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Massachusetts2009 Global Education Massachusetts (GEM, formerly Massachusetts Initiative for International Studies or MIIS) is a non-profit and non-partisan effort that promotes the integration of international studies into the K-12 curriculum in Massachusetts schools. Its goal is to build connections among schools, higher education institutions, policy and business leaders, the media, community organizations, and parents to ensure that students have the knowledge and skills they need for the interconnected world of the twenty-first century. GEM participates in the States Network on International Education in the Schools spearheaded by the Asia Society, and shares its mission to expand investments in international studies by stimulating teaching and learning about world history, languages, cultures and current affairs. Over the past three years, GEM, engined by Primary Source and other organizations, has built powerful momentum across Massachusetts. More than 700 representatives from education, business and policy communities have participated in three statewide conferences: Massachusetts: Education and the Global Economy (2003), Education for Global Competence (2004), A Stronger Massachusetts: Connecting Our Schools to the World (2005) GEM counts among its many achievements the involvement of 36 school districts in GEM activities and increased awareness of GEM and international studies by the State legislature, Department of Education, school superintendents and the business community across the state. GEM will continue working with all stakeholders, building on this momentum to further internationalize the K-12 curriculum, provide educators with guidance and resources, mobilize community support for international education legislation, and secure more advocacy and support from business for this initiative. In the summer of 2008, Primary Source convened Teaching for Global Understanding in the 21st Century, an institute for 57 K-12 educators held at Boston College. With the support of the Longview Foundation, Primary Source provided educators with a strong background in a range of contemporary global issues, an introduction to current scholarship on how to address these challenges, and a model for using new technologies to develop students' 21st century skills, such as cross-cultural communication and critical thinking. "Although I already cover many global topics in the classroom," noted one educator in the course, "this institute gave me new, exciting ways to connect students to the world. I can't wait to utilize these new tools."
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