The Project Trust event aims to inspire the next generation of world citizens.
Primary school children from Argyll and Bute will converge on Oban High School on Friday to learn about the wider world and how to become positive forces within it.
The Project Trust Global Citizenship event, being attended by almost 100 children from 19 schools, will offer young people the opportunity to learn about other cultures, global issues, and human rights.
The event is unusual in that it is run entirely by young people. Volunteer Project Trust ambassadors, aged 19-21, will lead the discussion, sharing first-hand knowledge of cultures around the world to inspire the next generation of active global citizens.
One ambassador is Megan Evans, who returned to Scotland in 2019 following a 12-month overseas placement in South Africa.
She said: “My Project Trust placement totally changed how I think of myself, I now feel I can do anything. Working with disabled children wasn’t a role I’d previously considered, and now, I can’t see myself doing anything else.
“I found my confidence and self-belief. The children inspired me on my return to the UK to study psychology at university, and then after I finish I’d like to go on to work with disabled children.
“The local community in and around Oban was really supportive during my fundraising ahead of going overseas, so the Project Trust Global Citizenship Event is an ideal opportunity for me to pass on that support and inspiration to others by sharing some of my learning including about how different societies work.”
Ingrid Emerson MBE, Project Trust’s chief executive, added: “The vision of Project Trust, as an international education charity, is to empower the next generation of young people to become active global citizens. And what better place to do this than with the young people in our own local community?
“Our Ambassadors delivering the workshops on the day bring real-life perspective through first-hand experience of volunteering overseas with Project Trust in teaching, youth work, and social care roles. With the support of Argyll and Bute Council’s Supporting Communities Fund, we hope to develop the children’s understanding of their rights and responsibilities in their local community, whilst also giving them an insight into other countries and cultures.”
