Conference

Conference Outline

Sixth International Online Conference

Children for a Better World: Solutions to the Global Challenges of the 21^st Century

Hosted by XXI Century Integration International School, Moscow

Conference Dates: 14.02.2025 — 15.02.2025

from 11 a.m. (UTC+3)

I. Introduction

XXI Century Integration, an IB World School in Moscow, Russia, is holding the 6^th International Conference of research works by students studying in primary, middle and high schools.

The themes of our previous conferences were IB Learner Profile Implementation, International Mindedness, Sustainable Development, Innovation and Development and Navigating My Future. We have collaborated and worked with IB and non-IB schools where the educational process is focused on developing well-attuned citizens of the world who respond to global challenges with optimism, are confident in themselves, think critically, share innovations that support sustainable development and apply their knowledge in difficult and unpredictable situations.

Last year’s topic — Navigating My Future — and related breakout sessions generated great interest and were very well received. The feedback from our participants showed that topics related to the global challenges of the 21st century are especially important for students around the world. Engaging our youth on a matter of such importance and complexity is crucial if we are to find effective solutions to the said challenges, which is why we decided to focus on it this year. This time, we will have not only the keynote speeches and student presentations, but also a panel discussion. The Children for a Better World conference has become a truly global event that gives students from all over the world an opportunity to express themselves, demonstrate positive learning outcomes, make new friends and consider many important issues from different perspectives.

The conference aims to:

raise awareness about the diverse range of challenges that affect many countries around the globe and consider how natural a n d l e a r n i n g environments can be used to create a sustainable future;
develop a clear understanding of the challenges faced by our planet;
share ideas and innovations with schools across the globe, and create solutions and products to address the challenges under consideration;
recognise the personal potential of each participating student and their academic and personal success;
share effective teaching and communication methods in the IB programmes that help students think critically;
deepen the students’ subject knowledge and develop interdisciplinary knowledge and meta-subject skills;
promote closer relations between IB and non-IB schools that will lead to future collaboration;
promote critical, creative and positive thinking among all the

II. Conference Participants

The Conference is open to students from 6 to 18 years of age who are studying in IB and non-IB schools.

Prominent figures with vast experience in their field are invited as featured speakers. Their presence at the conference is certain to provide great inspiration for all participants.

Educators, parents and any interested persons may participate in observer capacity.

III. Conference Agenda

The Conference Agenda will be sent out via email not later than10 February 2025.

IV. Participation of Schools and Individuals

Task: Please choose one of the global challenges of the 21^st century, explain your choice and propose a solution to the chosen challenge. Please focus on one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and a field of knowledge (i.e. a particular discipline (or disciplines) or a PYP/MYP/DP subject group), give real examples and suggest ways in which you might try to achieve your goal (proposing your solution). That will ensure that your report is analytical and not just a regurgitation of facts. Present your findings in one of the four sessions.

For more information on the SDGs: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

For more information on the PYP curriculum: https://www.ibo.org/programmes/primary-years-programme/how-the- pyp-works/

For more information on the MYP curriculum: https://www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/

For more information on the DP curriculum: https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/

Possible presentation formats (live or pre-recorded): essay, role-play, TED talk, TOK essay or exhibition presentation, community/personal project, Service as Action/CAS experience, dance, musical composition, poem, etc. You may choose any format as long as the presentation is inquiry- or product-based. The conference is called “Solutions to the Global Challenges of the 21^st Century”! As mentioned before, we need analytical presentations, not descriptive ones.

Maximum presentation time: 10 minutes (both for individual and group presentations)

Registration deadline: 26 January 2025

To register for the conference, you need to visit the link:

https://forms.gle/SRticMiwrk7AJMUv6

(You will need a Gmail account to fill this form)

If you would like to pre-record your presentation, please send a copy of the file to conference@integration21.ru by 3 February 2025. Please mention the word “Presentation”, your full name and the name of your school in the Subject Line of your email.

All schools and participants will receive a copy of the conference compendium and the detailed schedule by 11 February 2025. All participants will be awarded certificates of participation by XXI Century Integration. Please note that if you just send your video and do not join the conference at all, the certificate you will receive will indicate that you were only a participant, not a speaker.

Please note that the language of presentations will be English.

The conference will be conducted in English via Zoom. The details for the Zoom meeting are as follows[1]: https://zoom.us/j/97405905417?pwd=uHdme82EiyfWbY588w7UNfkCEkXtnv.1

Meeting ID: 974 0590 5417

Passcode: Int21

Participation in the conference is free of charge.

Once you have registered, XXI Century Integration will send you a confirmation along with the next steps.

