Landmines: Project Introduction

This project is a pioneering effort that will harness the power of the internet to bring together learning and action in the real world—namely, clearing a school ground of landmines and/or helping mine survivors. And this will be achieved thanks to your efforts! The first country the project will focus on is Mozambique where many schools were damaged during conflict and closed due to minefields.

You will also have the opportunity to interact with experts, survivors and activists. The first question & answer session will be with Mary Wareham who is part of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), an organization that was just awarded the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize! The deadline for questions to Mary is October 31, 1997. (There will be a separate Information Note on the q&a sessions.)

The CyberSchoolBus will provide registered schools with materials and set up weekly interviews, exchanges and question-and-answer sessions with experts and survivors around the world—these will be the main learning components. There will also be a teaching module, consisting of 3 units, with activities and resources. However, registered schools are encouraged to use other materials as well, particularly news reports (these reports will increase as we approach December and the Ottawa conference on the total ban on landmines).

The materials contribute to the project's straight-forward pedagogical component, of course, which is to learn about the issue of landmines in the context of global peace. Learning and raising awareness, however, should be accompanied by action. That is where your own campaign comes in. Registered participants and others are asked to organize a Mine Awareness campaign in their own communities which would both raise awareness and funds. The funds will go directly to the demining of a school in a mine-infested area and/or assistance to mine survivors—this is the main action of the project. The Mine Awareness campaign will also help pressure the producers of mines to agree to a total ban. Again, the campaign would probably yield the best results if held in December to coincide with the conference in Ottawa, Canada.

Starting in October, or after you sign up, you will receive materials about landmines via e-mail on a regular basis. These will include information up-dates, suggestions for teachers, and units written specifically for classroom use.
The project will officially kick off on UN Day, 24 October 1997, with the launch of a web-site and an event at the United Nations.
Throughout October and November we will organize live interviews and e-mail question and answer sessions with survivors, experts and schools around the world.
This period will be mostly so that students can get introduced to the topic and grapple with all its dimensions. Materials on the web and all additional materials sent out via e-mail can be used for this purpose.
Starting the week of November 17, participants will be able to interact with students and others in the community where the designated school is located. The exchanges will be conducted via e-mail on a weekly basis and will continue through the project.
In December, many countries will gather in Ottawa to sign a treaty banning landmines. Some countries will be conspicuously absent. During that period, there will be a "Ban Landmines" campaign on the World Wide Web. On a given day, thousands of WWW sites will be asked to carry a banner supporting a total ban on landmines.
Between December and March, participating schools are expected to conduct a local fund-raising and consciousness-raising campaign in their own communities. The money raised will go directly to demining that school and caring for mine victims.
The demining process at the designated school is expected to begin in April. Participating schools will be able to follow the process and ask questions via e-mail.