Doors to Diplomacy 2008 Winners Announced

The Doors to Diplomacy Award, created by the United States Department of State and Global SchoolNet for CyberFair, is a contest that encourages students and educators to join together to build high-quality, educational websites on a variety of topics.

The U. S. Department of State sponsors the “Doors to Diplomacy” educational challenge – to encourage middle school and high school students around the world to produce web projects that teach others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. Each student team member of the winning “Doors to Diplomacy” Award team receives a $2,000 scholarship, and the winning coaches’ schools each receive a $500 cash award. Additional prizes may be provided by sponsors.

This years winners have been announced. The prizes above are for the winners  of the Platinum Prize. This year there are two Platinum winners. The two big winners this year are Pier2Pier and Fight Against Radiation to Have a Good Wind.

• Pier2Pier – Helping Wild Dolphins and Manatees Worldwide entered in the Environmental Awareness category. It is a project by four students: Rahsul, Fred, Frank, Ronald (ages 18,18,14, and 17) at Plantation High School in Plantation Florida. This is the first year that this team has participated in the contest. Their school adviser is Jamie Aquino. (http://www.pier2pier.net)
• Fight Against Radiation to Have a Good Wind entered in the Health and the Environment category. This project by four Bulgarian sixteen year olds, Iva, Nicole, Nicola, Tsvetelinka focused on safety factors for various energy sources with a focus on nuclear energy. This was also the teams first year for participating. They were advised by Dimitrinka Georgieva and Tanya Denova. (http://greenimpulse.hit.bg) [Note: Any Bulgarian speakers wanna give me a better translation of "Борете се срещу радиацията за да имаме попътен вятър"?]

Both entries go beyond a single page of information and are well done. I’m note sure exactly what criteria the State Department used in selecting these winners, but it can not have been easy. The Gold and Silver winners below created sites that are every bit as good the two Platinum winners.

Gold Prize Winners

• Child Labour-A Dark Spot On Humanity entered in the “Promotion of Peace and Democracy: Social Issues” category. This project was created by three students who are 13 and 14 at the International School in Maharashtra, India. This is a flash based presentation on Child Labour and features information on the orgins of child labour practices, information on combatting the problem, and a few short biographies of children who essentially lived as slaves – one of which was sold into servitude for the equivalent of twelve US dollars at the age of four. This is the teams second entry. (http://darkspots.tk)
• Review Of Past, Present And Future Of ASEAN: Is ASEAN Way The Key To Regional And Global Security entered in the International Security category. This project, by three students aged 14 to 17 living in Singapore, focuses on the forty year old Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly referred to as ASEAN. The primary focus is on the results of the organizational features of non-interference, informality, minimal institutionalization, consultation and consensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation that have constituted a foriegn policy schema called the ASEAN Way. (http://www.ri.sch.edu.sg/d2d/aseanway)
• Opening the Doors for Refugees: The Crisis in Iraq entered in the Promotion of Peace and Democracy: Social Issues category. This well designed site features a section containing a brief history of various refugee crises in the last century or so. There are also links to resources to help visitors get involved and offer aid. There is also a nice section that introduces visitors to the history, workings, and budget of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The site was created by three students, ages 17 and 18, from Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey. (http://www.theiraqirefugeecrisis.com)

Silver Prize Winners

• The War on Peace – Learning from International Conflict entered in the Promotion of Peace and Democracy: Social Issues category. This site, created by two fourteen year old and one fifteen year old student opens with the quote: “Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.” by Max Lucade. This simple and easily navigated site explores the root causes of armed conflicts and possible ways to address them. It also offers three short case studies to provide readers with some background on the curret conflicts in Israel and Palestine, Darfur, and Myanmar. The Darfur section includes a video of testimony by refugees of the Darfur crisis with English subtitles. (http://www.thequietworld.com/thewaronpeace)
• Globalisation — The Trend Of The 21St Century entered in the Trade/International Economics category. This Flash intensive site explores globalization in three of its most recognizable aspects: Cultural, Economic, and Political. The site was created by four 15 and 16 year old students at the Hwa Chong Institution in Singapore. (http://www.hci.sg/~y05hci215/dtd)
• Global Warming: Teaching the World About Global Warming One Day at a Time was entered in the Health and the Environment category. Three students, ages 17 and 18, from Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey created the site. The site contains information covering a broad array of topics related to Climate Change. The section I liked the best was the FAQ. The FAQ page will give students enough exposure to terminology and concepts to understand the material covered on the site. (http://www.freewebs.com/boomboy321)

All of entries reflect the creativity, research efforts, and commitment to global issues held by each team. These students should be commended for taking time away from other activities to participate in this contest.