On the first day of the school holidays, fifty-two children braved the cold weather – and the temptation to spend a Monday morning at home – to come to the Public Library of Ariana, a town near Tunis, for a writing workshop on the SDGs. They were in for a surprise; the organizers greeted them with an SDG-branded toolkit with pens, pencils, copybooks, stationery and everything they needed to unleash their creativity.

The event was organized by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Tunis with the support of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the national focal point for the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), and the UN Foundation.

The children, ages 9 to 13, started off the day by watching an introductory video on the SDGs and discussing how sustainable development is relevant to them.

Next, the children split into groups and raced each other through six thematic stations along the “path of sustainable development”: (1) ending poverty and reducing inequality; (2) good health; (3) good education and jobs; (4) a world at peace; (5) sustainability; and (6) climate action and healthy ecosystems.

UNIC Tunis selected 18 December – World Arabic Language Day – to hold the workshop. The programme was designed and delivered in Arabic, based on the World’s Largest Lesson. With help from the IFLA focal point, UNIC Tunis identified a dream team of educators, composed of two experienced librarians, authors for children, an artist and a school teacher, to make the most of the lesson materials.

The workshop culminated in a writing exercise in which the children expressed their own views on the SDGs.

“We can fulfil the dream in Tunisia by considering the ideas and the solutions proposed by children and by working together to make Tunisia a better place because we are one nation and we are all brothers and sisters,” wrote one of the young participants in her essay.

UNIC Tunis may publish the fifty-two essays as a special feature on their website.

Via UN iSeek