UN Day Schools Program - UNAA New South Wales

UNAA NSW School Program

Join UNAA (NSW) in inspiring young people to be kind, perseverant and motivated global citizens.

UNAA NSW’s United Nations (UN) Day School Program promotes the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 in schools, which sets out the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the blueprint to achieving a better and more sustainable future for all.

The UN Day School Program ‘PEACE PEOPLE PLANET’ is, in particular, committed to SDG 4: Quality education for all.

It is modelled on the UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) program and specifically works towards achieving Target 4.7 Global Citizenship.

Target 4.7 Global Citizenship

“By 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”

UNITED NATIONS DAY 24 OCTOBER

United Nations Day is commemorated on 24 October as an annual celebration of the UN mission in NSW schools and the work schools are doing as part of their curriculum towards achieving the UN SDGs.

The UN Day School Program themed ’PEACE PEOPLE PLANET’ invites all NSW schools and school going children to join the UN mission by contributing to the sustainable development goals through various learning initiatives as a lead up to and on UN Day.

Schools can register to become UNAA NSW Education partners. Partner schools are invited to special events celebrating key UN Days, teacher webinars and competitions throughout the year.

Program Aims

The Program aims to inspire students to become responsible global citizens. The United Nations Day School Program is a free program that supports schools in aligning and showcasing the work they are doing in promoting environmental, social and human rights education for students.

The key objectives of the Program are to:

Inform teachers and their students of the important work of the UN and how we can do our part at the grassroots level.

Inspire schools to consider the key UN themes and to incorporate the UN SDGs into their curriculum.

Invite schools to participate in challenges to showcase the work they are doing to build sustainability education and global citizenship skills in students.

BENEFITS FOR SCHOOLS

Become a UNAA NSW Education Partner with invitations to exclusive partner events.

Receive one year free membership to UNAA (NSW) for participating teachers.

Receive free teacher resources that are aligned to the NSW curriculum.

The chance to be showcased on the UNAA (NSW) website, social media channels, and Annual Report.

Support from the UN Day School Program in organising SDG themed learning activities and challenges.

Certificate of Participation for the school and participating students.

How to get involved

Step 1: Complete the United Nations Day School Registration Form.

Step 2: Upon registration, your school will receive a complimentary United Nations Day Resource Pack with key information and ideas to participate in the program and will be added to the mailing list to receive regular updates.

Step 3: Use the resources in the pack to align your teaching and learning projects with one or more of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Step 4: Submit evidence of the SDG projects carried out by your school by first week of November. All participating schools and students will receive certificates.

Schools can also choose to participate in the annual UNAA NSW School SDG Challenge to compete for the SDG School Champion awards. This challenge invites students to design a collaborative SDG project with a design thinking problem solving approach. See details below.

UNAA NSW School SDG Challenge 2023

The first School UNAA NSW School SDG Challenge was launched in 2023. Participating schools were asked to share their vision of What the world will hopefully look like in 2030 for the theme Peace, People, Planet.

This challenge was open to all primary and secondary schools and students in NSW. Submissions were judged by a panel of experts on problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration.

2023 SDG Challenge awards were given to our amazing winners in a prestigious UNAA NSW Event.

Living School, Lismore – Primary school Category
St. Euphemia College, Bankstown – Secondary School Category

Partner Organisations

We are grateful for the support provided by NSW Department of Multicultural Education in promoting the UN Day School Program.

We welcome new partnerships from the community. Please contact unday@unaa.org.au for more information.