The 19th International School Brunei Borneo Global Issues Conference (19th ISB BGIC) was held from 10 to 13 March 2023. This year, the conference attracted delegates from 20 participating schools across Brunei and 3 schools in Sabah, Malaysia. Chung Hwa Middle School, Bandar Seri Begawan (CHMS) showed its support by sending a delegation of 50 students to participate in the conference.
The theme of the conference was in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, which is to promote “Decent Work and Economic Health”. To shed light on this noble goal, the organising school, ISB, invited two prominent keynote speakers, namely Dr Hajah Siti Haziah binti Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin and Yang Mulia Awang Haji Mohamad Azmi bin Haji Mohd Hanifah to share their knowledge on issues in relation to the SDG 8 goal.
On 10 March 2023, delegates participated in lobbying sessions at ISB to prepare and fine-tune their resolutions. They then presented, debated on and voted for the best resolutions at ICC from 11 to 13 March 2023. As the conference progressed, not only did the delegates become more and more confident, but their speaking and critical thinking skills also developed by leaps and bounds.
On account of their conscious effort and outstanding performances, 4 CHMS delegates received awards during the closing ceremony. Kleio Lai Xian Hui (Y10Sci1), Owen Yang Fu Shen (Y11Sci2), Lim Jia Xin (Y11Sci2) were recognised as ‘Most Improved Delegate’ respectively while Carrie Briones (Y11Sci2) was awarded the ‘Best Delegate’ in the Committee of Political Forum 2.
The CHMS delegation was led by two Secondary English teachers of the school, Mdm. Afshan Rafi and Mr. Pow Zheng Kang. The students related that they had learnt a great deal about the UN sustainable development goals as well as the parliamentary procedures in a UN-style conference.
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| ▲ Owen Yang Fu Shen (second from left), Lim Jia Xin (third from left), Kleio Lai Xian Hui (third from right) and Carrie Briones (second from right) with the school’s Principal, Madam Kho Guik Lan, Deputy Principal, Assistant Principal and their teachers. | ▲ CHMS delegates with the school leaders and their teacher. |
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| ▲ CHMS delegates with their teachers, Mdm. Afshan Rafi and Mr. Pow Zheng Kan. |