We support ARPOK – a non-profit organization dealing with global development education
In 2019, ARPOK chose České překlady as a provider for a large project – the translations of three volumes of a history textbook, entitled World History of Humankind, which deals with global topics (such as migration, climate change, and international or gender inequalities) in historical contexts.
The project is funded by Get up and Goals!, a program which focuses on the integration of global development education into the teaching at primary and secondary schools, as well as in kindergartens. So far, we have translated almost 165,000 words from English (approximately 660 pages), including linguistic and stylistic proofreading. The project is currently being completed, and the textbook is expected to be published by the end of 2020. You can see a sample of some of our translations here.
What does ARPOK actually mean, and what is global development education?
Global development education helps us better understand the interconnectedness of the world and its globalized society, of which we are all a part. It emphasizes the lifelong learning process, which forces us to constantly explore the world and try to understand the relationships between ourselves and other people and places in the world. ARPOK has been dealing with these challenges for more than 15 years, helping teachers to teach currently relevant topics through training programs, workshops, a global education week, participation in the World School project, and other activities.
At the end of August, a conference was held on the breathtaking premises of the KONVIKT Art Center in Olomouc, entitled We Teach in a Global Context VI. A Plan for the Next Decade, which focused on global development education from the theoretical and especially the practical point of view. And because we relate to these topics and we find ARPOK’s activities extremely useful, we were pleased that our account manager Irena Šotková was able to attend the conference.
The agenda was truly diverse. The keynote speaker at the conference was Prof. Jaroslav Miller, Rector of Palacký University. The director of ARPOK, Ondřej Klímek, then briefly introduced the organization’s activities. This was followed by a lecture by Michal Broža, head of the United Nations (UN) Information Office in the Czech Republic, who presented the seventeen sustainable development goals (i.e. the United Nations Development Program for 2015–2030) and the prospects of their implementation.
What are the goals?
For example, how to end poverty in all its forms throughout the world, how to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, how to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all, etc. You might say that everyone, except perhaps some native tribes in remote tropical forests or island areas, already has access to electricity, and you might consider water availability to be one of the most basic conditions of human life, which surely all have access to; but the opposite is actually true – 800 million people across the globe have no access to electricity, and 3 billion people do not have the opportunity to wash their hands under running water in their homes. It is therefore evident that we still have a lot of work to do in this area.
Michal Brož then handed it over to publicist Daniel Tichý from Czech TV, who presented his television series “Climate is Changing the Czech Republic” and “The Czech Republic Protects the Climate,” showcasing examples of good practices in the field of climate protection measures in the Czech Republic. He offered teachers opportunities for participating in awareness-raising activities in the field of climate protection, such as debates at schools, public debates, and the installation of a touring climate exhibition.
After a delicious vegetarian lunch served in the atrium by the university’s catering service, the conference participants split in two groups and participated in workshops entitled “Thinking of the World – From Small Projects to Big Change” and “Get up and Goals! How to Integrate Global Topics into School Life”.
The conference ended with the amazing Monika Olšáková, a kindergarten and primary school teacher from Janovice, the holder of the 2019 Global Teacher Prize of the Czech Republic. A presentation of the activities of the children from this “small school with great success” left everyone excited and encouraged to continue their work. This “Eco-school” not only focuses significantly on environmental education, but is also involved in other activities connecting theoretical and practical teaching, such as projects in cooperation with the Jewish Museum in Prague and an international project under the auspices of the UN – Global Issues.
Thanks to the help of students, teachers, and the local community, the school has managed to create a beautiful garden setup for teaching, relaxation, sports, and cultural events, and for growing vegetables and herbs for the school canteen.
In the Konvikt’s atrium, the conference participants had the opportunity to see the presentations of other non-profit and educational organizations dealing with global development education topics, buy teaching materials, and discuss how individual schools have succeeded in the practical integration of global development education into their teaching practices.
We must say that we are very happy to be a part of the Get up and Goals project as the translator and proofreader of the textbook. For us and for our translators, such projects are always an attractive addition to the daily routine of legal, technical, medical, or other professional translations.
We wish ARPOK success in fulfilling their vision, which is expressed by the very name of this non-profit organization, i.e. “Participate in Sustainable Development and Form a Society that is active, respectful, and open, that understands the interconnectivity and complexity of the world and accepts its share of responsibility.”
Activity, respect, interconnectivity, openness, and complexity – that’s ARPOK!
Author: Irena Šotková
Photo: Jakub Wittka