2021 GlN Conference
International School of Luxembourg
‘Acting Now for the Survival of Future Generations’ was the theme of the 2021 Global Issues Network (GIN) Conference. Run over two days entirely by students for students, this year’s edition was ISL’s first-ever virtual GIN Conference with over 20 international schools participating.
The Global Issues Network (GIN), founded in 2003 by a group of concerned educators from a handful of international schools in Europe has grown into a worldwide network that counts several hundred members, both students and educators, around the globe.
Inspired by the work of Jean-François Rischard, former World Bank Vice-President for Europe, and his book, High Noon: Twenty Global Problems, Twenty Years to Solve Them, the GIN's mission is to help students realise they can make a difference by empowering them to develop solutions for contemporary global issues, through collaboration with their peers.
ISL was proud to present Annessa Khan as the plenary speaker. Born in South India and raised in Oman, Aneesa Khan joined the climate justice movement as a student with a passion for environmental law and creative storytelling. She started by organizing for climate reparations at the UN climate talks where she worked to make sure the voices of vulnerable black, brown, indigenous, and Global South youth were heard loud and clear over those of polluting industries.
The conference’s day two plenary speaker was May Taherzadeh who is a multi-award-winning filmmaker who has directed films in over 15 countries across 6 continents. She is the co-founder of Inspire Courage for Change foundation that creates films to inspire social action. Her latest short film Mercy’s Blessing has won 12 international film awards and is supported by UNICEF, UNFPA, and the European Union. This year’s student presenters were knowledgeable both on their research topic and fully aware of the protocols for presenting in a virtual setting. Presentations ranged from “Protect our sapling: How we can protect forests within our communities” to “Not disabled, just differently-abled”. Thank you to all participating schools.
Learn more here: https://www.islux.lu
