"We prepare students to engage in the world that is and to help bring about a world that ought to be."

Students Engage in International Dialogue With Peer Schools

 
Friends Seminary is one of twenty-two schools that are Leading Partner Schools of the GEBG Global Student Dialogues program, and are helping to design and shape the curriculum. This program provides students the opportunity for intercultural dialogue and connects thousands of students with their peers from schools across North America and more than 25 countries around the world. These dialogues have addressed topics of global significance such as climate change and gender equality, topics related to global current events such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, and various UN Sustainable Development Goals in order to develop student intercultural communication and perspective-taking. Students engage in conversations in small groups, sharing their experiences and thoughts on the topic and practicing essential skills related to respectful civil discourse — students report that the two skills they most practice in this program are listening for understanding and listening with empathy.

Maya '24 and Aidan '23 (pictured above) have been selected to be members of the GEBG Global Student Dialogues program Student Advisory Council. Throughout this academic school year, they join student leaders from these select schools in monthly summits during which they collaborate to discuss how to further develop these major dialogue events through meaningfully selected topics and student-driven breakout sessions. Kara Kutner, Director of the Center for Peace, Equity and Justice, participates in a similar adult forum, the Educator Advisory Council, during which leading educators in the field of global education develop curricular materials that will help thousands of students become more engaged global citizens.

Friends Upper and Middle School students are invited to participate in these monthly dialogues. Recently, a group of Grades 7 and 8 students connected with other middle schoolers around the globe for a discussion around "Decoding the News." Upcoming events will center on the themes of "Universal Access to Healthcare" and "Bias and Censorship in Schools." The next Global Student Dialogues centered on “Mental Health in Schools” are slated for Monday, January 30 in the Middle School and Tuesday, January 31 in the Upper School.

The Global Education Benchmark Group (GEBG), a leading organization of K-12 schools that researches and establishes model practices in the field of global education, has developed and hosted these dialogues with the generous support of the E.E. Ford Foundation. Through this grant and the collaboration of their Leading Partner Schools, GEBG will expand the dialogue program and develop accompanying competency-based curricular resources adaptable for use by classroom teachers and program leaders. This grant will also allow GEBG to continue to offer these dialogues at no cost, ensuring equity of access and engaging a wide range of cultural, linguistic, geographic, and socio-economic identities and perspectives, in support of all students being able to continue developing the skills related to respectful civil discourse of issues of global significance.
Back
Friends Seminary actively promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in all its programs and operations, including admissions, financial aid, hiring, and all facets of the educational experience. To form a community which strives to reflect the world’s diversity, we do not discriminate on the basis of race or color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, economic background, physical ability, sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. Friends Seminary is an equal opportunity employer.

FRIENDS SEMINARY
222 East 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
P: 212-979-5030
F: 212.979.5034
Friends Seminary — the oldest continuously operated, coeducational school in NYC — serves college-bound day students in Kindergarten-Grade 12.