The OMEP-Whittier College student chapter has been selected for the 2016 Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Award, and will be recognized by the World Organization for Early Education (OMEP) this July in Seoul, South Korea.
This is the first time since the award’s inception in 2010 that an American organization has been selected, and more importantly, the first time undergraduate students have been recognized for this award.
Faculty members and OMEP-Whittier College Co-Advisors Valene Martinez ’05 and Judith Wagner will accompany eleven Whittier College students who will be acknowledged for their project: “Education for Sustainable Development from Cradle through College and Beyond: We’re in this Together.”
The ongoing collaboration between The Broadoaks School, various faculty members, and student organizations has made it possible for this project to create a comprehensive partnership of education for sustainable development (ESD) that can be incorporated in every phase of education from preschool through university. This effort included work from undergraduate Whittier College students, members of the College’s Sustainability Club, as well as preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school teachers at Broadoaks.
Showcasing the interdisciplinary approach that distinguishes Whittier College, a group of these undergraduate students come from a variety of fields of study such as early childhood education, environmental studies, political science, business administration, biology, among others. In addition to receiving the ESD award, these students will spend a month in Asia — Hong Kong, PRC, and Korea — for a sustainability practicum under the auspices of the Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) grant.
Other winners for the 2016 OMEP ESD award include organizations from Greece, Thailand, Uruguay, and Kenya. The award will be presented at one of the general sessions during the 68th Annual World Assembly and International Conference (2016 OMEP Seoul.) In addition, the OMEP-Whittier College winning project will also be included in the OMEP’s contribution to UNESCO’s Global Action Program.
Founded in 1996, OMEP-Whittier College is the first OMEP collegiate chapter and received the Whittier College Most Outstanding Student Organization Award last year. The chapter aims mirror World OMEP's mission to use all means possible to promote the wellbeing, safety, health, rights, and education of the world's children, their families, and the institutions that serve them.
