The Residential School system which removed indigenous children from their families and forced them to assimilate, was described by a Canadian government as “cultural genocide”. Indigenous groups searching for information have carried out searches of schools looking for the traces of children who died there. Since May, more than 1,000 sets of remains have been … Continue reading “Terrible Legacy of Canadian Residential Schools”
African-American author Colson Whitehead and film director Barry Jenkins both made the same mistake when they were children and first heard about the Underground Railroad. The historical Underground Railroad was a network of people who helped slaves escape from the American South to freedom in the northern states or Canada. Both Whitehead and Jenkins pictured … Continue reading “Bringing the Underground Railroad to the Screen”
Jazz singer Billie Holiday’s 1939 recording of “Strange Fruit” has become one of the most potent protest songs in U.S. history. Its images of lynched African Americans accompanied the civil-rights movement but still evoke uncomfortable truths today. The song was written by a Jewish Communist high-school teacher, Abel Meeropol. It was originally a poem, written … Continue reading ““Strange Fruit”: a Searing Protest Song”
This Earth Day, 22 April, President Biden is hosting an online Leaders’ Summit on Climate ahead of the UN’s COP 26 Climate Change Conference that is supposed to take place in Glasgow in November. And he made the surprise pledge to cut the U.S.’s carbon emissions by half in the next decade, double the previous … Continue reading “A Free Poster for Earth Day”
Bite Back 2030 is a campaign led by British young people aiming to redesign what they call the “food system” to put young people’s health first. This resource features an eye-opening social experiment the campaign carried out to show volunteers just how much they were influenced by advertising when it came to making food choices. … Continue reading “Bite Back Food Campaign”
St Patrick’s Day, 17 March, is a great time to inject some Irish culture into your classroom, with these videos, audio and interactive activities. Happy St Patrick’s Day – some of the figures may be a bit approximate in this promotional video, but it’s great for becoming familiar with some Irish traditions and traits, and … Continue reading “St Patrick’s Day on the Web”
The Design Museum in London has announced the winners of the 2020 Beazley Designs of the Year, honouring see-saws connecting children on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, improvised brick arches created by Hong Kong protesters and vegan burgers. The Beazley awards don’t only consider aesthetics and user experience. They look at the bigger picture … Continue reading “Design as Activism Honoured in Beazley Awards”
Like all museums in England, Tate Britain is closed to the public for lockdown. But it’s still celebrating art, and the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, in a stunning artwork displayed on the OUTSIDE of the building. This year’s Winter Commission for the London museum is by Chila Kumari Burman. The 63-year-old artist’s works draws … Continue reading “Celebrating Diwali with a Light Installation at Tate Britain”
Protests against racism and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis have re-ignited demands in many places around the world to destroy or revise symbols of those who engaged in slavery, who were often honoured in their lifetimes and whose names and faces often remain in the public eye as statues, buildings or institutions. In … Continue reading “Symbols of Slavery”
If you’d like to find out more about farming, discover a new place and culture and meet new people, WWOOFing could be just the thing. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It’s a non-profit organisation which began in the UK in 1971 and now exists in more than 100 countries on six … Continue reading “Discovering Life on Organic Farms with WWOOF”