For enquiries about the conference, please email us at conference@integration21.ru

For more detailed information about the sessions and participation, please write to the school coordinators:

If you are an MYP or a DP student, please write to Nigiar Mekhtieva, mekhtieva@integration21.ru
If you are a PYP student, please write to Kristina Moavad, moavad@integration21.ru

We invite everyone — not only students, but also their teachers, coordinators and parents — to participate in shooting a short video that will close our Sixth Children for a Better World Conference: Solutions to the Global Challenges of the 21^st Century. We hope that this video will become a symbol of our friendship, co-operation and joint efforts to create a better future.

If you would like to contribute to the video, please follow these instructions:

Record a video not longer than 15 seconds with your response to the following: To create a better future we need to …. (Do not repeat these words, they will be on the screen, just start with your answer straight away). Send it to conference@integration21.ru by 3 February 2025. (Please use “CLOSING VIDEO” as the subject of your email. In the main body of your email, you MUST write your full name, your role (for example, MYP, year 1 student/Grade 7 student (for non-IB schools)/parent of …. student/ …. teacher/… programme coordinator), the full name of your school, and your country. This information is compulsory if you want your response to be included in our video!)
Record the video holding your device horizontally (to ensure that there are no black bars in your recordings).
Check out these tips for recording a video at home (Read more: https://www.movavi.com/learning-portal/tips-for- video-recording-yourself.html © Movavi.com):
Find a good spot

The location of your video can make a big difference in how it turns out, as well as how you look and sound on camera. A spot with minimal background noise is ideal (especially if you do not use a microphone)

Avoid areas with echoes
Don’t choose a spot with a distracting background
If you are going to be sitting, make sure the chair is comfortable and won’t squeak when you move
Find the best lighting

Lighting is just as important as location. Bad lighting can make you look washed out or give you dark circles under your eyes. To get good lighting, here are some points to note:

If recording indoors, try to find a room with plenty of natural light
If recording outdoors, avoid direct sunlight
Use additional light sources to brighten up the scene if needed
- Dress for success

While it depends on the intent of your video, generally speaking, you should dress as though you’re going to be seen by the world. Wearing good clothes can also help you feel more confident, which will come across on camera. Here are some things to think about when picking out what to wear:

Choose clothing that is appropriate for the video’s purpose and audience
Avoid wearing anything that has busy patterns
If you are going to be moving around a lot, comfortable clothes are a must
Do not wear clothes that will blend with the background
For accessories, do not wear anything that will make noise when you move
If you are a student, keep your school uniform, school logo and the flag of your country in mind!

Set up your camera

Good quality videos start with good camera setups. Viewers will appreciate the content of your video more if you have the right settings.

Frame yourself well

Good framing is essential for a flattering video. It also helps highlight your best features and downplay any areas you’re not as confident about. Here are a few tips for self-recording:

Leave some headroom and avoid cutting off the top of your head in the frame
Center yourself in the frame or follow the rule of thirds
Make sure the camera is at eye Setting it too low or too high can highlight some unflattering facial features

Do a test shot

Don’t go recording immediately without doing some test shots. The last thing you want is to find out that your camera angle is all wrong or that the lighting is terrible once you’ve already started. Consider these factors:

Check the framing, sound, and lighting
Listen for any background noise that might be picked up by the microphone
Check to see if there are any shadows on your face

Please note that we reserve the right to reject a submission if it goes against the values of the conference.

Contribute to positive global change and register today!

SVETLANA KULICHENKO Principal,

XXI Century Integration International Secondary School

Welcome message

Welcome to our International Conference taking place annually under the title Сhildren for a Better World.

Once more our school is delighted to be hosting this international online conference which is dedicated to making the world better through our contribution to children’s education.

The conference this year is more than ever focussed upon the values and challenges facing contemporary education, which is constantly having to reinvent itself in a changing, fast-moving and often confusing world.

The development of society, morality and human intelligence is at times outpaced by the breathtaking speed of technological progress, and as you see from the session titles, artiﬁcial intelligence will feature heavily in our discussions over the next couple of days. New and exciting questions will be posed, and many interesting answers will be proposed by our brave presenters and honoured keynote speakers.

I thank you most sincerely for your attendance, whether as speaker or participant, and look forward to all your contributions to this important, ambitious and future-oriented debate.

I hope, and indeed have no doubt whatsoever, that each and every one of you will take away something useful from the sessions both to think about and to apply in his or her own education in the future. We all have a role in shaping that future, and must do so with enlightened responsibility, inspired by our guiding purpose: of making our World — Better.

With kind regards

Svetlana Kulichenko