Month: January 2021

Ethiopian Association of Catholic Schools Set to Pilot HDC

Ethiopian Association of Catholic Schools Set to Pilot HDC

February 21, 2020, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The Ethiopian Association of Catholic Schools successfully penned a partnership with the World Youth Alliance in coordination with WYA Ethiopia Chapter Head Tamrat Belachew. The pilot of the Human Dignity Curriculum (HDC) is set to begin with three local schools – Nativity School, Cathedral Boys school, and St. Joseph school. Grades 2 and 5 will be taught per school. 

The curriculum has been warmly received by schools in the African continent located in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania. Before it’s pilot implementation in Ethiopia in 2021, the content will soon be made available in Ahmaric – the official working language in Ethiopia. WYA Ethiopia Chapter Members currently lead the translation of the material. 

The  Human Dignity Curriculum is a 100% human development program developed by the World Youth Alliance for children in both primary and secondary education. It teaches an understanding of human dignity as core in the development of personal identity, character education, and long-term healthy decision making. The curriculum breaks down complex philosophical ideas and articulates them with clarity that children can understand.  It aims to teach young people the values of the human person, human dignity, human freedom, and human excellence.

Learn more about how you can bring the HDC to your community by visiting our website. 


Written by: Mimille Guzman, WYA International Director of Operations

The HDC Gains Government Approval in Croatia

The HDC Gains Government Approval in Croatia

December 9, 2016 – The World Youth Alliance Croatia Chapter received an approval from the Ministry of Science and Education for the implementation of its Human Dignity Curriculum (HDC) program in schools throughout Croatia. 

The Ministry approval gives any school in Croatia the option to choose the HDC program as its human rights program for school implementation.

WYA Croatia first conducted its pilot of the HDC program in 2016 and received tremendous support from educators, parents, and students. Since then, more than 300 students in Croatia have learned from the HDC. Its first online version with Croatian students was launched by WYA Croatia in June 2020 as a response to the pandemic. 

“We are thrilled to receive this Ministry approval”, commented Anna Halpine, WYA Founder, “which follows a tremendously successful pilot program in 2016. Given the strong evaluation results, and the enthusiasm for the program from parents, teachers, and students, World Youth Alliance is grateful that the Ministry recognized the value of this program, and is open for collaboration and for the implementation of the program in educational institutions.”

WYA welcomes this news and congratulates WYA Croatia on this tremendous accomplishment. The HDC program is currently available for school implementation for children Grades K-12, and has been implemented in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, and North America. The Ministry approval is the national authorization for the use and distribution of this program. 

For more information about the program, visit our website or email us at education@wya.net


Written by: the World Youth Alliance staff

Mercy Education Office Adopts the HDC in Kenya

Mercy Education Office Adopts the HDC in Kenya

October 2019, Nairobi, Kenya – World Youth Alliance Africa, in partnership with the Mercy Education office under the Sisters of Mercy, conducted the first implementation of the Human Dignity Curriculum in Africa. The implementation took place in 2 selected schools; St. Catherine Primary School in South-B and St. Elizabeth primary school in Mukuru.

The selection of the schools was done after a 2-day teacher training conducted earlier in January. Two grades were selected for the program, one in the lower grade and one in the upper grades. For the lower grade, 74 Grade 2 students aged between 5 and 7 years were chosen to undergo the curriculum while for the upper grade, 60 Grade 6 students aged between 11 and 13 years went through the program.

The training discussions were conducted by the World Youth Alliance Africa Regional Staff; Kevin Alando and Karen Kilwake with the help of their interns. Meanwhile, the Mercy Education office played a pivotal role in the facilitation and coordination with the schools. The students went through fun and interactive sessions with activities and roleplay to enable them to understand the concepts.

The  Human Dignity Curriculum is a 100% human development program developed by the World Youth Alliance for children in both primary and secondary education. It teaches an understanding of human dignity as core in the development of personal identity, character education, and long-term healthy decision making. The curriculum breaks down complex philosophical ideas and articulates them with clarity that children can understand.  It aims to teach young people the values of the human person, human dignity, human freedom, and human excellence.

