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ASSESSMENT
OF PHASE 2 OF THE INTERNET BASED YOUTH FORUM
Introduction
Schools in
ten islands participated in the second phase of the internet based
youth forum:
Caribbean
- The Bahamas, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, San Andres
Archipelago Indian Ocean - Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles
Pacific - Cook Islands, Fiji and Palau
The following
table shows the logistics regarding student participation in the
youth forum.
| Island
|
Schools
participating in the forum |
Number
of students
participating and age range |
Caribbean
|
|
|
| The
Bahamas |
Hope
Town Primary School, Abaco |
8
students, ages 10-12 |
| Dominica
|
Marigot
Secondary School |
15
students, ages 13-18 |
| St.
Vincent and the Grenadines |
Four
schools involved, only two were active: Bequia Community Secondary
School, Bequia Seventh Day Adventist School |
30
students, ages 13-16 |
| San
Andres Archipelago
|
Four
schools: Cemed, Brooks Hill, Sagrada Familia and Luis
Amigo |
30
students, ages14-19 |
Indian Ocean
|
|
|
| Maldives
|
3
schools: Madhurasathul Ahmadhiyya,
Male; Baa. Atoll Education
Centre, B.Eydhafushi; GDh.
Education Centre, GDh. Thinadhoo
|
20
students, ages 13-18 |
| Mauritius
|
Sookdeo Bissoondoyal Form VI College
|
5
students, ages 16-18 |
| Seychelles
|
Two
schools: Anse Royale Secondary School, Praslin Secondary School
|
20
students, ages 13-16 |
Pacific
|
|
|
| Cook
Islands |
Five
schools: Nikao Maori Primary School, Avarua Primary School,
Nukutere College, Araura College, (Aitutaki) Mangaia School
(Mangaia) |
100
students, ages 11-17 |
| Fiji
|
Three
schools: Rakiraki Public High
School, Rakiraki; Nadi Muslim College, Nadi; Assemblies of
God High School, Suva |
60
students, ages 12-17 |
| Palau
|
Mindzenty
High School |
10
students, ages 13-16 |
Towards the
end of phase 2 of the forum, students, teachers and Small Islands
Voice national coordinators in the ten islands which participated
were invited to undertake a short assessment of the youth forum
so as to determine its usefulness and plan future phases. Three
short assessment forms were prepared: one for students,
one for teachers and one
for Small Islands Voice national
coordinators. The following table details the manner in which
each island assessed the forum.
| Island
|
Student
assessment |
Teacher
assessment |
National
coordinator assessment |
Other
means |
Caribbean
|
|
|
|
|
| The
Bahamas |
|
X
|
|
|
| Dominica
|
|
X
|
|
|
| St.
Vincent and the Grenadines |
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
| San
Andres Archipelago |
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
Indian Ocean
|
|
|
|
|
| Maldives
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
| Mauritius
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
| Seychelles
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
Pacific
|
|
|
|
|
| Cook
Islands |
|
|
|
X
(telephone survey) |
| Fiji
|
|
X
|
|
|
| Palau
|
|
|
X
|
|
Main findings
of the assessments
Without exception
every island wanted to see their involvement in the forum continue.
Most importantly, the forum became a catalyst for action, as Seychelles
students visited their counterparts in the Maldives and began
a project on littering; and as students in Fiji implemented a
waste minimization project.
Some comments
about accessing the forum and some of the problems were as follows:
- Schools
used computer classes, language classes, social studies, information
technology, geography, science, agronomy for discussing articles
and preparing responses
- Some of
the schools which also participated in phase 1 mentioned that
each year a new group of students is introduced to the forum
- All of
the islands, with the exception of The Bahamas and Mauritius,
mentioned problems relating to slow and costly internet connections
and out-dated computer equipment
- Students
in Bequia (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and Palau, successfully
used internet cafes for participating in the youth forum
- Problems
arise sometimes with changes in teachers, who do not always
follow through with active participation
- Students
are keen to read, but slow to respond and often lose interest
near exam time
Some comments
about the benefits of the forum were as follows:
- The forum
helps other islands 'come alive' for the students (Hope Town
Primary School, Abaco, The Bahamas)
- The forum
facilitates communication with students in other countries and
enhances communication and writing skills (Marigot Secondary
School, Dominica)
- I consider
it opened their minds to the world because they haven't had
the opportunity of going out of the island and living other
experiences (Gloria Ramirez, CEMED, San Andres Archipelago)
- It is
a unique experience to share information through an internet
based forum (Students from the Maldives)
- It is
simply fantastic to learn about other islands' traditions and
to see how those folks are proud of their local traditions and
cultures and how they are keen to keep them alive (Students
from Sookdeo Bissoondoyal Form VI College, Mauritius)
- The youth
forum inspired an exchange visit with the Maldives (Praslin
Secondary School, Seychelles)
- Students
are very interested in knowing where the responses came from
(Mangaia School, Cook Islands)
- Students
learnt about differences and similarities in issues and life
in the various SIDS. Some students also indicated that participation
in the forum improved their understanding of geography (Rakiraki
High School, Fiji)
- Students
benefited tremendously through sharing of information, success
stories and issues. This led to at least a few environmental
projects in the school implemented by the students participating
in this project. Their waste minimization project was a big
success. (Rakiraki High School Fiji) .
Suggestions
for improving the forum were as follows:
- Students
want to see photos of other student participants and would like
to see more colours on the website
- Include
more schools and more islands
- Training
workshops would help improve students' participation
- Inclusion
of a message board for quick comments would be useful
- Student
follow-up meeting
- Certificates
of participation from UNESCO would be useful
- Request
for articles and responses to be sent via email (Rakiraki High
School, Fiji)
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