Developing Empathy Through the Sustainable Development Goals

The 2022-2023 NEAF Global Fellowship was an exciting journey that started in Washington DC and ended in Johannesburg, South Africa. In the first webinar Dr. Ariel Tichnor Wagner shared an important resource called the Globally Competent Learning Continuum. It was developed to help educators develop global competence and globally competent teaching practices. The first element in the continuum is "Empathy and valuing multiple perspectives." Our group capstone project is filled with resources and ideas to teach our students to be empathetic. Harvard Graduate School of Education states that students who are empathetic are more likely to engage in the classroom, earn higher grades, communicate better and enjoy more positive relationships.

Our human compassion binds us the one to the other-not in pity or patronizingly, but as human being who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future. 

-Nelson Mandela 

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to transform our world. They are a call to action to end poverty and inequality, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy health, justice and prosperity.