On 25 October, the ceremony to present the “Gandhi School” seal took place in Lisbon, Portugal, in a competition in which Unidos pelo Ambiente (UPA), a student association that took part virtually, placed the Portuguese School of Maputo – Centre for Portuguese Teaching and Language (EPM-CELP) in the top 10 of the 50 schools from Portuguese-speaking countries that entered the prize.
The “Gandhi School” Seal recognises schools that encourage active participation in building fairer, more caring, egalitarian and inclusive societies, within the framework of defending democracy and human rights. Being a “Gandhi School” means being a school that teaches how to be present, to get to know and listen to others, that promotes well-being and non-violence, and that gives free rein to creativity and divergent thinking, all of which the school and UPA have tried to promote throughout this year and which is reflected in the video sent to document the application. This video, recorded by pupils involved in an activity as part of World Clean Up Day 2021 with the aim of promoting interest in protecting the oceans and empathy towards current environmental problems, was analysed by and attracted the interest of various bodies, and earned the “Gandhi School” Seal.
Sponsored by the government of India, this Gandhi prize for citizenship education is inspired by the thoughts and statements of the Indian lawyer, nationalist, anti-colonialist and political ethicist Mahatma Gandhi, honouring and spreading awareness of his principles. Through it, recognition is given to school projects that contribute to developing essential skills in civic education, and learning with an impact on individual civic attitudes and on interpersonal, social and intercultural relationships, aimed at primary and secondary school pupils.
Any school cluster, unclustered school or private and cooperative vocational school had the opportunity to apply to this project through a written submission or in multimedia format. Under the theme of ocean preservation, this edition aimed to encourage interdisciplinarity across Biology, Politics, Economics and Ethics, and to establish a relationship between human beings and the ocean, making it understood that, although ecosystems do not need us to find their balance, we need them.
What is UPA?
UPA - Unidos Pelo Ambiente (United for the Environment) - is a student association of the Portuguese School of Maputo, founded in 2018 by Constança Granjeia, then a pupil at the institution, with the aim of creating a school movement of students for students, seeking to develop various activities related to the environment in order to promote, in an educational and interactive way, a pro-sustainability mindset.
Currently led by pupils Larissa Gil and Leonor Silva, UPA works for collective well-being, raising awareness of the importance of looking after our home, Planet Earth. Throughout its existence, it has set different objectives in line with the situations arising, while retaining some goals that are intrinsic to it, such as reducing the use of polluting materials and replacing them with more sustainable options, promoting the practice of recycling at school, spreading the UPA name in Mozambique, Portugal and other countries, and reducing the environmental impact caused by the textile industry, notably by organising clothing collections to donate and give clothes a second life, as well as promoting local and more sustainable businesses.
UPA has managed to drive an extraordinary series of activities and reflections for change, which is only possible thanks to the pillars established from the outset and which it tries to promote day after day: change, sustainability, education, unity, diversity and respect for the environment.
