History/ social studies/ humanities would seem a very likely subject in which to find multiple perspectives and sophisticated understandings of culture. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. In fact, history curricula are often among the least internationalized/globalized of all.

Every nation and people has its own story to tell, and all of us as storytellers have a right to our own interpretations of history. This global variety of viewpoints and intersecting stories makes the larger human story come alive, and makes the study of history the fascinating work that it can be. Through listening to each other's stories, together we create a larger narrative that, over time, comes to describe our common humanity.

But how to do this in the classroom? One time-tested, highly effective strategy is to help students engage with primary sources. Many museums, private and public archives, and other ogranizations catalog and make available the 'raw data of history.' Sometimes, these groups develop this data into information that contextualizes the primary source and prepares it for teachers and students to incorporate in their inquiry and reflection. Many teachers have a grab bag of examples, or a few 'go to' resources that they use to plan effective units and learning engagements.

Here is one you might consider:

Primary Source promotes history and humanities education by connecting educators to people and cultures throughout the world. In partnership with teachers, scholars, and the broader community, Primary Source provides learning opportunities and curriculum resources for K-12 educators.

Among the free resources available from this US-based educational not-for-profit group is Primary Source World. Currently with 9 modules to aid teachers in globalizing the curriculum, these flexible, high-quality multimedia teaching materials explore daily life in Japan; ongoing challenges and hopes in Korea; Latin America and the Cold War; conflict in modern Afghanistan; Native American interactions at the time of European settlement; political and cultural identity in postwar Japan; preserving culture and history in Africa; the US war in Vietnam through Vietnamese eyes; and women's roles in China over time.

Each module (written by identified authors) contains three primary sources, background information on the topic, detailed contexts with multiple teaching activities for each source, key questions, curriculum connections, glossaries, extension ideas, and further resources.

It is an amazing world when such resources are so well done and so easily available.

World Water Day is March 22. This annual observance has been highlighting important themes about our planet's most vital resource since 1993. This year, people around the world will be thinking about the role of water in food security.

Think about how your school can draw attention to the importance of freshwater and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

Here are the questions that frame this year's inquiry:

• Why is water a key to food secuity?
• How much water is needed to grow our food?
• How is the global demand for food evolving?
• What is the role of the Green Revolution and the effect of climate change?
• How can we reduce waste, manage disasters and preserve access to water all living things need?

There are great campaign resources and educational ideas available, and every academic subject can connect with this opportunity to exercise our shared guardianship of the planet.

International Mother Tongue Day is observed 21 February "to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world".

The date commorates the deaths in 1952 of two Pakistani/ Bangladeshi students who were killed while protesting for the right to speak their native language. On this day, people around the world call attention to the need to show unity in diversity and international understanding, through multilingualism and multiculturalism.

For the IB, learning to communicate in a variety of ways in more than one language is fundamental to the development of intercultural
understanding. IB programmes, therefore, support complex, rich, dynamic learning across a range of language domains. All IB programmes mandate that students learn at least two languages and support development of students' mother tongues.

At the 2011 IB Asia Pacific Conference, linguist David Harrison and ethnologist Wade Davis made a strong case that language and culture must be conserved as carefully as other vanishing resources.

The Global Engage calendar asks this important question: Why is it important to maintain cultural and linguistic diversity? Make your own inquiry by exploring resources from the United Nations.

Since 1959, the UN has designated International Years to draw attention to major issues that are of global importance, and to encourage concerted international action to address them. The UN General Assembly declared 2012 the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, rexognizing that affordable modern energy is essential to sustain development and meet the Millennium Development Goals for eliminating extreme poverty.

This year focuses on increasing access to energy, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. It calls on us all to inquire, act and reflect on energy issues at the local, national, regional and international levels

Access to clean, safe, affordable energy services can improve the lives of people around the world. Meeting the challenge will require careful analysis, national ingenuity and resolve, international cooperation and a global perspective.

In the IB Global Engage calendar, January is devoted to the issue: How should we power the world? There we suggest 3 key questions for reflection:

• How do our culture and values influence the creation of a sustainable society?
• What policies and strategies will lead us to modern, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy services in order to meet growing demands for energy?
• What is the best way to develop and disseminate sustainable energy technologies to reach developing nations and nations in transition?

Make it a point to find out more, and to include this globally significant idea in teaching and learning throughout the year. Because there will be a lot of information and ideas flowing around the workd, the topic will be a fruitful one for students to engage in exhibitions, personal projects and DP core activities.

More power to you!

This year the IB is a supporting partner for the 2nd annual Global Education Conference.

The organizers describe the event like this: 

a collaborative, world-wide community initiative
involving students, educators, and organizations at all levels. It is
designed to significantly increase opportunities for building
education-related connections around the globe while supporting cultural
awareness and recognition of diversity. 

The conference seeks to present ideas, examples, and projects related
to connecting educators and classrooms with a strong emphasis on
promoting global awareness, fostering global competency, and inspiring
action towards solving real–world problems. Through this event, it is
our hope that attendees will challenge themselves and others to become
more active citizens of the world. Let us learn, question, create, and
engage in meaningful, authentic opportunities within a global context!

IB World Schools may be particularly interested in presentations from IB staff who will discuss global engagement, language and learning, curriculum development and educational technology.

The conference is FREE and available around-the-clock. Sessions are recorded and archived, so you can watch them anytime. . . but the fun comes with the interaction and global connection that happens in real time.

The conference is divided into strands: Teacher, Students, Curricular and Policy and Leadership.

Confirmed keynotes include Chris Dede, Howard Gardner, Ewan MacIntosh, Alan November, Geetha Narayanan and more.  

The conference is a key event for the Global Education Cooperative, a social network of educators and others concerned with teaching and learning in a global society. The group is very media-savvy, and well-connected in the technology world.

It's an event worth watching. If you or your school joins in, please let us know about it on Global Engage.

Some of the most inspirational and educational moments of the IB community's global engagement come at the Annual Regional Conferences. For those who attend, keynote speakers capture the imagination and provide personal points of contact in the our common mission to make a better and more peaceful world. For those who aren't able to participate in the conference, though, it's still possible to learn what's going on and ‘meet' these outstanding social entrepreneurs and their world class organizations.

The 2011 IB Conference of the Americas, held last month in San Antonio, was no exception. This year's theme, "Service in Action" featured many outstanding speakers and workshop sessions that bore witness to the IB's commitment to engaging with the great challenges facing the world today.

Do you Khaled Housseini's work that's even more impressive than his best-selling novels? Visit the website of his foundation and learn about Student Outreach for Shelters (SOS). It's a great service learning project for schools and individuals to engage the critical issue of providing shelter for the most vulnerable children and families in Afghanistan. You can watch Khaled's presentation at the conference's blog site.

Have you heard of Craig Kielburger? You should know about Me to We and Free the Children, two of the most successful, high-quality student engagement movements on the world stage. Both of these portals provide opportunities for young people to be involved with globally-significant challenges in meaningful ways.

And what about María Nieves Tapia, founder of the Centro Latinoamericano de Aprendizaje y Servicio Solidario, CLAYSS?Her work in Argentina is a treasure trove for speakers of Spanish, and many of its resources are available in multiple languages.

Good projects and effective, inspiring people are at work around the world! Perhaps you know of others whose commitment to making a better and more peaceful might offer students and teachers a point of entry into meaningful exchanges of service, deeper understanding, and powerful advocacy that celebrates our common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet.

We hope you'll use the IB Global Engage site to share your contacts and build an ever-more creative network of information and support.