One World Centre Isle of Man

Mighty Movies is a new initiative showcasing films from other countries or that have a global perspective.

Our first film will be Winners, which we are screening in collaboration with Henry Bloom Library in Douglas. This is a movie from Iran,  set in a small provincial town, where the children work hard to support their families. One day nine-year-old Yahya and his friend Leyla find a precious statue. Sharing a passion for cinema, Yahya’s boss Naser Khan decides to help them find the owner.

The film is in Persian but has English subtitles and is rated PG. The screening takes place at 7pm on Thursday 20th June, downstairs in the library. No booking required.

This will be the first of a series of films – if you have a favourite you would like to nominate, please let us know.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our annual SDG Art Competition which this year focuses on SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities.

Recognising that the world is not an equal place, the competition is aimed at young people up to age 18 and asks them create a poster on the theme of Making the World a Fairer Place. There are three classes of entry – Up to Year 6, Year 7 to Year 9, and Year 10 to Year 13.

There are creative vouchers to the value of £35 for the winners in each class and also six runners up prizes of £10 vouchers. The closing date is 19th July 2024.

For useful information, the entry form and a copy of the flyer, see our page here

With World Fairtrade Day being marked last Saturday, we finally found time to announce that the Isle of Man has had its Fairtrade status renewed until July 2026 by the Fairtrade Foundation.

We are also pleased to announce that the Island’s Fairtrade Group has also been awarded all five of the new community badges that have been made available. These include badges for campaigning, change-making and being Fairtrade ambassadors.

The Fairtrade Foundation has introduced these to acknowledge that “every action taken on a local level adds to raising awareness of the issues of unfair trade and furthers the progress of workers’ rights, safer working conditions and fairer pay for farmers and workers globally”.

Although small in numbers, the Isle of Man Fairtrade Group works hard with local stockists to promote Fairtrade and carries out awareness raising activities with schools, churches, workplaces and the general public.

Pictured are some of the Isle of Man Fairtrade Group with the new certificate and also some of the children from St Mary’s Primary School Eco-Club who regularly hold a Fairtrade tuck shop.

We’re absolutely thrilled to be hosting this amazing photographic exhibition by French photographer Vincent Tremeau at the Isle of Man Airport as part of our work in marking the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Vincent’s fantastic portraits feature children from conflict zones and other troubled areas as they imagine what they want to be when they grew up. Using items they had to hand as props, many chose the jobs they were most familiar with – soldiers, teachers, nurses and doctors – but some had great aspirations to work in roles they had never seen in action such as sailors, pilots and even President!

For Vincent, the photos are “a dialogue with the future, an invitation to all of us to consider the role we play in shaping a world where every child can achieve their dreams, irrespective of their current circumstances.”

Exhibiting this project in the Isle of Man, he says, “presents a unique opportunity to bridge continents and cultures, sparking conversations about the resilience of the human spirit, the importance of education, and the enduring power of hope.”

The photo exhibition is on the first floor of the airport and will be on show until the end of April. It is one of a number of activities to mark Human Rights 75 and is upported by the Isle of Man Government’s International Development Education and Awareness Raising grant.

We all know the fashion industry has a heavy environmental impact: according to the UN Environment Programme, the industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is thought to be responsible for up to 8% of global human-related carbon emissions, more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

Fast fashion – the creation of cheap clothes turned out very quickly – also has significant social impacts including poor working conditions for many garment workers and the fuelling of a throw-away culture. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has estimated that of the 100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tonnes end up in landfill or incinerators – that’s the equivalent of a rubbish truck full of clothes every second. Meanwhile, people are on average buying 60 per cent more clothes than 15 years ago but wearing them for only half as long.

Our Sustainable Fashion competition – open to all those under the age of 25 on the Isle of Man – challenges young people to explore how we can do better by designing and creating a wearable item using sustainable principles. This may be by using recycled or natural materials, adopting a zero-waste approach or by showing how fashion can become part of a circular economy. There is £100 for grabs for first prize and runners up prizes including a £50 voucher kindly donated by the OMA Sustainable Living store in Ramsey.

Please flag this competition up to any young people you know. The closing date is 19 July 2024 and more details, the T&Cs and entry form are here

As part of Global Learning Fortnight towards the end of last year, we asked other groups, organisations and individuals about the relevance and value of global learning on the Isle of Man. Their answers were illuminating – and you can read them all below!