We recently found out about a local mother that has started a YouTube channel dedicated to educating children, well, actually the parents, on how to talk about sex in an age-appropriate manner. We caught up with Kathleen Hema, It's Time for the Sex Talk for Parents, and asked her a few questions. She told us, "I make these videos for free because I believe the information is important and will help parents be the primary sexual health educator for their child."
Why did you start? What has been the inspiration?
I moved to Switzerland with my 2.5 year-old and 3 month-old in order for my partner to pursue his career goals. I left my career, in Public Health focusing on Human Sexuality and Sex Education, in order to support my partner. Fast forward 2 years, I decided to return to work and began looking for work when COVID-19 and a worldwide pandemic hit and brought with it limited job opportunities. After a lot of introspecting, I decided to pursue my favorite public health interest on a platform I had always wanted to try out. Hence, It's Time for the Sex Talk for Parents was started!
Have you been working on this idea forever, or was it something that came to you recently?
I had taught Sex Education and Human Sexuality in public and private schools as well as at universities in the USA and Australia to undergraduates and I loved teaching about it. I have always been very comfortable in talking about sexuality with my children and it dawned on me one day at the playground. I saw my 2 year old, who was being potty-trained, holding her vulva and quickly asked her, "Do you have to go pee-pee? You are touching your vagina like you have to go pee!" And the mom who was there with me looked shocked and asked me if I say the word 'vagina' with my children all the time. It quickly reminded me that many parents are uncomfortable with the 'sex talk' and that I could bring my expertise to more parents through YouTube on a regular basis.
Introducing vokapi – created specifically for the PER curriculum in the Swiss Romandie.
With the surge in digitalization, the mobile application scene is buzzing with a huge number of tools that claim to help users develop new skills and learn new languages. What seemed to be lacking was learning apps created for young students that were based on the curriculum and textbooks used in class. That was until vokapi came around.
vokapi is an e-learning mobile app available on Android in the Google Play Store (and very soon, iOS) that helps students in grades 7 through 11 in the Swiss Romandie ace their English language tests. The idea started when storm digital experiences co-founder and in-house developer, Mathieu Latin, created a very early version to help his dyslexic son practice English vocabulary in a way that worked for him. The storm team saw it as a real opportunity and ran with the idea, creating vokapi and tailoring it to the “programme d'étude romand” (PER). The aim is to help students practice exactly the words they encounter on their tests while they learn at their own pace.
By Hugo Moore, Cognitive Enhancement Centre
In 2012 Mrs. Rita Margarita, now European Representative of Arrowsmith Program and Founder of the recently opened Cognitive Enhancement Centre in Chambésy, Geneva, was desperately searching for an answer to her son’s debilitating difficulties in school. The quest for a cure took her around the globe and on finding a powerful solution from a critically acclaimed program in Canada, Rita was compelled to share the life changing benefits of Arrowsmith Program with Geneva and Europe so that other students and their families may benefit.
“When my son Kareem was four years-old he struggled to cope with the mainstream academic program. His first symptoms were difficulty following instructions and poor motor coordination such as being unable to follow gym class or stay in the queue with other children on outings. He would always be out of place or off task. At that time the school he was attending in London told us they were unable to accommodate him any longer and advised us to find a school for Special Kids. Here started our long journey in search of a solution as we investigated all of the possible options.”
Rita cutting the ribbon to the newly opened Cognitive Enhancement Centre in Chambésy
Stephen Preece, founder of e5-portfolio, explains, "People are often surprised when I tell them that I am in the business of building people. That is, however, precisely what we at e5-portfolio have set as our mission. In fact, I have set up a company whose prime focus is to help young, creative minds develop into mature and innovative thinkers ready to make their way in the world. Do you remember that time when the only thing that counted was to look cool to others? Well multiply your own experience times ten and that could very well be what your child is currently experiencing. In the present climate of social media, fake news, climate change etc. It should come as no great surprise to you that the parent/child relationship can suffer greatly and so can school performance, general health etc."
e5-portfolio accompanies young people from adolescence to adulthood and from school (or a gap year) to a top university within the arts field around the globe. The 6-9 month program which can be done while at school or built into a gap year is attractive to students. Through the 5-step process each individual member is taken on their journey of self discovery before underpinning their own unique portfolio with their passion.
Risa Kunii wrote to knowitall.ch, "We are a team of students in Year 12 at the International School of Geneva, Campus des Nations who are organizing a charity concert and an art gallery to fundraise for an NGO called the Borneo Conservation Trust Japan (BCTJ) which acts to protect wildlife from forest fragmentation occurring due to the palm oil plantations in Sabah, Borneo. The organization promotes RSPO-certified palm oil (sustainable palm oil) and also manages several projects including the Green Corridor Project to ensure safe passage for wildlife to migrate between fragmented rainforests to propagate their species."
Knowitall.ch posted the event on the calendar in March and were delighted to hear back from Risa after the event, "We raised over Fr. 3,000 from selling freshly made sushi sponsored by a rice company, Malaysian dessert, and other donated food and drinks. We also were able to make some more money by selling art which was created and donated by students ranging from primary students to staff that was displayed at our art gallery. A raffle sponsored by LUSH included a "furoshiki" — a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth used to wrap gifts or various items.
