British Council selects DC as the US site for its “Rivers of the World” project

The British Council has announced the launch in Washington, DC of “Rivers of the World,” an international art and education project of the Mayor’s Thames Festival in London (http://www.thamesfestival.org/). The project links schools and over 2,000 13-14 year olds around the world through a common theme: their cities’ rivers. “Rivers of the World” is produced in partnership with the British Council Connecting Classrooms (http://www.britishcouncil.org/connectingclassrooms) and with support from HSBC Global Education Trust.

The six DCPS schools selected for participation in the program are Columbia Heights Education Campus - Lincoln and Bell; Winston Education Campus; Sousa Middle School; Hardy Middle School and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. These schools from across the city will partner with six secondary schools in London to study the Anacostia and Thames Rivers through art and their curriculum throughout 2010.

Teachers from London will visit their partner DC schools in January 2010. In the spring, an artist will work with 8th and 9th graders at each DC school to produce art to be displayed along the banks of the river Thames as part of the annual Thames Festival in September 2010. Teachers from each DCPS school will go to London to see the Festival, take part in school linking seminars, and plan for the second year of the project.

For further information about this exciting and innovative international program, refer to the program website at http://www.riversoftheworld.org/.

The British Council, a member of CGEL’s Partner Collaborative, is the UK’s international organization for educational opportunities and cultural relations. It builds engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide. CGEL has worked with the British Council in the planning phase of the two-year project, and will continue to be involved with the British Council and the DCPS participating schools through its duration. “Rivers of the World” represents the latest collaboration between CGEL, DCPS, and the British Council. Earlier this school year, three DCPS schools hosted a 5-day professional exchange program for a team of educators from Enfield, England through the British Council’s TIPD program.