Shared Histories is repeating the success of July 2014 when a group of eleven Young Ambassadors, all New Zealand students , aged seventeen to eighteen, traveled to France to mark the start of the commemoration period of centenary of the First World War.
You are invited to nominate your student to be part of this initiative, represent your school and your community at this significant historical event. Download the Nomination Form here.
Young Ambassadors 2016 - Battle of the Somme & the Western Front - is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young New Zealanders to visit some of the most significant places for WW1 remembrance on the Western Front.
The selected students, from all cities and/or regions of New Zealand, will effectively become a Young Ambassador, will demonstrate attachment to the Duty of Remembrance and will spear-head a school project related to the Great War, through the Battle of the Somme for example, and will become a Shared Histories programme school and community representative.
The tour lasts two weeks [10-25 September 2016] in North Eastern France. It includes historical and cultural sites visits to where New Zealand soldiers made a significant contribution to the war. It includes the Somme battlefields, Longueval , Wellington Quarry , New Zealand memorial, Caterpillar-Valley cemetery, Le Quesnoy, and Arras. A visit to Belgium in particular Kemmel where are the Bayerwald trenches, Ypres and Messines to walk in the New Zealand Memorial park has been planned, decision pending on the local situation.
Students will experience stays with host families in Arras.
And they will be invited to take part in the World Youth commemoration on September 15th 2016, in collaboration with the New Zealand Embassy in France.
The selected students will journal their historical journey and their trip regularly on www.sharedhistories.com where they will all be provided with a blog space.
It is their space to journal their preparations, their thoughts and understandings, how it evolves, ahead of, during and after the trip, and illustrate with photos, videos and texts.
As a teacher, your will have a mentor and guiding role for your Young Ambassador, and you will be invited to a workshop in June (see below*) to find out how best you can leverage your Young Ambassador's role to create a simple and easy to manage partnership with a French school within the framework of sharedhistories.com. You will also be eligible to receive financial support for your project. Read more here
Schools are invited to nominate suitable candidates for the Young Ambassadors Tour by May 16th 2015 by filling in and returning via email the Nomination Form here
Conditions for nomination:
- Candidates should be Year 12 or 13 students
- Studying French
The selection criteria include:
- communication skills (in both French and English)
- leadership capability
- a strong interest in social, political and global issues
- raise a contribution of NZ$ 2,000
- a commitment to meet other Young Ambassadors online and in real life and to work and exchange on the personal inquiry projects they are creating as part of the programme
- a commitment to sharing in their community and engaging other students to participate in the Shared Histories Projects
- a commitment and their school support to participate in pre travel/post travel activities and be active participants on www.sharedhistories.com
Download the Nomination Form here
* Support for teachers (of French, History, Geography etc) of a Young Ambassador 2016 student. Attend a one day complimentary workshop in June 2016 (further details post selection) and meet to find out and discuss:
1/ Your school and Young Ambassador’s connection with www.sharedhistories.com
2/ Engaging with a partner school in France - how and what to do once you are connected
3/ Design a simple project with your Young Ambassador and class and your partner school centred on the Battle of the Somme
4/ How to share a project across a team of different learning areas teachers and examples of real projects having taken place so far.
Download further Information here