Olivia Howe

The Spirit of Moerlina Global Citizenship Award

 Presented by President of the Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay, Rodger Kohn.

To Olivia Howe

Moerlina is a community school and that sense of community is very obvious in the way its members interact, looking out for one another, caring, and helping those in need. Moerlina encourages those values to extend into the broader community, for the children to become aware of, and engage in helping those in need throughout Australia and the world – to become global citizens of the 21st Century.

Fostering Global Citizenship is a priority of the United Nations’ Secretary General’s Global Education First Initiative (GEFI).  The GEFI defines global citizenship thus:

“The world faces global challenges, which require global solutions. These interconnected global challenges call for far-reaching changes in how we think and act for the dignity of fellow human beings.”

“It is not enough for education to produce individuals who can read, write and count.”

“Education must be transformative and bring shared values to life. It must cultivate an active care for the world and for those with whom we share it. Education must also be relevant in answering the big questions of the day.”

“Technological solutions, political regulation or financial instruments alone cannot achieve sustainable development. It requires transforming the way people think and act.”

“Education must fully assume its central role in helping people to forge more just, peaceful, tolerant and inclusive societies. It must give people the understanding, skills and values they need to cooperate in resolving the interconnected challenges of the 21st century.”

[Source: Priority #3: Foster Global Citizenship globaleducationfirst.org]

One child at Moerlina – a graduate this year – has demonstrated the qualities of a global citizen and embraced the Spirit of Moerlina – the friendly spirit, consistently thinking of others, helping her peers and younger children when they are hurt or need direction.  In 2012 she organised the first Moerlina ‘Orange Bag Day’, where everyone in the school brings in their used, but still useful, clothes and items to be given to Anglicare, who support people in need in our wider community. Four years on, to support environmental sustainability, she initiated a change from bringing items in plastic bags to boxes. Anglicare loved this initiative and has now adopted it for all their schools, demonstrating that one person can make a huge difference for both local people in need and the world we live in.

Congratulations, Olivia Howe, recipient of the Rotary Spirit of Moerlina – Global Citizenship Award.

Citation on Certificate:

Olivia has demonstrated the qualities of a global citizen and embraced the Spirit of Moerlina – the friendly spirit, actively caring for the world and for those with whom she shares it.  In 2012 she organised the first Moerlina ‘Orange Bag Day’, where everyone in the school brings in their used, but still useful, clothes and items to be given to Anglicare, who support people in need in our wider community. Four years on, to support environmental sustainability, she initiated a change from bringing items in plastic bags to boxes. Anglicare loved this initiative and has now adopted it for all their schools, demonstrating that one person can make a huge difference for both local people in need and the world we live in.