This online educational support programme draws on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to foster education and awareness-building on the part of UK children and youth about the global problem of extreme poverty. It is premised on the conviction that children and youth can understand and absorb essential information about aid, debt, and trade. The idea is that, at primary level, young people can be taught about such concepts as buying and selling, and fairness. At the secondary level, Oxfam argues, young people can understand the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the European Union (EU), such as by playing the part of farmers in a simulated debate involving the EU and the developing world. To support these activities, teachers are invited to make use of Make Trade Fair campaign's website for case studies and more in-depth information about the issues, drawing on such tools as interactive definitions of 'Rigged Trade Rules'.

Specifically, through the Make Poverty History: Teach about the Issues section of Cool Planet for Teachers, Oxfam is providing educational support for Make Poverty History to primary and secondary school teachers. The idea is that technology-inspired teaching can support the goal of "making poverty history" by increasing teachers' skills to:

1. engage students, in critical ways, with topical issues that are relevant to the school curriculum (the issues fit into Geography, Citizenship, PSHE/PSE and Modern Studies lessons)
2. inform students about Make Poverty History and what it is demanding (e.g., fair trade, debt forgiveness, generous aid)
3. empower students to act with others, if they choose, to call for justice for the world's economically poorest people

For example, a special 'Make Poverty History' issue of the Global Express is designed to help teachers engage their students with questions about what Make Poverty History has been achieved so far and what else needs to happen. Aimed at teachers of 8-14 year olds, it includes information about key events (the G8 Summit, Live8, the UN Millennium Summit in New York) and activities that encourage pupils to think about the part they may have played in Make Poverty History. In addition to facts and information, the special issue also includes ideas for use in the classroom, many of which draw on entertaining and/or interactive strategies, such as G8 bingo and the "changing the news cartoon" (designed to encourage critical analysis of the media and to explore issues of power and global inequalities). To cite another example, "Milking It!" is an interactive resource designed to equip young people with an understanding of world trade and globalisation. By focusing on the lives of dairy farmers in Wales and Jamaica, pupils will consider why world trade rules are the way they are, how this affects farmers around the world, and how ordinary people can make a difference.

In addition, an online calendar is designed to encourage teachers to plan their lessons in concert with major events - to "bring those events to life" by simulating them in the classroom. For example, in honour of White Band Day 3 (December 10 2005 - timed to coincide with the start of the WTO's Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong), teachers at primary and secondary school levels were encouraged to teach about trade through various tools offered on this website.

Education, Poverty, Debt.

Primarily intended for teachers in England, Scotland and Wales and their students, Oxfam's "Cool Planet" web initiative aims to bring the global dimension to the classroom, using the concept of global citizenship. Based on the conviction that education is a fundamental right, the programme works with partners and alliances to implement, advocate and campaign for achievement of development benchmarks such as the two education-related MDGs.