Academic experiences are increasingly designed in a way that empowers students to take their learning beyond the classroom walls to make a difference in their communities.

At WAB, one student’s Middle Years Programme Personal Project evolved into a partnership with the editors of XuXuDuoDuo, a newspaper from The New York Times for Kids – China. Katarina Krajnovic wrote a children’s book to raise awareness about anorexia, published it in English and Chinese, and then worked with XuXuDuoDuo to turn the book into an animated short film.

After its release to a wide-reaching audience, Katarina said she realized this partnership with The New York Times for Kids – China presented an opportunity for more young people to share their thoughts and opinions about things that they truly care about.

“WAB is centered around the student and the idea that (they) truly can make a difference,” she said. 

Yu Yang is an editor of the XuXuDuoDuo Opinions page. She saw an intersection between the WAB mission and the goal of her newspaper: supporting students to make a difference in the world. 

“For me it’s about providing a platform that students feel comfortable sharing how they feel about social issues,” Yu Yang said. “What we’re trying to do is inspire students to work on what they have a passion for.”

Katarina's project sparked further collaboration with the XuXuDuoDuo team this year. The team of editors worked with WAB students, featuring their viewpoints on the environment, emergence of the world's 5G data network, and the global coronavirus situation in the pages of their October issue.

The team of editors also came into WAB and, with Katarina as a leader, explored the impacts of global media and the the life of a newspaper editor.

"The workshop we hosted was centered around having students share their opinions with the editors and making suggestions, and, as the workshop progressed, we started discussing what are the students' passions," Katarina said. "At the end, the editors gave a presentation on the life of bering an editor. This was aimed at inspiring the students who are interested in writing (to see if they) might like to pursue this not necessarily as a career option -- but if it's something that interested them, they got that opportunity to see what that might be like."

Tune into this week's episode of The WAB Podcast to hear more about Katarina's project and the event with our Middle School students.

Plus, keep an eye out for the latest issue of XuXuDuoDuo on campus, and stay tuned to the FLoW21 blog for more innovative learning stories like this one.