REGION OF IMPLEMENTATION 

Mstislavl, Mstislavsky district, Mogilev region

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TOPICS

Social development
Economic development and growth
Technology and Innovation
Environmental sustainability and resource management

CONTENTS OF THE ACTIVITY

The Virtual Center is an innovative online educational platform that offers multimedia and interactive learning content to enhance learning on topics related to sustainable development. It was developed with the participation of a creative team of gymnasium teachers and solves problems such as:

• Providing access to knowledge about SDGs. Facilitating access to up-to-date information and educational resources on the SDGs for educators, students and their parents, as well as helping to increase general awareness in this area.
• Creation of an open bank of methodological materials. Formation of an open bank of methodological materials and resources on the SDGs for teachers and educational institutions.
• Development and application of innovative educational approaches. Integration of modern methods and interactive practices into the learning process, including the SDG Academy and interactive quests.
• Encouraging active participation and self-directed learning. Providing materials and questionnaires for self-study of important topics on SDGs, posting interesting ideas from students and teachers on the platform.
• Systematization and integration of efforts to implement the SDGs. Supporting the process of integrating the SDGs into the activities of the chain of educational institutions in the Mstislavsky district, ensuring network information activities for in-depth work on the SDGs.

In addition to the presented tasks, the Virtual Center offers to get acquainted with the results of interactive Internet tournaments organized for students of the Mstislavl gymnasium and educational institutions of the Mstislavl region, as well as to complete the interactive quest “Journeys to the SDGs”.

KEY STEPS OF IMPLEMENTATION:

• Problem identification and planning. Analyze existing information on SDGs to identify shortcomings in knowledge and available resources. A key problems: insufficient information support for the activities of educational institutions and local communities, including teachers, students and their parents of the State Educational Institution “Gymnasium of Mstislavl”, as well as representatives of local communities of the Mstislavl district, in solving the problems of sustainable development.
• Development and creation of the Virtual Center using the resources of the State Educational Institution “Gymnasium of Mstislavl”. Development of the structure of the Virtual Center for the Implementation of the SDGs, identification of its main sections and types of content. Placement of interactive resources and methods on the online platform, such as the SDG Academy, quests, interactive questionnaires. Formation of an open bank of teaching materials for access by teachers and students. Conducting testing and assessing platform stability. Platform launch.
• Partnership and cooperation. Involving key partners of the initiative, including the state educational institution “Gymnasium of Mstislavl”, the education department of the Mstislavl district executive committee and the state educational institution of the Mstislavl region, to provide systemic information support and organize participation in activities. Introducing the activities of the online platform for teachers and administrations of educational institutions in the Mstislavsky district. Dissemination of information about the resource among local communities.
• Evaluation and scaling of the experience. Providing technical and methodological support to platform users. Dissemination of successful experiences and achieved results to other regions to promote sustainable development at a higher level.

The main challenge for the development of the initiative is the need to create an effective, permanent support system. Ensuring the technical serviceability of an Internet resource, its security, adaptation to various devices and browsers, as well as regular updating of training materials require an integrated approach and constant work on both the content and technical aspects. Successful solution of this task will contribute to the sustainable development and scaling of the activities of the Virtual Center for the Implementation of the SDGs in the future.

RESULTS AND IMPACT OF THE INITIATIVE

The initiative has now entered its final stage of implementation, planned for 2024-2025, and provides for the dissemination of accumulated experience and achievements at the regional and national level.

Despite the limited budget, the team at the Mstislavl gymnasium managed to compensate for financial limitations through the effective use of existing computer equipment and communication channels. This made it possible to register more than 3,500 activities on the online platform, and more than 1,000 people have already taken advantage of the opportunities provided by the Virtual Center.

Systematic work was organized to disseminate information about sustainable development goals among schools in the Mstislavsky district, and online support was created to help them achieve them.

Involvement in the activities of the Virtual Center contributed to the formation of an active life position among students in matters of choosing specialties related to the IT sphere and technological areas.

By the decision of the educational institution “Mogilev State Regional Institute for Educational Development”, the SEI “Gymnasium of Mstislavl”determined as the support center for organizing educational practices for sustainable development of the Mogilev region.

The Virtual Center for the Implementation of the SDGs became the winner in the category “Best implemented project to achieve SDS -2035” of the 2023 Competition of the Best Practices for the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy of the Mogilev Region for the period until 2035.

Information sources:

1. sites.google.com
2. belta.by
3. sb.by