Garden International School’s new Prefects have been learning about how to become better leaders during a conference in Malaysia.
GIS’s six new Prefects for 2016-17 headed to Penang to attend a Student Leadership Conference from September 22-24. Organised by the Federation of British International Schools in Southeast Asia (FOBISIA), the event was hosted by the International School of Penang (Uplands).
The first day began with guest speaker Mr Poul O.G. Hoiness, who has served as Danish Ambassador in the Middle East, South Korea and Japan over the past 30 years. He talked about the extra significance of cross-cultural understanding at a time when globalisation is becoming increasingly important.
Australian Army leaders then spoke to the 66 students, from 15 international schools, about how to become good leaders and what special skills are needed.
Students then had a chance to work together on a variety of tasks, including completing an online survey to discover their strengths as leaders. They also discussed issues at their schools and then discussed how these could best be solved, using a model for leadership they had earlier learned.
IB Coordinator Mark Beales, who accompanied the Prefects to Penang, said: “This was an excellent event where our Prefects were able to meet with other young leaders. The guest speakers were fascinating and offered some great tips and advice. Uplands organised engaging and practical activities that allowed our students to think about their own leadership qualities.
“At GIS we always encourage students to act as communicators and this conference helped our Prefects develop their leadership skills even further.”
GIS is based in Ban Chang near Pattaya.
