Global citizenship
I would like to introduce Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly readers to a publication that I think will be well worth your time if you have a sincere concern for the intellectual and social growth of young people. Skipping stones is "a multicultural children's quarterly". It is a magazine that will help children search out and reach their full potential as socially, intellectually and culturally aware global citizens.
Skipping Stones is not one of those publications that will encourage youngsters to stagnate in front of the television screen and/or play video games all day. When it says it is a multicultural children's quarterly, it really means it. When your youngster picks up this magazine, it will be like holding parts of the world's adolescent and middle-teen population in their hands. They will be able to access their peers all over the world.
Young people in places like Canada, Germany, Mexico, India and Africa eagerly await friendly cultural exchanges with those who are willing to expand their interactive horizons by mail. Let me note here, too, for the benefit of my young friends at St Aloysius' College in Adelaide, that "Patricia Borg, girl, age 13, 62 Ruins St, Birkirkara BKR 03, Malta, (interests: tennis, cooking and dancing) wants (girl) pen pals from Australia" [Skipping stones vol 5, no 3.].
This magazine will encourage and stimulate a young person's global comprehension. It will literally dare them to engage in reading, composition and self-discovery. It will allow them safe passage on a communicative journey into often troubled areas of the world, and, via their correspondents, it will make them better able and prepared to understand the sources of that trouble. The magazine does not preach to children, it simply gives them a broader and more personal knowledge of the world in which we all live. It invites them to participate and exercise their rights and responsibilities as global citizens.
Skipping stones carries no advertisements. It is a non-profit publication created to promote cooperation and the celebration of our world's cultural and linguistic diversity. While English predominates in the magazine's text, you will frequently find several different languages therein. The "guide for parents and teachers" section is also a good information source for adults who study along with their youngsters, and take an active role in their intellectual and social development.
The only complaint I have with this fine magazine is that it is a quarterly instead of a monthly. I hope that this will soon change as more people learn of its great potential.
Skipping stones' editor, Arun Narayan Toke, says, "We offer ourselves as a forum for communication among children from different lands and backgrounds. Skipping stones is designed to expand horizons in a playful, creative way. We welcome your support, suggestions, subscriptions and submissions."
Worldwide subscriptions (per year): Institutions US$25, Individuals US$15. Single and back issues US$5. Third World and low income discount: 50%. Available from Skipping stones, PO Box 3939, Eugene Oregon, 97403, USA.
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He is happy to receive letters commenting on his columns. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G2-51, GD&CC, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA.]