GCD Rules To Live By

Our method is a specially developed design thinking method for children, which incorporates thinking and making with technologies. In order to maintain quality globally, we need all of our hosts to stay true to the rules. Please follow all of them and you’ll be off to a great start:

1. You must have a signed Participation Agreement in order to organise a Global Children’s Designathon. You may not use the Global Children’s Designathon and/or Designathon Works brand or trademark without this license.

2. GCD event / grand finale must be held in all the cities at the same date, January 23rd 2021, 10 am to 5 pm local time.
3. GCD event names must be city-based. Like for instance Global Children's Designathon Amsterdam. Names co-branded with organisations are not allowed.

4. GCD event must stand alone, and cannot be co-branded with another organisation. Companies can only interact with GCD events as partners and sponsors.

5. Designathon Works delivers a complete logo set to licensed host to use during the term of the license, for use only in conjunction with your event. (Logos are not to be designed by event hosts.)


Timeline

Project phases for the GCD:
Phase 1

• June / Oct 2020: putting together your team, fundraising and establishing partners for the challenge.


Sponsorship & Finance

We see our sponsors as partners who are getting involved with a project. Because of this, it is important to take the time to educate them about the both the philosophy and value of Designation Works. Look for businesses and organisations that aim to make the world better through technology, education, design, science, arts, food, media and collaboration. Let sponsors know that working with GCD provides an opportunity to do something different within their own communities.

Rules

1. Hosts must find their own sponsors.
2. We strictly forbid sponsorship by companies or organisations who deal in: tobacco/cigarettes, adult-oriented products/services, weapons/ammunition.
3. GCD event must stand alone, and cannot be co-branded with another organisation. Companies can only interact with GCD events as partners and sponsors.
4. GCD event names must be city-based. Like for instance Global Children Designation Amsterdam. Names co-branded with organisations are not allowed.
5. Sponsors cannot influence content. Sponsors may have no editorial control or veto power over your program.
6. GCD events may not be used as fundraisers. GCD events should not be used to raise money for any causes or charities. If the event is run through an existing nonprofit, the event can’t be used as a fundraiser for that nonprofit. All money must go into production costs of the GCD event itself.


Your Team

Recruiting your team
The first step for any GCD host should be assembling the team. Putting together a trust of committed individuals who will help make the whole thing happen. You are the host, but GCD is definitely a group effort!
Choosing the right volunteers can be one of the toughest parts of the GCD experience, but can yield some of the greatest rewards. Favour organised, self-managed and hardworking individuals. Look for people who have both the skills needed and the bandwidth.

Roles
There are a number of roles needed. The roles and profiles are:

• The main host. General Superhero and Visionary. Affiliation with children, future education, creativity, and technologies.
• 1 or 2 facilitators. This adults will host the online workshops and online finale.
• 1 or 2 technical suport. This adults will support the facilitator of the online workshop in all technicalities involving the hosting of the online workshops and online finale.
• General assistant. This is an adult who can help have overview of the event and can help out as needed. Someone used to working with groups of children would be helpful.
• Storyteller / blogger. This is someone responsible for all the blogging and social media. Before, during and after the event.
 Not compulsory but nice to have.

"Pizza Evening"

This is how we call the team meeting in which your team comes together to get acquainted with the theme. This year and due to Covid-19 restrictions and depending on which scenario your team is participating in this will be different. For Scenario 2 where your team meets online only you can have “pizza evening” together through a zoom/skype video to get better acquainted with the theme and running online workshops. Keep it fun and inventive!

Theme: Clean Energy & Climate

The core of the whole Global Children’s Designathon is the Designathon workshop and its theme. This year's theme is ‘Clean Energy & Climate’. Two versions We have made two versions of the theme this year to cater for the fact that we want the children to focus on solving problems in their own city / region.

1. For the children who don’t experience energy poverty we want them to focus more on the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy (theme version A) and the needed inventions and lifestyle changes.
2. For the children who do experience energy poverty or see it in their region they can choose if they want to focus on tackling energy poverty or the transition to clean energy (theme version B).

Branding & Marcom

In order to tailor this global program and to make our audiences recognise and love GCD, we must all agree to follow the communication standards. These guidelines help us speak with a unified voice. If you have any questions about marketing or promoting your GCD event after reviewing this section, please contact Ina.

Rules

1. GCD event names must be city-based. Like for instance Global Children Designation Amsterdam. Names co-branded with organisations are not allowed.

