Spotlight on Active Global Citizen and AFS Global Conference Speaker: Jenny Buccos

Jenny Buccos is a multi-award winning director and producer. She is the founder of the ProjectExplorer, an educational non-profit, a multimedia education strategist, and an agent for global citizenship. She is the Creator and Executive Director of Crash Test World – a family-focused TV series with Kari Byron (Mythbusters) which follows everyday people working on solutions to some of the biggest questions of our time will premiere at the AFS Global Conference.

You are the founder of ProjectExplorer, a unique educational multimedia program. How does ProjectExplorer help educate more active global citizens?

ProjectExplorer was a pioneer in creating and distributing online videos for students. Founded in 2003, we have created and provided free access to more than 500 episodes, helping nearly SIX million students become more globally and culturally aware.

A common phrase I hear in my work in the K-12 education community is “today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders.” I strongly believe that youth aren’t just the change agents and innovators of tomorrow, but have the potential to be leaders today. Using a media-centric curriculum, we focus on ways to prepare students for the ever-changing, unpredictable world they will inherit, and work to ensure that they have a voice in issues facing their communities, countries, and the world.

What kind of challenges do you encounter in implementing this program? What success stories have you seen as a result of it?

Our biggest challenge has been getting schools to ‘get on board’ with global competency. In today’s world, geographic borders and barriers are constantly being erased. Our planet’s future hinges on the cultural competence of all its inhabitants. However, many schools provide limited cultural competency components.

One of the most valuable lessons we’ve learned is the effectiveness of integrating global themes across traditional areas of learning, like science, history, and language. With this approach, we are able to prove that education is not a zero-sum game. Schools can teach the core subjects while also preparing students to enter an increasingly global society. The more we marry the two—core subjects with global learning—the more success we have in introducing global themes into the K-12 classroom.

The TV show Crash Test World is the latest release from ProjectExplorer, which will premiere this October at the AFS Global Conference. What was the most unexpected thing you learned while creating this show?

Making TV is hard work! Everything in TV costs more, takes more time than expected, and involved WAAAY more people than you think.

You are often dubbed a vocal advocate for active global citizenship. What does this term mean to you, and why do you consider it important?

To me, being a global citizen means celebrating our common humanity, while respecting the different path another culture or group might take.  The first step in becoming a global citizen, in my opinion, is educating oneself on those differences and similarities. This is why I chose to start with students as early as grade 3.

Why would you recommend attending the AFS Global Conference?

The AFS Global Conference provides teachers and education stakeholders the unique opportunity interact with a community all working to increase global understanding, while learning about and experiencing diverse solutions to this shared goal.

Connect and network with Jenny as well as other Active Global Citizens and leading 21st century education stakeholders at the AFS Global Conference: Active Global Citizenship—and How to Educate for It, 9-11 October in Montreal.   

Register for the AFS Global Conference