One World Centre Isle of Man

Imagine a world where there is no war or violence, where people are free from fear no matter where they live, what they look like or what they believe.

Imagine a world where we all help each other and look after the planet we live on. What would that world look like and how would you picture it?

“A peaceful world” is the theme of this year’s One World Centre Art Competition, based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and is open to artists of all ages and abilities on the Isle of Man.

There are two classes of entry; one for “Under 18s” and one for “18 and Over”. Prizes will be awarded to the winners and runners up in both categories.

Designed to raise awareness of SDG Goal 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – the competition challenges people to think about the impact of war and violence on others around the world and to promote ways of peaceful resolution.

For more information, entry form and T&Cs go to our page here. The closing date is 29th July.

As part of our activities funded by the Isle of Man Government, we are delighted to offer the Global Teachers Award (GTA) training to Isle of Man teachers free of charge this summer term.

The GTA is a one-day course which helps you to develop the skills, confidence and practical approaches to incorporate global learning into the curriculum and encourage active global citizenship in your school. We are currently planning to have one day (30th June) for primary school teachers and a second day (1st July) for secondary school teachers (NB this date is now open to primary teachers unable to come on 30th June), depending on demand. Both courses will be held at Santon Professional Development Centre.

The course will be delivered by an experienced GTA trainer from Cumbria Development Education Centre. The training will be free – should participants wish to receive an accreditation certificate, there will be a small charge of £15 per teacher to cover the administration of this and the review of a reflective assignment required for the accreditation.

With events around the world weighing heavily on our minds at present, this is an excellent opportunity to help students consider global perspectives and engage in critical thinking.

More details can be found here. Please register directly with the One World Centre by emailing info@owciom.org indicating which day you would like to attend.

Play Action International, a charity that creates opportunities for disadvantaged children around the world to learn, develop and heal through play, has received a £5,000 donation after a team representing them from Ballakermeen High School were judged to be the winners in this year’s One World Charity Challenge.

The final of this year’s hotly contested event was held earlier this month in Babbage’s at the Mountain View Innovation Centre, in front of a live audience that included His Excellency The Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer, Chief Minister Alfred Cannan, other Ministers and MHKs as well as representatives from the Department of Education and students’ families.

Runner up teams from QE2 and Castle Rushen High School were awarded £2,750 and £1,750 respectively for their charities International Justice Mission, a charitable organisation that helps protect people in poverty from violence and slavery, and The Leprosy Mission. The QE2 team also won an additional £1,000 and the AFD Shield for Advocacy from the One World Charity Challenge sponsors AFD Software Ltd for their work in promoting their chosen charity to peers and public.

A further £500 each was awarded to Advantage Africa, represented by St Ninian’s High School, Send A Cow represented by Ramsey Grammar School and Chance for Childhood Teams represented by King William’s College.

In total £12,000 was awarded to charities on the night with a further £3,000 awarded in minor prizes to the charities represented by teams that did not make it through to the finals.

The One World Charity Challenge is an annual project which challenges teams of Year 12 students to choose, research and advocate for a charity that is working in the field of international development. The culmination of the project sees each team delivering a 10-12 minute multi-media presentation reflecting on the work of their chosen charity, how it makes a positive difference to young people in other parts of the world and how it meets the UN Sustainable Goals to help ensure a fairer world for everyone.

We’re pleased to confirm that, as a result of our street collection in the Isle of Man, we have now been able to send more than £18,500 to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal to help DEC charities and their partners to deliver humanitarian aid to people suffering inside Ukraine and those who have fled to neighbouring countries.

In addition to those who are stuck in cities and towns that are under attack, more than 2.3 million people have left Ukraine since the conflict began, leaving their homes, jobs and loved ones. Half of these are estimated to be children. The UN estimates that 12 million are in need of life-saving assistance – 30% of the population. 

