spaces for informal learning, knowledge transfer and networking.
E-mentorship - Challenges in online learning can include disassociation, cross-cultural communication, uncertainty, confusion, and English Second Language difficulties. Sprout participants and e-mentors are teamed together for the duration of the program. The e-mentors guide the participants through the program, incubate their work, challenge their thought processes and provide a personal dimension of support as they grow the project ideas that are often quite close to them.
Many e-mentors find participation to be very fulfilling: “For me the Sprout e-course is a milestone in education, especially global education,” says Kirsten Jordan, a 31-year-old e-mentor from Toronto. “It is both relevant and innovative to younger generations. It also encourages cross-generational learning which I believe is key in tackling many of the social issues our world currently is faced with.”
"The Pearson Foundation is extremely pleased to be supporting such an innovative and inspirational program as Sprout," said Mark Nieker, President of the Pearson Foundation. "Encouraging the community-focused leadership demonstrated by every young person involved with Sprout is at the core of what the Pearson Foundation aims to achieve."
The Sprout program launched in June 2009. For more information, please visit www.tigweb.org, www.sproutecourse.org and www.pearsonfoundation.org.
TakingITGlobal is an international organization led by youth and empowered by technology. TakingITGlobal connects youth around the world to find inspiration, information and get involved in improving their local and global communities. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with a growing worldwide presence, the organization's flagship program TIGweb.org, serves as the most popular online community for young people interested in connecting across cultures and making a difference, with hundreds of thousands of visitors each month. TakingITGlobal works with global partners to build the capacity of youth for development, artistic and media expression, make education more engaging, and involve young people in global decision-making.
Pearson, the international education and information company, is Sprout’s Sponsor and Founding Partner. The Pearson Foundation extends Pearson’s commitment to education by partnering with leading nonprofit, civic, and business organizations to provide financial, organizational, and publishing assistance across the globe. The Foundation aims to make a difference by sponsoring innovative educational programs and extending its educational expertise to help in classrooms and in local communities. More information on the Pearson Foundation can be found at www.pearsonfoundation.org
Sprout e-course
Emily Briggs
Program Manager
857-413-4624 ext. 375
emilyb@takingitglobal.org
Pearson Foundation
(contact)
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