With world water resources increasingly under stress and safe drinking water at a premium in many countries, it is more critical than ever that young people understand the key role water plays in development and sustainability.
Education is a vital aspect of this effort, which is why the Water for the World (WftW) initiative was created by Engineers Without Borders (EWB) – a student-led charity committed to facilitate human development through technology.
EWB in the UK has since worked closely with the Arup Cause charity to support Water for the World by developing a series of interactive classroom sessions to educate young people about the challenges of securing safe drinking water.
Now a series of modules has been launched for young people aged 11 to 18:
- Water Supply and Sustainability – for 11-14 year-olds
- Water Supply and Developing Countries – for 14-16 year-olds, and
- Water Engineering and Sustainability – targeted at 16-18 year-olds.
The three modules are designed to offer teachers simple to use, step-by-step teaching packages that will prompt lively debate about the challenge of accessing safe drinking water in developing countries.
The workshops also highlight the role played by engineers and scientists in providing practical, workable solutions for people who face difficulties accessing safe water sources. External experts have reviewed the content to ensure the modules meet the appropriate educational standards.
Positive feedback
The packs are now available to download online, but the response to the WftW workshops carried out already clearly demonstrates these modules provide a valuable resource for educators around the globe.
Feedback from both students and teachers has been extremely positive with several pupils saying the workshops had inspired them to become aid workers and engineers. One pupil from King’s Park School in Glasgow, said:
“We learned about people who don't have clean water and how lucky we are that we do.”
Catriona Knox, EWB-UK Outreach Coordinator, also pointed out that the workshops balance learning and fun:
“It's great to see a science classroom transformed into a busy noisy marketplace for gravel and sand and to catch students stuffing muddy coke bottles into backpacks at the end of the day so they can show off their water filter design to everyone at home.”
Evagelos Kaffas, one of the Arup engineers who helped develop the modules and ran a follow-up workshop, said:
“The energy behind this has been amazing. There was a lot of enthusiasm for producing the educational packages in the first place as the team really felt they could change the way young people view sustainability. But to see the reaction in the classroom was really rewarding and I hope we will inspire lots of people to follow careers in science, engineering, aid and development.”
To provide your own feedback or get in touch with the project, please email WftW@arup.com.