The DEC Appeal has now raised £150 million in total, enabling an immediate response to urgent needs but there is growing concern for the long-term consequences of the destruction. If you would like to make a donation to the Appeal please go to https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal

The Disasters Emergency Committee has called an appeal to help those affected by the terrible conflict in Ukraine, including both people still in Ukraine and those who have fled to neighbouring countries. DEC charities and their local partners are already working on the ground and need cash donations to get the right help to the right places. The One World Centre will be organising a street collection on behalf of the DEC Ukraine Appeal this coming weekend Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th March. Please help us raise awareness of this – and if you are able to volunteer to help collect for an hour or two please get in touch. We expect to be in Douglas, Ramsey, Peel, Castletown and Port Erin. Thank you.

Download the Fairtrade Trail leaflet here

To mark Fairtrade Fortnight and the approach to our 15^th year as a Fairtrade Island, the Isle of Man Fairtrade Group and One World Centre have devised a fun walking trail to follow through Douglas Town Centre.

The trail will link 15 different outlets and organisations in the town who either sell or use Fairtrade items. Each location will display a Fairtrade fact which trail followers will use to complete a series of questions on the trail leaflet. Once completed, the participants can enter their answers into a free prize draw with the chance to win a box of Fairtrade goodies.

The aim of the trail is to raise awareness of Fairtrade and the part it plays in ensuring small farmers and producers around the world get a fair deal. Fairtrade is the only certification that combines a fair minimum price for products and an extra amount of money – called the Fairtrade Premium – for farmers to invest in their communities or in making their businesses more sustainable.

The trail will be in place from 21st February to 6th March and all entries to the draw should be with the One World Centre by 8th March. Trail leaflets can be downloaded here or picked up at Douglas Henry Bloom Library, Douglas Town Centre Management Office or other outlets in the town.

The One World Centre is moving. From Tuesday 4th January 2022 we will be operating from our new office on Howard Street, Douglas, IM1 2EQ (visitors will find the door along the side of the Promenade Church building but please ring ahead as opening hours vary). Our new telephone number is (07624) 310191.

Happy New Year everyone.

You may have heard that the Disasters Emergency Committee has launched an urgent appeal for Afghanistan where children are already dying of starvation. A million more under the age of five are said to be at risk of dying over the next three months and more than eight million people are on the brink of famine.

Launching the appeal, the DEC said: “Years of conflict, the Covid-19 pandemic, a change of government and the worst drought in 27 years have led to catastrophic hunger. The situation will only get worse as the freezing weather sets in.

“We must act now to save lives. DEC charities are already on the ground providing lifesaving aid, scaling up their operations and reaching those most in need.”

Help is needed to:

• Deliver emergency food and cash to hungry families
• Provide urgent nutrition to young children and mothers
• Support healthcare facilities to treat malnutrition
• Provide winter kits to help displaced families stay warm

As you will be aware, the One World Centre usually coordinates a street collection for DEC Appeals. This is especially challenging at the moment with the coronavirus pandemic and many people in isolation. We are therefore asking our supporters to share the news of the appeal to their own friends, family and work networks and encourage people to donate online at https://donation.dec.org.uk/afghanistan-crisis-appeal

We will have a bucket for donations at the Christian Aid/Fairtrade pop-up shop at the back of the Promenade Methodist Church this Saturday 18th December (it’s well worth popping in to see all the fantastic goodies for sale anyway!) We are also exploring the possibility of a collection outside Tesco so if anyone is able to volunteer for a stint please let us know asap.

On so-called Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, it feels like a good time to announce the winners of our SDG Art Competition on the subject of Being a Responsible Consumer. This was a competition that was run earlier in the year and asked entrants to reflect on Sustainable Development Goal No 12, Responsible Consumption and Production. We had some very interesting entries which were judged by OWC Chair Phil Craine and IoM Arts Council Board Member Jade Boylan.

Congratulations to overall winner Sarah Pitts, and also to our two runners up Hannah Grove and Pat Wiles. Also many thanks to Shakti Man for helping out with prizes!

Thanks to everyone who took part – we’ll be running another art competition on one of the SDG themes next year.