Buddies Without Borders is run from New York but includes students from every continent. Projects usually focus on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals such as Innovation, Climate Change, Ending Poverty, and Public Health, but the first project topic for 2022 is called A New Normal for Teens: Good Health and Well-being at the Time of Pandemic.

Topic description:
Worldwide, many young people sometimes feel frustrated and stressed by the impact the pandemic has had on the people around them. Rules and protocols can change suddenly, and while adults grapple with what to do about it, students are also trying to figure out what to do with themselves. In addition to responding to these external demands, teens are faced with the challenge of growing up and developing into who they hope to be, in an unfamiliar environment. How can young people themselves take control of the situation, for what they feel are best outcomes? From physical fitness to mindfulness, from peer counselling programs to stress management workshops, this Term’s global project challenges students to brainstorm ideas with their peers across the world, to increase health and happiness as we all find our own ways to create a new normal.

You would be put into a team with 4-5 global students from outside NZ and meet in your own time via Google Meet for 60-90 minutes a week as you create your team project to be presented online at the end of Term 1.

Interested to know more? Email Mrs Kemp, Director in the International Dept., at [email protected]