The Global Action Classroom, an innovative, digital, and hands-on exchange project of the ECI in collaboration with the Environmental Conservation Education program at New York University, is an international youth-led initiative for child engagement focusing on connecting children from different countries around the world who are taking action to improve their local environments.
ECI’s GAC campaign seeks to connect children and youth to share environmental ideas and stories. We provide:
An online interactive classroom where children in different countries can connect directly over a video conference call
Our partners with flipcams so children can document their stories and can upload the footage for ECI to share
“Our goal is: to cross borders digitally, to foster learning and collaboration on a global scale” The majority of site partners have been identified and communicated with:
Brazil – GAC has been implemented in the country to connect kids and young people to discuss environmental issues. We are working in cities (such as Rio de Janeiro, where the ECI Team is located) as well as in rural areas (such as small villages in the Amazon Rainforest).
Ghana – ECI Ghana plans to work in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Forestry department, and local schools and institutions to focus on environmental education and tree planting.
Mozambique – Youth facilitators worked with a number of schools to share and learn with Portuguese speaking students in Brazil
Nepal – Youth-led Green School campaigns will focus on tree planting and climate change education.
Nigeria – HACEY, a Power of One Child implementing partner, in collaboration with local schools and the Ministry of Environment, is planning a kids group with focus on water, sanitation and hygiene education for the project.
Qatar – Youth leaders are working with local schools in Doha to identify a participating school team for the project.
U.S. – In collaboration with the IS Foundation, the “Kids Mobsters,” who are elementary-aged child activists, will participate as a team focusing on environmental action.
Seychelles – in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, the team will focus on local actions of children to address climate change on an endangered small island state.
The Global Action Classroom has been connecting students, schools and communities with one another in dozens of countries for many years. Locations are partnered by language, for example, Brazilian school children sharing with schoolchildren in Mozambique in Portugues language, while American students are partnered with English speaking counterparts in Nepal, and so forth. Children everywhere are curious to learn about and from one another and to understand that if they work together, there is a sustainable future for all in sight. Learn more in the short videos below and join our network by connecting your classroom with us at info@earthchildinstitute.org
UNFCCC Featured the Earth Child Institute Global Action Classroomon page 48 of their publication Youth in action on climate change: Inspirations from around the world
The United Nations Federal Credit Union supported the Global Action Classroom in its first decade and we continue to be grateful to them for supporting this important work.
In this video, the ECI team is sharing the Global Action Classroom with the North American Association of Environmental Educators (NAAEE) as a Brightspot to their 2025 conference
Regina in Ghana shares her experience with the Global Action Classroom
Students in Brazil share their experience with the Global Action Classroom (in Portuguese with English subtitles)