We are grateful to the Mercy Education Team for continuous support in the implementation of the program. We also thank the teachers, students, and volunteers who helped us with the implementation of the HDC.


Interested in bringing the HDC to your school or community? Send an email to education@wya.net today.

Written by: Kevin Alando, WYA Africa Regional Director of Operations

The HDC in Kenya, A Teacher’s Perspective

The HDC in Kenya, A Teacher’s Perspective

Mr. Zachary, a teacher at St. Catherine Primary School in Kenya, shares the impact that the Human Dignity Curriculum has had on his own teaching and in the ways it has helped him to inspire virtue and character growth in his students. 

“Most of the children have improved and developed a positive attitude as they relate to each other in various activities in school,” he says, “I’ve seen the difference in the way that they play together as well as their learning in the classroom through peer teaching.” 

The HDC starts at a particular point–the value of each individual life–and from there, expands into the cultivation of virtue and the importance of pursuing excellence. 

Mr. Zachary shares that he believes that character and virtue education in children should start as soon as possible. “Right from the beginning,” he states, “the children ought to understand the value of life at a very early stage. The children have really helped to teach me some values that help to develop good morals such as respect, love, responsibility, and justice.” 

Ultimately, one of the foremost goals of education is the flourishing of the human person, and Mr. Zachary states that teachers have a responsibility to foster that flourishing and personal growth as much as possible.

“I teach because it is a call. The Human Dignity Curriculum has helped me to really internalize and reflect on what my role is as a teacher. One of the most important parts of teaching to me is to mold character and foster growth in virtue, and the HDC gives me the tools to do just that.” 

The implementation of the HDC at St. Catherine Primary school began in October 2019, with the help of the Mercy Education Office, and will continue helping to foster virtue and excellence well into the future. 

 

By: Breck Giltner

Date: January 4, 2021

HDC Teachers Share Best Practices at Global Open House

HDC Teachers Share Best Practices at Global Open House

September 19, 2020 – World Youth Alliance hosted its first HDC Global Open House online gathering HDC teachers from Kenya, Croatia, Romania, and the Philippines. More than 50 attendees tuned in to WYA’s Facebook Live page to learn more about this innovative K-12 program focused on personal development and human dignity. 

The event featured several panelists. Kevin Alando, Regional Director of Operations for WYA Africa, and Joyce Cedeño, Regional Director of Operations for WYA Asia Pacific, spoke about the benefits of the HDC and implementation of the curriculum in their regions. 

Alando shared one example of a Grade 6 student in Kenya who struggled with a habit of falling asleep in class. When they were taught about freedom for excellence, she was able to apply this by demonstrating patience when other students were speaking in class.

Petra Medak of WYA Croatia, Delia Balan of WYA Romania, and Dave Mariano of WYA Asia Pacific also reflected on their experiences of teaching the HDC and shared best practices.

During the pandemic, Medak shared that their team was afraid to shift to teaching the HDC online because it might already be too much for the children who already had online school. In the end, they saw that it was still successful. In one evaluation, a student said, “I know I will be happy when I remember this experience in the future…. After this, I will show people even more that I care about them and I will respect myself and others more.” 

Balan also shared a testimony on how their local community first responded to the HDC. “The concept of human dignity in Romania is not a usual one. It’s hard to convince parents and teachers about its importance and our goal is to make human dignity famous here. After attending 1-2 sessions, they saw why it was necessary to teach this at a young age and encouraged us to do more sessions,” Balan shares. 

Indeed, a common theme throughout the event was the profound impact the HDC has on young people. Watch the full stream of the HDC Virtual Open House in full below.

Invite us to host an HDC open house for your community by sending us an email at education@wya.net

Written by: Siobhan-Heekin Canedy, WYA North America Program Officer