AISA leads the promotion of service learning in the Africa region and around the world. Our member schools are dedicated to preparing their students to be global citizens and future leaders, engaged and equipped to contribute to their community, be it at the local or global level.
Service learning is a great contributor to this endeavour. As a powerful form of experiential education, it allows students to learn through their actions; by DOING. Time spent working on community and environmental projects becomes part of the student’s lifestyle. Complemented by readings, lectures, reflections and discussions, students become informed, compassionate and future-focused change-makers.
Throughout every school year, AISA provides learning events for service learning coordinators, educators, leaders and others to develop their knowledge and skills on how to develop and implement a service learning programme in their school.
AISA has created numerous online communities for its members to participate in. Some of these online forums are hosted by experts in the field of service learning and are designed to assist leaders, educators, and co-professionals who are responsible for their school’s service learning programme.
AISA has a substantial range of AISA-created service learning resources as well as some collected from some of the most respected experts in the field. These resources are easily searchable and downloadable to all AISA member schools’ leaders, educators, programme coordinators and co-professionals responsible for their school’s service learning programme.
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Each year AISA offers several awards to promote and encourage a culture of service learning within the AISA school community. These awards are open to all AISA full member schools.
This award is for a student service leader(s) who is able to demonstrate a commitment to their community and how he/she has used learning, critical thinking and problem-solving skills to address an expressed community need.
This award is for a service learning project that may be run by an individual student or group of students whose project has a direct benefit to a community, as opposed to specific people or an individual. The project may address environmental issues, construct infrastructure that will benefit a community, involve the restoration of a community space or asset, or respond to a direct need in a community (eg. food, clothing, or book distribution). There are many types of projects that may fall into this category, so let your imagination run wild.
The AISA-Global Issues Service Summit (AISA-GISS) is a three-day annual summit hosted by an AISA member school.
AISA-GISS motivates and encourages students to enquire about global issues and learn alongside other delegates and changemakers from across Africa.
Student delegates spend time presenting, learning, sharing and discussing important issues during the summit, followed by a hands-on service learning day in the local community.
AISA-GISS provides delegates with opportunities to strategise solutions to global issues, meaningful sessions and stories about positive change happening here in Africa, and the support for taking action and engagement in their own communities.
AISA-GISS has become a calendar highlight for many of our AISA member schools as students are awakened to the notion that they can make a difference as they work together to consider and develop solutions for Global Issues.
Note: All dates subject to confirmation. If your school would like to host AISA GISS in the future, please contact AISA.
Date: 16th – 18th January 2020
Venue: International Community School of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
The 2019-20 AISA GISS Theme is N’zassa which means together we are whole.
Visit the AISA-GISS website for more information here.
Date: January 2019
Venue: International School of Tanganyika
Toa Mkono in the local tongue of Swahili, this means “lend a hand” and links back to the core values behind the GISS summit. This connects to the concept of sharing ideas in order to better deal with the issues that are seen in various international communities.
Visit the AISA-GISS website for more information here.
Date: January 2018
Venue: International School of Kenya
Empowering young people to collaborate locally, regionally and globally in order to create sustainable solutions for global issues…
Visit the AISA-GISS website for more information here.
Date: 2016/17
Venue: American International School of Johannesburg
Phambili is a Zulu word meaning Moving forward to face the challenges of the future. The aim the conference was to focus on sustainable solutions for global issues. The conference had four pillars which essentially expressed Phambili. The pillars include conservation, human rights, social entrepreneurship, and animal welfare.
Visit the AISA-GISS website for more information here.
Date: 2015/16
Venue: International School Tanganyika
The theme of the conference is ‘Funguka’. Funguka is a Kiswahili word that means ‘to open up’, ‘stand up’, ‘advocate’. A global citizen who embodies ‘Funguka’ is one that is open to new ideas, embraces different perspectives, speaks out and recognizes that positive change and responsible action starts from within.
Visit the AISA-GISS website for more information here.
Date: 2014/15
Venue: American International School Mozambique
The theme was Lanzelela: “Educating for Sustainability”. Lanzelela is our home word for “an important pursuit” or “pursue a goal”; coined in Changane, a language common in southern Mozambique. Our pursuit for the 2015 summit was to understand and promote Education for Sustainability. We believe education is the key to unleashing sustainable attitudes. It has the essential role of forming citizens who are engaged in their communities’ improvement.
Visit the AISA-GISS website for more information here.
Date: 2013/14
Venue: Lincoln Community School Ghana
Participants will share best practices and reflect on global problems such as water shortages, environmental degradation, infectious diseases and the loss of ecosystems. There are many different ways to describe GISS, but in the simplest of terms, it is an unforgettable experience where teachers, students, adults, and friends from around the continent come together to inspire one another to take action in their lives.
The Association of International Schools in Africa is dedicated to serving its members throughout Africa during this challenging time. Please let us know if you require additional or specific information, resources and or support, and we will endeavour to assist you as soon as possible.