2. GCD event must stand alone, and cannot be co-branded or associated with another organisation. Companies can only interact with GCD events as sponsors.

3. Designathon Works will deliver a logo set and artworks to the licensed host for use during the term of the license, for use only in conjunction with your event. (Logos are not to be designed by event hosts.) Designed collateral is subject to review and approval.

4. GCD logo must appear on your GCD website (optional), all outbound communication and all marketing materials.


Jury

Presentation part is the moment when children proudly share their work with the rest of the participants, with the jury, their parents and everyone else in the audience. After each presentation children will receive a feedback. Tasks of the jury

1. To give encouraging feedback on the designs of the children.
2. To choose the winner

Presentation Audience

GCD is a global community that believes in the power of children's creativity and wants to raise awareness of the importance of involving children in the design of society together. Because of COVID-19, you choose to do the presentations online this year. This is how you can share it with your audience:

• Share the live presentation via a Youtube channel, Facebook, etc.
• Share the viewing link with your audience before the presentations begin
• Share the link with all participating children, parents, your special guests
• Make sure the parents of the finalists agree and make sure they have signed the quit claim.
• Make sure not to reveil any of the finalists' personal details (their surnames, addresses, etc.)

Evaluation

After your event is finished, you'll need to fill out and submit the official GCD host feedback form.
Your feedback is valuable to us. We take it into account when preparing for the next edition of the GCD.

Top Three

Due to budget constraints and down-sizing of our team this year, we are unfortunately unable to conduct a research for our annual report The Global Voices of the Next Generation. However, we would still love to share the children’s ideas/solutions with the world, and let their voices be heard, shared and amplified. And of course, we would love to show-off the great people who made this possible! Here is what we need from you: BEFORE THE EVENT

• Send us a short bio of you and your organization.
• Send us a short description of your event.

Designathon Method

Designathon method combines aspects of Design Thinking and Maker Education, both approaches which are gaining ground in education systems around the world. This method is a great way to embed project based learning into the school curriculum and focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 21st century skills (defined by WEF) such as creative problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, empathy and digital literacy. Designathon method has an underlying pedagogical model inspired by Reggio Emilia approach, John Dewey’s ‘Child and the Curriculum’ and Seymour Papert’s learning theory constructivism. It also promotes learning transfer as defined by Mayer & Wittrock, 1996: Transfer is the ability to use what was learned to solve new problems, answer new questions, or facilitate learning new subject matter.


The designathon process in steps: The design process will be the same in each location. It has been written up with clear guidelines, timings and instructions for facilitation. We would like to ask you for your input of local examples for the slides (we deliver the slides, you add local examples) at the beginning of the process, so that they represent each locations and their local context. In order to be well prepared to run a designathon, you and your team should read our GCD designathon guidebook and watch our online training video.
Technologies and materials
The technologies and prototype materials we use will be the same in each location:

• Maker kit (basic electronic pieces such as motors, LED’s, wires) will be provided by Designathon Works for each location to work with. The shipping of maker kit, especially to non-European countries turned out to be quite expensive and the costs unpredictable. So if you know anyone travelling to your location from Amsterdam any time before the GCD takes place, it'd be great if you could, with our help, arrange for that person to take the maker kit with her/him. If that doesn't work out, then please give us all your details so that we can ship it using UPS. Be aware: you might need to pay for the import costs.
• Making materials (cardboard boxes, bottle tops, straws, plastic bottles and other recycling materials) and tools (scissors, glue-guns, screwdrivers, pliers, etc). See Maker kit, tools & making materials doc for the complete list and check out Making tips doc for how-to guide.

Post Event

So, you’ve just finished this big-deal amazing GCD event, you’re elated, but also a little tired—and we want more? Conclusions are important, and as the GCD event grows, it’s imperative that you talk about the conversations and multimedia generated by your GCD event.
The success of the GCD program depends on hosts’ reports and feedback. What you are creating is important, and it should be shared! Sharing your experience

• Continue to tell the world about GCD! Update your personal blog, website and social media accounts to share links to your GCD event site. Quote or tweet about children’s inventions, special guests, feedback. Remember to keep it short and sweet, with an inspiring saying about GCD or your individual event.

How to host a designathon SDG challenge

You can find the info here. With this doc you can invite schools and afterschool programs to join the challenge.

Online workshops

Here you can find the information on how to facilitate an online workshop.

Finale on January 23rd: the Global Children's Designathon 2021

Find a day script here.