Impatt 2022 – a six-month-long journey that provided middle-school level students an opportunity to participate in democratic decision-making at a local level – was recently concluded with a final presentation event during which St Ignatius College Middle School, Ħandaq, was awarded first place with the Premju Impatt 2022 while St Benedict College Middle School, Kirkop, earned second place with Premju Mexxejja ta’ Għada.
Students from St Michael College, Santa Venera, and St Nicholas College Middle School, Rabat, also took part in the competition. All participating students were presented with certificates and book tokens by the Maltese National Commission for UNESCO. Those winning first and second prizes received awards from Global Education Network Europe (GENE). Representatives from the local council of the schools’ localities also attended the event.
Impatt aims at empowering students with confidence, skills and competencies to act as intermediaries between their cohort and national decision-makers. Such democratic decision-making opportunities are a foundation stone in Education for Sustainable Development and Global Education Programmes.
During the scholastic year, students from the four schools embarked on a learning journey during which they were encouraged to research about the historical and cultural heritage pertaining to their school’s locality. Through this process, the students were able to undertake an analysis of how the course of time has affected the respective locality’s social, environmental, economic, and cultural dimensions.
After taking part in several learning opportunity sessions, which included school-based tasks and others coordinated by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, the students drafted practical proposals and recommendations aligned to Malta’s Sustainable Development Vision 2050. These proposals encourage the respective local councils to ensure further holistic sustainable development within their locality.
Impatt was jointly coordinated by the Directorate for Learning and Assessment Programmes (DLAP), the Maltese National Commission for UNESCO, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ and Global Education Network Europe (GENE).
Impatt 2023 will be launched through an official DLAP letter circular.