Maker Majlis and Earthna team members with workshop participants.
Doha: Maker Majlis, a platform under the College of Islamic Studies (CIS), collaborated with Earthna to host workshops during the “Teaching and Learning Forum 2022” on October 9. It was organized by the Education Development Institute of the Qatar Foundation (QF).
Under the theme “Learning for Action and Community Service”, the forum aimed to establish service action as an integral part of the learning process and essential to prepare future generations to meet societal, ecological and community needs, both locally and globally.
To align with this goal, Maker Majlis and Earthna used the Lego Serious Play methodology to link the principles of service-learning to the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It was an opportunity for teachers from schools in Qatar and QF to learn more about the Eco-Schools program, the world’s largest offer of sustainable schools of this type. To connect their experiences to the program objectives, participants reflected individually and collectively on their understanding of education, sustainable development, and nature and the environment.
Ruba Hinnawi, Technical Manager at Earthna, kicked off the session by presenting the Eco-Schools program as an effective tool for carrying out education for sustainable development. It encourages young people to engage with their environment by giving them the opportunity to actively protect it. This was followed by a second workshop led by the Maker Majlis team of Dr. Evren Tok, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Innovation and Community Engagement; Dr. Seda Duygu Sever Mehmetoglu, Post-doc; as well as Bayan Khaled, Alina Zaman and Ikram Sellami, research assistants.
Dr. Tok facilitated the workshop, which delved into the teaching styles of educators and how they might achieve the goals of a successful eco-school that integrates environmental values into student lifestyles.
Dr. Mehmetoglu spoke about CIS’ collaborative project with the College of Public Policy, “SDG Education and Global Citizenship in Qatar: Enhancing Qatar’s Nested Power in the Global Arena”. She highlighted the links between the project, with the aim of creating inclusive, multi-stakeholder and coordinated educational spaces, eco-schools and the ideals of the workshop.