Global Action Duo: Olga and Cassandra
Cassandra and Olga are high school seniors in New York City. They are not only best friends, but also collaborators in organizing for change at their school and in their community. Olga and Cassandra are model global citizens because they have single-handedly mobilized their entire school to become aware of a variety of international issues, including the Millennium Development Goals, women’s rights, access to education, clean water, and global hunger.
This power duo not only organized a Global Concerns’ awareness club at their school, but also planned and facilitated weekly meetings. Olga and Cassandra worked together to coordinate many activities, including planning three all-school assemblies, sending out countless emails, distributing print materials, and creating posters. Olga best summarized the goals and achievements of the Global Concerns Club at her school:
“As citizens of the world, trying to create a more prosperous future, it is important to know what is happening in the present. While hunger, environmental disasters and political warfare might not affect everyone on a daily basis, they are not just channels that can be switched on and off on the television screen. I am advocating for adolescents, especially high school students, to become aware of current events beyond their local community.
According to the Newspaper Association of America, about 58 percent of the adult population over the age of 18 read the newspaper, while the adult audience for TV news is slightly higher. The Newspaper Association of America also stated on their website that ‘most teenagers have read a newspaper sometime over the course of a week, but do they really understand what is going on?’ I certainly don’t, and that is why my friend Cassandra and I created a Global Awareness Club at my school.
The purpose of the club is to educate and inform my school community about global issues, so together we can act on something that really matters to us. The hardest part was actually creating the club. Like a small business, we had to gain support from various faculty members while trying to reach a wide audience through advertising. We plan to educate ourselves by reading the newspaper, watching documentaries, welcoming guest speakers (including faculty members), attending rallies and making announcements to the rest of the student body. We discuss issues that confuse us and we encourage debate and high energy discussions.
While this club was only started last year at my school, I am certain it will continue. I think that teenagers should be active in their local communities, raising awareness about issues that they are passionate about. We live in this world together, and it is important to know what is going on.”
Olga and Cassandra are graduating in the spring of 2007, but their hard work and determination will leave a lasting legacy at their school. Next year, the club will continue the work that Olga and Cassandra began. Olga and Cassandra will continue to advocate for the world’s poor wherever their ambitions take them.