History of DeforestACTION
In March 2010, 12 schools and 90 students from the Asia Pacific region were invited to Singapore for Microsoft’s Regional Innovative Education Forum. This was the birthplace of DeforestACTION, originally titled “The High Noon Project” after JF Rischards’ book “High Noon, 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them”.
Students and teachers decided they wanted to tackle one global issue – as a pilot – and they chose deforestation. They agreed on the name DeforestACTION, and launched a global collaborative project with, for and by students around the world. Over the course of 8 weeks, TakingITGlobal moderated online learning activities and project planning webinars, where students and teachers took a collaborative approach to global problem solving. They formed student action groups and designed plans to address deforestation in their local communities. Using an online voting system, the students selected a number of key approaches:
• Finding ways to preserve at risk forest and creating livelihoods for local landowners
• Creating a global awareness campaign for the destruction caused by palm oil production
• Collaborating with local people and helping animals who are victims of deforestation
The students decided to focus awareness and fundraising efforts towards a project in Borneo, Indonesia.