Institute for Global Solutions

The Institute for Global Solutions, a first in British Columbia, is more than an academic offering. It's an entirely new way of thinking.

The IGS, which launched in September 2012 at Claremont Secondary School, is an innovative program intended to encourage students to explore pressing global challenges. The project-based curriculum is designed to equip students with tools and experiences to address the unprecedented environmental and humanitarian challenges of the 21st century, from poverty reduction to climate change and urbanization to sustainable energy.

Since the complex issues at the heart of this program transcend traditional disciplines like science, math, and social studies, the educational platform of the IGS will bring previously distinct subject-areas together. Classes are being taught by an interdisciplinary team of teachers sharing their expertise and differing perspectives. They are combining the prescribed learning outcomes of two Grade 11 courses, Social Studies and Sustainability, and two Grade 12 courses, Geography and Global Studies, over a two-year period.

Classroom learning has been complemented by seminars and our exciting Speaker Series, with journalist Gwynne Dyer and best-selling author Ronald Wright sharing their ideas with our students in September, and guests such as Elizabeth May, Rick Kool, and Shawn Atleo scheduled to appear in the near future. Learning has also been extended beyond the classroom. IGS students have begun to immerse themselves in hands-on work that matters, from organic gardening and watershed restoration to micro-credit lending and renewable energy research.

The IGS is less about the problems and limitations and more about the tools, models, and ideas that already exist for overcoming them. Students are quickly coming to realize that another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together.

For more information or to register please visit our website.