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UNFPA MOOC Scholarship contest launched in China

china.org.cn / chinagate.cn, March 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Following the successful initiation of the UNFPA MOOC Scholarship on World Population Day 2014, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) China Office launched the second round together with its partner, Guokr.com.

As Massive Online Open Courses (known as MOOCs) become increasingly recognized as a platform to promote equality in education internationally, the UNFPA has decided to capitalize on the advantages of the popular MOOC format to promote cutting-edge knowledge about population, development, gender equality and health, including sexual and reproductive health. The UNFPA MOOC Scholarship encourages learners to pass on what they learn about the issues that concern them to other young people through various modes of creative expression.

The passion of the participants and their innovative approaches have made the UNFPA MOOC Scholarship very appealing among MOOC learners. With support from UNFPA and Guokr.com, the nine winners of the first round of scholarships were able to attract a total of 320 million hits on #UNFPA MOOC Scholarship by Chinese young people on the most influential Chinese social networking platform. The Scholarship has generated a wide range of media projects, including sets of cartoons on girls' health issues, videos on gender, series of talks on LGBT issues and smartphone- and computer-based learning toolkits.

The theme of the second round of scholarships will be "Youth Lens on Sexual and Reproductive Health." Building on the success of the first round, UNFPA and Guokr.com will guide candidates to focus their reflections on sexual and reproductive health issues, a key area affecting young people's rights and well-being. In addition to offering courses focusing on sexual and reproductive health and youth psychology, this round of scholarship-related activities will provide opportunities for MOOC learners interested in photography, new media, big data and civil engagement to express their views on sexual and reproductive health issues creatively through the inspirations and skills they obtain from relevant MOOCs.

"The world's 1.8 billion young people should be at the center of the world's new sustainable development agenda. They can be part of the solution and transform the future by acting as the agents of positive and sustainable change," said Mr. Arie Hoekman, UNFPA China Representative. With support from Guokr.com, one of the most popular and trusted youth websites in China, the UNFPA MOOC Scholarship hopes to again enable young people to bring their innovative power to the fore by reflecting on the priority issues affecting them, thereby telling their stories and inspiring other young people.

Several UNFPA MOOC scholars from the first round conveyed their congratulations on the launch of the second round. While recognized as contributors to the promotion of youth participation in development, they themselves have acknowledged the huge benefits they have gained from their involvement with the UNFPA MOOC Scholarship.

Beth, the scholarship winner behind the LGBT Free Talk project, proudly announced that her experience with the LGBT Free Talk has been her greatest achievement in life so far. "The project has helped me to make the most important breakthroughs for myself by sharing my views on LGBT issues with so many others. I am more confident now with what I want to do for LGBT communities in the future," Beth said. She now has plans to write a book based on her experience creating the LGBT Free Talk project.

Scholarship winner Huanzai created a set of infographics entitled "I Know Though I Am Not Married" about young people's attitudes toward sex, graphics which he based on a series of interviews with peers. Huanzai wrote in the project summary, "I hope to help people realize that irrespective of our ages, it's not a bad thing to learn about sex. It only helps us protect ourselves better." Huanzai made a strong statement about the need to have better sex education in China after finding out that most of the young people he interviewed had to turn to the Internet when they could not receive adequate and appropriate information from their parents or teachers, and some girls even chose to keep silent when sexually harassed.