2020 Catalyst Conference Award Winners Announced

Conferences everywhere are being cancelled and postponed or, in some cases, moved online. At GOA we’ve run the Catalyst Conference, an online conference for high school students, for five years. At the core of the conference: young people aim to make a difference in their local communities by researching and acting on a problem worthy of attention. These projects raise awareness, promote grassroots actions, and advocate for institutional change. How this endeavor happens takes varied forms, as students launch their projects from content in classes, including Positive Psychology, Climate Change and Global Inequality, Game Theory, Bioethics, and several others. Further, their approaches to inspiring local change are diverse, especially because the nature and needs of the problems they explore are as well.

This year the student presenters came from 76 GOA member schools, which reside in 18 different countries and 27 states in the United States. In addition to hundreds of students from GOA courses, we welcomed tenth grade United States History students from founding GOA member Head-Royce School in Oakland, CA, who used the conference as a capstone for their Catalyst for Change project. At a time when we face great uncertainty and ambiguity, given the global economic and health crisis, the “beautiful questions” (Warren Berger) that served as both the titles and the focus for all projects were inspiring and provocative. A few examples:

What are the impacts of food waste and food insecurity during the coronavirus crisis?

How might digital tools change how students are graded?

Segregation is “legally dead but factually alive”: how can we combat gentrification?

GOA Citations

Of the 356 projects, 77 received GOA citations, an award that comes from teacher nominations and that recognizes an exemplary project process, which includes careful, thorough research and excellent crafting of a beautiful question and an original and well considered response. Explore the projects that received GOA citations.

Audience Choice Award

The Audience Choice Award goes to projects that capture the greatest audience attention and enthusiasm, as revealed by views and likes by conference participants. The following projects received widespread and enthusiastic attention from participants:

• Athena, Head-Royce School (California, USA) Head-Royce U.S. History: Problem Solving Past and Present: What Do Black Deaths Mean to You? The Evolution of Police Brutality in America
• Cole, Head-Royce School (California, USA) Head-Royce U.S. History: Problem Solving Past and Present: Power and Poverty: why does America have such a drastic wealth divide?
• Ian, Taft School (Connecticut, USA) GOA Entrepreneurship in a Global Context: Why is there no app for school?
• Megan, Head-Royce School (California, USA) Head-Royce U.S. History: Problem Solving Past and Present: Interracial and LBGTQ+ Marriage Equality: Yet How come Our Current Society isn't Legally and Socially Accepting of such Partners?
• Nisha, Head-Royce School (California, USA) Head-Royce U.S. History: Problem Solving Past and Present: The History of America's Textile Industry: How Can We Be the Voice for Those Without One?
• Raag, Greenhill School (Texas, USA) GOA Positive Psychology: Connection Amid Isolation: How can we leverage digital tools to foster connection and resilience in children with autism during the COVID-19 pandemic?
• Sophia, Head-Royce School (California, USA) Head-Royce U.S. History: Problem Solving Past and Present: Calling the Wrong Shot: How Have Anti-Vax Roots in Fear and Ignorance Driven Societal Harm?

Catalyst for Change Prize

The Catalyst for Change Prize goes to student projects that present the most compelling and inspiring case for change. Given that the heart of the conference is local change, this award recognizes student learning focused on responding to real-world challenges in local communities. Six projects received the Catalyst for Change Prize:

• Alicia, Cary Academy (North Carolina, USA) GOA Climate Change and Global Inequality: #climatechallenge - How do we take action?
• Katie, Head-Royce School (California, USA) GOA Positive Psychology: How can we use intercultural support groups to help resettled refugee teens in the United States find community and recover from trauma?
• Ozzy, Sequoyah School (California, USA) GOA Entrepreneurship in a Global Context: How might digital tools help change how students are graded?
• Riley, Head-Royce School (California, USA) U.S. History: Problem Solving Past and Present (Head-Royce course): Segregation is “Legally Dead but Factually Alive”: How can we combat gentrification?
• Scott, Westminster Schools (Georgia, USA) GOA Climate Change and Global Inequality: What are the impacts of food waste and food insecurity during the coronavirus crisis?
• Taggert, Blake School (Minnesota, USA) GOA Architecture: How can we create an eco-friendly lake attraction that promotes sustainability and preserves life below water?

At a time when across the world we all face new and daunting challenges, each of these student projects presents inspiring ways that young people are seeking to make a difference. We invite you to spend time with these projects on the conference website. The Catalyst Conference is part of the GOA student experience, which brings students from around the world together in passion-based online classes.