As a major wool-producing country, New Zealand has a deep interest in educating its next generation about the industry and all its benefits. International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) has been keeping track of Campaign for Wool New Zealand’s (CFWNZ) school education campaign for quite some time. It is now in the second year of its three-year plan to expand its wool education programme.
Educating New Zealand Children About the Wool Industry
CFWNZ started off with a single goal in mind: to teach more New Zealand students about the world of wool. Wool is often taken for granted by consumers, and not everybody is aware of all the fibre’s many benefits. The education initiative aims to expand the public’s understanding of the fibre, the industry and everything they provide.
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CFWNZ Education Goals and Tactics
CFWNZ has divided its strategy into three sections: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. Each level has a different set of objectives and tactics.
At the Primary level, the aim is to encourage students to “learn wool and love wool”. The core goal is to get primary learners to discover the basics of the wool industry. As they learn to understand the industry, the hope is that they will learn to love it. They are taught the basics of wool production and wool processing, and they also learn about the attributes of wool and their many benefits.
The Secondary level, for students aged 12-17 (Y9-13), is designed to encourage learners to apply the knowledge they acquire about wool to design, art, technology and science projects. Once learners reach the tertiary level, they start engaging in education projects that teach them to bring new ideas to the wool industry, and to find ways to fuel real growth through architecture, product design and other vocation-specific programs.
To advance these goals, CFWNZ has used the “Wool in Schools” educational programme, which has also been successful in many other countries. Some of the milestones it has achieved – and is soon set to achieve – thus far, include the refurbishment of Wool in Schools containers with new learning resources. In mid-late 2024, the “Wool Week” programme will be launched, catering to schools that cannot receive the “Wool in Schools” containers due to their remote locations or lack of space. The programme will enable students from these schools to access to the learning materials via a small classroom kit and a pack of digital resources. Early Childhood Education programme will be launched late 2024 to entice pre-school age children to learn to love wool with a very tactile programme – arts, crafts, finger knitting, colouring and dyeing.
In July 2025, the “Wool Dynamics” pilot programme will be launched in three major architecture schools and three product design schools. If it is successful, it will be rolled out in more tertiary institutions across the country.
With projects like these, and their ongoing expansion across the country, the CFWNZ Wool Education Programme is showing promising signs of growth and success.
Learn All You Need to Know About the International Wool Industry
For more information on the wool industry around the world, take a look at our fact sheets, statistics and guidelines, or visit our website.
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