Youth develop global leadership competencies through 4-H – Part 5
Print
Email4-H Backpack to Adventure: Youth Leaders in a Global World curriculum focuses on developing creativity, one of five youth global leadership competencies.
The Michigan 4-H Backpack to Adventure: Youth Leaders in a Global World curriculum features five youth global leadership competencies that are valuable for future employability and help youth become competent successful leaders in our global world. This fifth article by Michigan State University Extension will focus on the creativity competency.
According to an IBM 2010 Global CEO Study of more than 1,500 chief executive officers from 60 countries and 33 industries worldwide, “chief executives believe that – more than rigor, management discipline, integrity or even vision – successfully navigating an increasing complex world will require creativity.”
Characteristic behaviors of youth with the creativity global leadership competency include being innovative, flexible and open-minded, deals with complexity effectively and sees “the big picture” of issues, uses problem-solving skills, has a vision for building a world in which young people and adults work together for positive change, and understands how creativity influences leadership.
Opportunities to nurture creativity are included throughout the Backpack to Adventure curriculum. “Create a Culture-Thon” (see photos) and “Eureka! A 4-H Quiz Game” are two examples. In “Create a Culture-Thon,” participants create a skill-a-thon around a global issue, a specific culture, a general global theme or any topic of their choice. A sample culture-thon featuring Japan is provided in the curriculum. With “Eureka! A 4-H Quiz Game,” participants can work with a topic related to their 4-H project area like arts around the world, horse breeds from around the world or groups could focus on broader topics like global issues affecting young people; the options are endless. A free template for creating the quiz game and a sample of the game with a global theme are provided online.
The Backpack to Adventure curriculum can be used as a stand-alone curriculum or be blended into other recreational and learning activities. The activities can be adapted to use in a variety of settings including 4-H clubs and groups, after school and out of school programs, home school classes, school enrichment programs and camps. The activities may also be used in classrooms.
Trainings on the Backpack to Adventure: Youth Leaders in a Global World curriculum are being offered by MSU Extension staff to counties and regions.
The Backpack to Adventure: Youth Leaders in a Global World curriculum is available at the MSU Extension Bookstore (product code bulletin 4H1643).
The next article in this series will explore the culture global youth competency. Refer back to other competencies discussed in this series in parts 1, 2, 3 and 4.
