1. Introduction

A Students Association (SA) is a group of grade 5 and 6 students who help directors and teachers make their schools more child-friendly and develop cross-cultural understanding and belief contributing to reducing diversity gap and discrimination in all forms such as ethnicity, gender, rich/poor etc. The members are supported by a motivated teacher and community member who both volunteer for this task.

2. Primary Objectives

The purpose of this activity is to build capacity for empowerment by designing participatory and supporting mechanisms for increasing participation. The program focuses on CFS but more inclusion of cultural differences and diversity/ exchanges and more gender sensitivity.

• Ensure active participation of youth/children
• Empower youth/children by giving skills in decision making and team work
• Provide opportunity to youth/children to learn from each other by promoting better understanding of cultural differences in society (culture)
• Create a model for their peers/community
• Link between school-community
• Conduct research

3. Target groups

• It is an in-school activity for in-school children with possibilities for outreach activities in the community
• We will work with 27 Primary schools (as identified in cluster improvement plans)
• Students from Grade 5/6 with mixed-ethnicity group members.

4. Facilitators

Supporting team (1 teacher and 1 community member)

5. Information on Implementation

• Two to four times a month on a Thursday morning the SA meets for one to two hours to discuss the situation in school. The SA discusses problems and plans the implementation of small projects to promote a child-friendly environment and cross-cultural issue/exchange in school and in the community.
• The Student Association is democratically elected by the students from grade 5 and 6. In this manner students are introduced to the principal of free and fair elections in civil society. To facilitate this process, the teacher and the community member work together to introduce and support the students to organize the elections. It could be decided that the members of the SA will be appointed for one year.

A- Orientation for teachers and community
A meeting is organized for all teachers of the school and community members who frequently participate in school activities (for example members of CEFAC or PTAs/SSCs). In this meeting an orientation takes place on Students Association. As a result of this meeting a teacher and community member volunteers to support the Students Association.

B- Orientation for students
The Grade 5 and 6 teachers do a lesson about the SA. The teachers of Grade 5 and 6 familiarize their students about the role and activities of a Students Association. Grade 5 and 6 students take home a questionnaire in order to consider becoming a member of the SA.

C- Nomination of students
Interested students forward their names to their teacher who passes on the names of the nominees to the volunteer teacher who supports the Students Association.

D- First elections
The teacher and community member, who support the SA, organize the elections. The teacher is the head of the School Election Committee (SEC). Students of grade 5 and 6 elect students of their own grades for the Students Association.

E- Second elections
The volunteer teacher and community member organize another round of elections in order to identify different positions within the SA. After this meeting students introduce themselves to the all children in school. The SA members also introduce a school suggestion box form to Grade 3, 4, 5 and 6.

F- Organizing a meeting
SA members learn how to arrange and conduct a meeting.

G- Making a School Development Plan
SA members learn how to make a School Development Plan.

Note that all of the activities mentioned above should be introduced by ESCUP staff to school management, Grade 5 and 6 teachers, the volunteer teacher and community member, before they do the orientations.

6. Resources Needed

$150 per group

• Volunteer teachers
• Funds for special activities