“Be the Change – An Effort” discussed the responsibility of everyone towards the environment and society. It gave students the opportunity to understand that community service is an essential part of life and prepares them to take responsibilities by inculcating in them the will to contribute positively to their societies. Following the strategy “Learning by doing,” students will be engaged in a plethora of activities online and on-site. During this School Collaboration, students tackled societal conditions in their countries – how societies are changing with time and formulate ways to bring positive changes. They also conducted research on the formulated laws and necessary frameworks by governments to create better and safer societies.

“Let’s Turn into Something Beautiful” included two project components: 1) learning session and invention of chemical products that enable us to reduce the use and generation of hazardous substances at a low cost; 2) generation of ideas on how to turn waste into beautiful handicrafts. This School Collaboration enhanced students’ knowledge in green technology. The outcome was posted on a blog/website and shared with the local community.

The objective of this School Collaboration was to raise awareness on water conservation at home, at school and in their local communities and to share ideas on how to save water. Students experiences were published on BlogSpot, which allowed all participants to learn about different approaches towards water conservation in Asian and European countries. Furthermore, students took pictures and videos of water facilities at home and produce videos based on their observations of how water is produced, used, and conserved in both regions.

“Asia-Europe Wildlife Heroes” was a School Collaboration that created awareness about the current condition of wildlife in Asia and Europe. The destruction of natural habitats, illegal poaching, the spread of invasive species and diseases are examples of anthropogenic activities that greatly contribute to the dwindling of wildlife. Our wildlife provides ecosystem services such as pollination, control of pests, nutrient cycling and decomposition. As active participants of a global community, students were challenged to participate in contributing to smart solutions to this worldwide challenge.

“TeACh: Teens in Action for Change” invited students to support the Global Goals for Sustainable Development by embedding GSD principles. Participants took actions by joining and participating in National and Global campaigns and initiatives within the vision of a Human Rights-based approach and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Inspired by global programmes like Design for Change, Global Youth Service Day, Apps for Good, this School Collaboration helped students to find inspiration, information, identify problems, get involved and, finally, act to solve these problems and improve their local communities.

“Sustainable Development: Marine and Freshwater Resources” created awareness among students about the importance of marine and freshwater resources. For millions of people, healthy oceans provided food and livelihood. The global community under the United Nations has a major plan for alleviating poverty. Healthy oceans play a key role in that plan as they are sources of food, jobs, and ample economic opportunities with big potentials to uplift the poor. During virtual interactions and knowledge sharing this School Collaboration helped participants improve their digital competences and understanding of one another’s cultural values.

This School Collaboration focused on raising students’ awareness on waste management and the amount of waste produced around the world. Students researched, learnt and shared the waste management initiatives taken in their home countries with each other through online platforms such as Facebook and Instagram (#Projectgift2018). Students also came up with ideas to foster meaningful initiatives such as creating upcycled products, educational resources or even hosting an event like campaigns on responsible recycling or plastic bottles collection to raise awareness about waste management in their schools and communities.

“Everybody must be GREENed” was a School Collaboration that raised awareness on sustainability. First, students approached the concept of sustainability at an individual level by filling in a checklist on their own sustainable lifestyle. Findings were shared with students from other countries through Instagram. Then, students interviewed school management teams and teachers to understand sustainability at the school level, which were shared through a short video. Finally, by researching, observing and analysing similarities and differences of sustainable practices in various countries, students compared the concept of sustainability at a national level. The students presented their findings in an online magazine with URLs to Instagram and YouTube videos.

This School Collaboration invited students to take actions to protect the environment by making Ecobricks. An ecobrick is made of clean and dry plastic bottles to create a building block that can be used repeatedly. Plastic water bottles, straws, crisp packets, and bags have become a part of our daily lives. As they are not biodegradable, excessive use and improper management of them is now a major environmental threat. Ecobrick is one of the solutions to this threat as it can be used to make modular furniture, garden spaces, walls and even full-scale buildings. Building an ecobrick simply requires non-biodegradable plastic bottles and a stick to pack them together. Through the process of learning how to build and use ecobricks, this School Collaboration allowed students and school communities to gain awareness and take personal responsibility for their own use of plastic.