COBIS Arctic Race4Good - Council of British International Schools

We were delighted to bring the Arctic Race4Good to COBIS Schools, an opportunity for students in Years 10-13 to help indigenous people adapt to the changing climate in the Arctic.

Congratulations to North London Collegiate School, Jeju for winning this year's COBIS Arctic Race4Good!

The Race

The COBIS Arctic Race4Good focused on a community in Qaanaaq, Greenland. Over the course of five weeks, students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the customs and culture of the second most northerly town in the world. Using the Community Briefing documents and through live Zoom calls with locals, students learned a completely new way of life. Armed with this knowledge, they were then faced with a number of challenges where they could earn points on the leaderboard for their school:

View the Race Timetable

Round One Main Challenge:

With a budget of $500 USD, come up with an innovative income-generating idea to benefit the community.

Mid-race challenges:

Education: With a budget of USD $250 how will you enhance the day-to-day educational experience for students?
Health: With a budget of $250 USD, how will you enhance the emotional and/or physical health of the community?

Each team had to submit a short video detailing their solution to the challenge, highlighting how the solution is sustainable, the impact on the community, and the use of the budget. The winning solution is implemented within days.

The Final

Well done to British International School Istanbul, British School of Bahrain, and NLCS Jeju for making it to the last round!

Mid-race challenge

Inspirational Leadership: produce a student team video which captures your individual and team’s Race4Good journey to date and has the power to inspire others to Be The Change. How will you convey the impact the race has had on you and your team?

The final challenge

With a budget of USD $500, create of enhance a recurring local celebration for the whole community

View the Final Challenge Info Pack

View NLCS Jeju's winning business plan here and their budget here.

This is Real problems. Real people. Real impact.

VIEW THE FLYER

Click here to find out more about last year's COBIS Race4Good, which focused on uplifting a remote community in Haiti.

I enjoyed getting to know new people, learning more about the world and how others in the world are leading their lives. I also develop empathy more towards others knowing how challenging some in the world are leading their lives. - Previous Arctic Race4Good Student

Watch this video for more information on the Arctic Race4Good

From Students

‘I enjoyed getting to know new people, learning more about the world and how others in the world are leading their lives. I also develop empathy more towards others, knowing how challenging some in the world are leading their lives.’
‘I enjoyed everything! I love seeing and knowing new people, especially people in the Arctic; they're so kind and welcoming. just knowing them and learning about their lifestyles are a fascinating, glorious and enjoyable experience for me’.
‘The Arctic Race4Good was Eye-opening, Fun! And Compelling’.

From Teachers

‘It was wonderful to have the opportunity to participate in the Race4Goood again! It was very rewarding for us to see our students engaging in real world issues, learning about Qaanaaq and the local community, and to then see their innovative responses to the Race challenges. The students got so much out of it and are already talking about next year!’
‘It was such a privilege to be a part of this experience, thank you so much for the opportunity, Linda Cruse - looking forward to the next race!’

More info

The COBIS Arctic Race4Good took place from 20 February to 23 March 2023. This unique leadership and entrepreneurship programme showed the devastating impact of climate change on indigenous people living across the Arctic Circle.

Students gained a deeper understanding of life in the Arctic, through the opportunity to connect with their peers, local families, teachers, doctors, elders, reindeer herders, fishermen and hunters within the Arctic, and learn about their rich culture. These connections helped them to understand how people living in these extreme conditions survive.

Students used this knowledge to compete in a series of groundbreaking races to solve sector-specific problems faced by the indigenous people. Supported by international business mentors, teams were given a specific number of days or weeks to research real-life issues and develop business plans to support families and the community. The most effective, sustainable ideas, as judged by the local community, were implemented – within days.

How to register

Open to COBIS Member and Applicant Schools, each school should submit a team with a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 25 students. Participants should be aged from 10 to 17 – possibly forming a mixed-year-group team as part of an extra-curricular club.

We will accept a maximum of 12 teams – on a first come, first served basis. The deadline to register is Monday 13 February 2023, 12:00 noon GMT.

The cost to participate is £125 per student.

Race4Good require a non-refundable deposit of £1,250 GBP to be paid – the equivalent of 10 student places – two weeks after the team has signed-up to confirm the school place.

Terms and Conditions

Please view the Race4Good Terms and Conditions here.

Registration data will be collected by Race4Good and shared with COBIS for the administration and delivery of the competition. COBIS and Race4Good have a data sharing agreement in place to protect the transfer of this information. This information will not be passed by COBIS or Race4Good to any other parties. To view the COBIS Privacy Policy, please visit cobis.org.uk/privacy-policy. To view the Race4Good Privacy Policy, please visit lindacruse.com/privacy-policy.

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