In April 2024, several regions of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan hosted the “Best Homeroom Session on Healthy Lifestyles” contest, during which secondary school teachers showcased innovative approaches to extracurricular activities aimed to address topics such as healthy lifestyles and infection prevention and to foster responsible behavior and a proactive attitude among students. The contest was held under the auspices of the Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University, a long-time partner of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) in Kyrgyzstan.
The regional stages of the competition followed the city-level contests held in Bishkek from October 11 to 13, 2023. To prepare for the competition, teachers used the methodology guide “Conceptualizing health education classes for students in grades 6-11” and the manual on using video lessons for conducting health education homeroom sessions in grades 6-11, developed by UNESCO IITE in collaboration with leading national experts on health education and approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic (the materials are available at https://iite.unesco.org/publications/video-lessons-health-education-kyrgyzstan/).
For the regional stages of the competition, national experts selected the following cities and regions: Tokmok (April 18), Talas (April 23), and the Issyk-Kul region (April 12). In total, more than 15 schools participated in the contest-related events.
The competition jury praised the homeroom teachers for their professionalism and creative approach to preparing homeroom sessions on healthy lifestyles, while the participants highly appreciated the methodology and multimedia materials developed with support from UNESCO IITE—these resources not only helped them in preparing for the competition but also provided valuable tools for conducting future health education homeroom sessions. The winners were awarded first- to third-degree diplomas, while the other contest participants received acknowledgement for their contributions.
Short video fragments of the healthy lifestyle sessions, presented by the contest participants, are available at the IITE UNESCO YouTube Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/@UNESCOIITE/shorts
