UNC World View: One World, Many Arts

March 13, 2026

The Friday Conference Center, Chapel Hill, NC 

UNC World View invites educators to participate in One World, Many Arts, a professional learning experience that explores how artistic expression reflects culture, history, and identity around the globe. Participants will examine a wide range of international art forms and discover how different societies use the arts to celebrate, document, heal, and respond to social change.

Designed for K-12 educators, this event equips teachers with practical strategies for integrating global perspectives into classroom instruction through visual arts, music, storytelling, and performance. Educators will leave with both inspiration and instructional tools to help students better understand the world through creative expression

Are you interested in earning the Global Educator Digital 

The NCDPI Global Educator Digital Badge (GEDB) process gives NC educators a streamlined path to recognition for global education work. The updated GEDB process simplifies earning the badge while aligning it with 6 Professional Teaching Standards.

The Global Educator Digital Badge (GEDB) provides an opportunity for educators to focus their teaching and professional learning on a global context and understanding of how to integrate global education throughout curricula. It also provides the opportunity for educators to demonstrate how they build global competency in students.

The State Board of Education has approved the North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge (GEDB) is available for the following educator categories:

• Teacher 
• Teacher Leadership Specialist 
• Library Media Coordinator 
• Instructional Technology Facilitator 
• School Counselor 
• Career Development Coordinator 
• School Social Worker, School Psychologist 
• Speech-Language Pathologist 
• Instructional Central Office Staff 
• Principal/Assistant Principal
• Superintendent 

To learn more, please access the following resources about earning the GEDB:

• Watch the InfoTrailer about the new GEDB!
• GEDB Guide with an overview and the step-by-step process
• GEDB Guide for Pre-Service Educators
• GEDB flyer to share in PDF format or as a PNG visual
• GEDB Canvas Site

The UNC Carolina Asia Center:

Japanese Calligraphy Performance

March 20, 2026, 6:00-7:00pm | Nelson Mandela Auditorium, FedEx Global Education Center, UNC-Chapel Hill

Empty Your Cup: A community performance and educational workshop for K-12 teachers on Japanese calligraphy Featuring calligrapher and dancer Kuniharu Yoshida With a focus on the meaning of community, Kuni will demonstrate and discuss calligraphy techniques. The audience will be invited to contribute to the piece. This event is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the garage beneath the FedEx Global Education Center. To access it, follow directions to Pharmacy Lane. This event will be followed by an educational workshop for K-12 teachers on Saturday, March 21, at Fayetteville Tech Community College.  

Click the first button below to register for the performance on March 20th. Click the second button below to learn more about the workshop on March 21st.

2026 Kindness Calendar

Make Kindness The Norm 

Thank you for sharing your stories of kindness and compassion with us throughout February. We have loved highlighting these moments in our newsletters and on social media. This month’s challenge reminded us that community well-being is built through everyday actions, shared responsibility, and genuine care for one another. We encourage you to continue nurturing a culture of kindness all year long by using the 2026 Kindness Calendar from the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation with your school community. 

#CharacterMattersNC #KindnessMattersNC

World History Webinar Series

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) will once again offer its World History Webinar Series this spring, continuing a tradition of providing high-quality professional learning for social studies educators across the state.

This series is designed to strengthen content knowledge for teachers of the high school World History course and is also well-suited for educators teaching 6th-grade and 7th-grade social studies.

Held on Tuesday afternoons throughout the spring, each session offers in-depth exploration of major global themes and historical developments, along with classroom connections and instructional resources to support effective teaching.

Spring Session Topics

• March 24 - Same Goal, Different Paths: Independence in the Americas
• April 14 - War in Sudan: Historical Contexts and Resources
• May 5 - Spice Islands in the Age of Exploration

All sessions take place from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.

Educators are encouraged to register for any or all sessions and join colleagues from across North Carolina for this engaging series that supports strong content knowledge and globally informed instruction.

2026 World History Webinar Series Registration Flyer.pdf

UNC Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies: Visualizing the Cold War: New Tools for the Classroom

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1 • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM • ZOOM 

This webinar offers history and social studies teachers practical, classroom-ready ways to work with Cold War primary sources in a short professional learning session. Using selected materials from the Visual Guide to the Cold War, the project’s developers will show how even brief source activities can spark student inquiry, discussion, and historical thinking. The session combines short demonstrations with time for individual reflection and small-group conversation, giving participants space to share ideas and think through how the materials could work in their own classrooms.

Spring Webinar Series: Implementing Standards-Based Instruction

Register for the Spring Webinar Series: Implementing Standards-Based Instruction hosted by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. 

The series has one remaining one-hour webinar:

• Aligning Standards-Based Instruction- April 14, 2026, 4:00–5:00 p.m.

The webinar will guide participants through key components of differentiation and strategies to support the needs of all learners. It will also support educators in creating standards-aligned performance tasks and understanding how standards are addressed, taught, and assessed.

SBI Registration Flyer.pdf

Save the Dates: Growing Success for MLs and the Standards Academy 2026

NCDPI's 2026 Growing Success for Multilingual Learners Summer Conference theme is Leading Together for MLs: Collaboration, Commitment, and Community. The NCDPI Multilingual Learner (ML)/Title III Team is seeking proposals from educators who are enthusiastic about sharing effective, research-based instructional and administrative practices that support multilingual learners across North Carolina.

Questions can be sent to susan.walz@dpi.nc.gov. 

NCDPI Character Education & Social-Emotional Learning On-Demand Professional Learning 

Developing globally competent students requires more than content knowledge; it also requires strong character and social-emotional skills. Character education and social-emotional learning support global education by helping students build empathy, respect diverse perspectives, communicate across differences, and make ethical decisions in an interconnected world.

To support this work, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) offers a collection of Character Education and Social-Emotional Learning on-demand webinars designed to help educators strengthen classroom culture while preparing students to become thoughtful, responsible global citizens. Character1 is the password for each On-Demand session. 

Character Education 

• The Power of Choosing Love: Watch an Inspiring conversation with Scarlett Lewis, founder of the Choose Love Movement. After the loss of her son Jesse in the Sandy Hook tragedy, Scarlett turned pain into purpose — spreading a message rooted in three simple, powerful words: Nurturing. Healing. Love. Learn how the Choose Love Formula empowers educators to build stronger, more connected school communities.
• Leading With Character: Improve the climate and culture of your school community based on ​the 11 principles of character education; Gain ideas and resources to improve school climate and culture from a ​state and national school of character; and understand the impact of character development on teachers, ​students, and overall school climate and culture
• Intrinsic Motivation: Foster intrinsic motivation in students; develop a comprehensive, intentional, and proactive approach to ​character education at your school 

Integrate Social-Emotional Learning in Your Classroom

• Self Management: Discover practical strategies to help your students regulate emotions, set goals, and demonstrate self-discipline. 
• Responsible Decision-Making:  Discover strategies to empower your students to think critically, make ethical choices, and contribute positively to society.
• Self and Social Awareness:  Discover strategies that help students build a deeper understanding of themselves and others while fostering empathy, emotional intelligence, and meaningful social connections.
• Relationship Skills: Discover strategies to help your students cultivate strong interpersonal connections, communication skills, and conflict resolution

Would You Like To Learn More About Character Education?   

Are you eager to create a culture of character in your classroom, school, and district using the 11 Principles of Character Education? NCDPI has professional learning opportunities to assist your school or district with your character education journey. If your school or district is interested in hosting a Character Education Professional Learning Opportunity, please take a moment to complete this survey to help our NCDPI team understand your needs. Contact Justyn Burgess, State Coordinator for Character Education, if you have questions.