One World Centre Isle of Man

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!

This Sunday 10th December marks the 75^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This landmark document, agreed in 1948 in the aftermath of the Second World War, recognised that all humans, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status, have universal rights. These range from the most fundamental – the right to life – to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.

At a time when conflict and increasingly authoritarian regimes are eroding these rights for millions of people around the world, it is important that we take time we remember these rights were agreed by 192 nations to give freedom, equality and justice for all. It is up to us as citizens to demand that they are defended everywhere and for everyone.

We will be organising a talk around human rights in the New Year but to mark the anniversary date we have created two Christmas trees illustrating all 30 articles of the Declaration. One of these is in the Strand Shopping Centre (9th and 10th December) and one is in the Festival of Trees at the Isle of Man airport (until early January).

We have also asked both the Manx Bard Boakesey Closs and the Manx Youth Bard Hadassah Smith to compose a poem to mark the occasion. You can read their poems on the links below.

Villanelle for Human Rights – Manx Bard. You can also listen to a recording here

The Battle of – Manx Youth Bard

Winds of the Earth – Manx Youth Bard

For more information about the UDHR and the 75th anniversary please go to https://www.ohchr.org/en/get-involved/campaign/udhr-75

#humanrights75 #Act4RightsNow

Along with our fellow development education centres in England, we are marking Global Learning Fortnight (27^th November to 10^th December), a new initiative to raise awareness of the importance of learning about global issues. Each global learning centre will highlight activities in its area and also share resources online for others to use.

Here in the Isle of Man we are marking the fortnight with:

• our free film screening of Fashion Reimagined (see post below for details on how to get tickets)

• the launch of our Sustainable Fashion Competition which challenges young people on the Isle of Man to design and create an item of wearable fashion using sustainable practices. Open to everyone under the age of 25, the competition is an opportunity to consider how we can better look after the earth’s resources and improve the conditions of many of the people around the world who make our clothes

• an online campaign about global learning which will feature a number of local people and organisations highlighting the importance of global education and global citizenship (check out our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages)

There will also be displays of globally-themed books in some local libraries and there will be activities to mark the 75^th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights which takes place at the end of the fortnight on 10^th December.

In addition, ideas for tried and tested global learning activities have been shared with schools and the One World Centre is offering the use of some of its resources including unusual maps, books and artefacts.

It’s important to remember that learning doesn’t just take place at school – what can you do this #GlobalLearningFortnight to raise your own awareness of global issues and the wider world?!

Join us at Kensington Arts Centre in Douglas on Friday 1st December for a screening of Fashion Reimagined which shines a light on fashion’s environmental impact and the designer who is doing something about it.

Trailblazing designer Amy Powney is on a mission to create a sustainable collection from field to finished garment. The film starts at 7.30pm and admission is free but please book tickets through this link.

We will also be launching our Sustainable Fashion Competition for under 25s on the Isle of Man at the same time!

Meet the winners from our 2023 SDG Art Competition, based on the theme ‘Food for All’ in support of SDG 2 Zero Hunger.

We were delighted to have DEFA Minister Clare Barber on hand to present them with their prizes at a special pop-up art display at the Villa Marina last weekend, timed to coincide with the Isle of Man Festival of Food & Drink.

Gill Nicholls was the overall winner in the adult category with Hadyn Johnson taking the top prize in the Under 18 section.

Over 250 entries were received in total and the high number of entries triggered a £200 donation to the Isle of Man Foodbank by Shoprite who also supported the competition by providing the first prize of £100 in vouchers to the overall adult winner. The other prizes were a selection of sustainably produced art materials (including sketch books made out of recycled coffee cups) and fairly-traded chocolate.

The competition encouraged artists to think about hunger, food waste and food security, reflecting that there are still around 800 million people in the world who go to bed hungry every night and malnutrition is still a leading cause of death among children under the age of five. At the same time, around one third of the food produced around the world is wasted.

We hope to put on another exhibition of the entries later in the year.

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at Douglas Fun Day tomorrow Saturday 5th August (now postponed to Sunday 6th August) – weather permitting! We will have a fiendish food quiz for you that will also test your geography skills. Do come and say hello!

Don’t forget the closing date for our art competition Food for All, based around SDG 2 Zero Hunger, is on Monday 31st July. The office will be open all afternoon on Monday to receive entries but please get in touch if you need to arrange an alternative drop off date and time.

Remember that Shoprite is kindly donating £1 for every entry (up to £200) to the Isle of Man Foodbank – so just by taking part you are taking positive action on zero hunger!

If there is enough food in the world to feed everyone, why are some people still going hungry? That’s a question we’re posing in our 2023 SDG Art Competition “Food for All”, based this year on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.

The competition invites artists of all ages and abilities to think about how food could be shared more equally and what actions we can take to ensure everyone gets enough to keep them healthy. Artists are also encouraged to think about how we can make food production more sustainable for people and the planet, for example, by reducing food waste, buying local and trading fairly.

There are two classes of entries – Under 18s ,who are tasked with producing a poster on positive action we can take to reduce hunger, and 18 & Over who can produce any kind of artwork in response to the theme.

And, thanks to the kind support of Shoprite, every entry into the competition will see a £1 donation to the Isle of Man Foodbank (up to £200) so just by taking part you are already helping out!

For more details, the entry form and T&Cs please click here