By Sim YH –
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, 24 OCT – Focusing on the 4th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which is Quality Education, the 20th Brunei International School Borneo Global Issues Conference (ISB BGIC) saw the participation of approximately 230 delegates from 23 schools which are 21 schools from Brunei Darussalam and two schools from abroad.
Hosted by ISB with conference partners from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (KKBS) and the Ministry of Education, the conference runs from today to 27 October.
In connection with that, ISB has introduced the keynote speakers for the conference namely Hon Dr Stuart Lawrence and Linda Cruise in a press conference held at the ISB Campus, Kampung Sungai Hanching, today.
Hon Dr Stuart Lawrence is a motivational and public speaker and the younger brother of Stephen Lawrence, is a writer, teacher and consultant with one goal which is to convey to young people and adults, the skills and mindset to achieve their potential, regardless of background and then become the voice of change for their community.
Meanwhile, Linda Cruise is the founder of Race4Good and is a humanitarian aid worker, writer and speaker committed to helping disaster-affected communities around the world. He is known for his inventive methods of disaster relief where he prioritizes the empowerment of local people for sustainable reconstruction.
Through his writing and lectures, he conveys his experience to motivate them towards action that gives impact.
The session also featured two sponsor representatives, namely the Head of Strategic Relationship Management at Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, Dayangku Rodzi binti Pengiran Abdul Rahman and the HSE Manager at Brunei LNG Sdn Bhd, Awang Amir Hamzah bin POKPSDP Haji Abdul Rahman where they gave explanations on behalf of their respective companies. -each.
Also present as panel members in the session were the Executive Principal and Chief Executive Officer of ISB, Dominic Morley and the general secretaries of ISB BGIC, Francisca Vega, Zara Jeffri and Emilka Lim.
The media conference also saw the presence of the General Manager of ISB, Vienna Law; Deputy Head of ISB Secondary, Ai Ling Wong; BGIC ISB Organizers, David Glantz and Rowena Miles, BGIC ISB Committee Chairs and ISB staff.
Commenting on the theme ISB BGIC, Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education: How can we ensure that equitable and inclusive education supports sustainable development?Dominic Morley said, at ISB they strongly believe in investing in human capital as well as quality education to increase productivity, prosperity and quality of life for all members of the local and global community.
Therefore, he added, they have been organizing ISB BGIC on a large scale since its introduction two decades ago with the main aim of benefiting our youth, society and community.
He expressed his happiness that this year’s conference theme highlights the importance of quality education to improve the global economy, ensure sustainable development and empower youth to support the SDGs and protect the future of our planet.
Following the press conference, the 20th ISB BGIC will take place at the International Conference Center (ICC), Berakas starting tomorrow until October 27 which will be preceded by the opening ceremony before being followed by keynote presentation sessions, committee discussions and the general assembly.
The delegates have worked diligently to research their respective topics and prepare speeches for the conference. The delegates will discuss and decide on resolutions related to quality education with topics that address obstacles to quality education, fair and equitable access to education, environmental awareness and green practices and the integration of digital literacy into the school curriculum.
ISB BGIC is an annual student-led conference modeled after the United Nations where participants represent countries to present various perspectives on current real-world issues.
The initiative aims to develop students’ understanding of global citizenship and critical skills in research, public speaking and negotiation.