This year’s NAE-UNICEF Student Summit will take place in Houston, Texas from 12 to 19 June 2024. We are thrilled to announce that the following three students have been selected to represent BISS Puxi at the summit:
1. Tianyu
2. Jaeyoon
3. Salma
Please read on to see the students’ own accounts on why they believe they qualify as the best candidates to represent the school at the event.
TIANYU, Year 10
Having joined BISS almost one year ago, I am seeking leadership opportunities that become available and I am eager to apply for positions. Last term, I co-founded the Student Debate Society, which is a lunchtime club open to Key Stage 3 students, with the intention of helping them to learn more about debating and to improve their public speaking skills.
I have always loved debating and have been an active participant in several debating competitions during my time at BISS. These include the Nord Anglia Global Campus Debate League in which our team emerged victorious. I was also part of a 4-member team that represented BISS in the Xingguangbei Mandarin debating competition in early April. Moreover, I am currently a delegate in the Model United Nations (MUN) ECA and was part of the delegation that attended the Wellington MUN conference in March 2024 - my first ever MUN Conference. There, I was awarded 'Outstanding Delegate' in the World Health Organisation where I was representing China - this motivated me even further.
I am passionate about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and have participated in several service activities in relation to them. In January, I went to Tanzania for the NAE Service Project, which addressed several UN SDGs including Goal 1 - No Poverty, Goal 2 - Zero Hunger, Goal 4 - Quality Education and Goal 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy. Since October 2023, I have been the editor-in-chief of the 'PAWS' Team, which applied for the Social Impact Grant and successfully received a Project Grant worth $20,089. This project focuses on Goal 3 - Good Health and Well-being, Goal 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities and Goal 15 - Life on Land. At the same time, I have participated in several beach clean-ups during my time in Australia, which address Goal 13 - Climate Action and Goal 14 - Life Below Water.
Most importantly, I really wish to make a difference in the world we live in, and I believe the Summit will be a great opportunity to discuss the UN Sustainable Development Goals with other students of Nord Anglia who are just as passionate as I am. I am extremely honoured to have been selected to represent BISS Puxi at this prestigious student summit and do look forward to sharing my experiences with the rest of the school next academic year.
Jaeyoon, Year 10
I have continuously built up my leadership skills, starting as Deputy Head Boy in Year 6, continuing through roles in the Student Leadership Programme as a Charity Leader from Year 7 to Year 8, and the Student Council from Year 9 to Year 10. These leadership experiences have equipped me with the ability to inspire and motivate teams towards common goals, foster collaboration, and effectively communicate my ideas and thoughts.
In the realm of debating and Model United Nations, I have been an active member of the MUN ECA from Year 7, attending MUN conferences even during the midst of COVID. I recently attended the Wellington MUN Conference as a delegate of China, where I was honoured to receive the Best Delegate Award in the highly competitive Disarmament Committee. Furthermore, being a key participant in the Nord Anglia Debate League, our team emerged as winners against other NAE schools in the first round of the league. These meaningful experiences have greatly enhanced my critical thinking, diplomatic and public speaking skills, which I believe are crucial for engaging in important dialogue and finding innovative solutions to global challenges.
My deep interest in the UN Sustainable Development Goals was further solidified through hands-on experience during the NAE trip to Tanzania. The activities on the trip touched on Goal 7 (affordable and clean energy) when we installed sustainable LED lights for an impoverished local family and Goal 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) as we helped to build the foundation of a local primary school. Perhaps the most profound one was Goal 15 (life on land) where we engaged with a wide variety of flora and fauna at the Tarangire National Park. Additionally, I am the co-founder of ‘EcoBite’, an upcoming social enterprise which focuses on addressing the issue of food waste in high schools with the ultimate aim of driving positive change to the local community. Through the use of an interactive app that connects to an AI camera, we scan school lunches, give daily statistics on food consumption and raise awareness related to real-world issues regarding food waste and consumption, all linked to Goals 3, 12 and 13.
I look forward to collaborating with like-minded scholars from other Nord Anglia schools across the globe and promoting the school’s social impact agenda during and after the Summit.
Salma, Year 12
I believe that my extensive experience in the Model United Nation (MUN), spanning over 6 years, will come in handy for me and the other NAE students at the Summit. MUN helps keep me updated on global current affairs, promoting my interest and desire to participate in seeking solutions to the issues facing our world in the 21st century. The knowledge that I have acquired from the twelve MUN conferences that I have participated in (seven as a committee chair and five as a delegate) have boosted my confidence and equipped me with critical thinking skills that I believe will be invaluable at university and the world of work. Additionally, I play an important leadership role in the school’s MUN extracurricular sessions, as I assist the younger delegates in their preparation for conferences, helping them draft resolution papers and opening speeches.
Both at BISS and in my previous school, I have participated in and arranged activities to teach more about the UN SDGs and the celebration of United Nations days and events. An example of this is when my Year 8 class wrote letters to our pen pals, students in the Tanzania school that partners with Nord Anglia, teaching them about the SDGs and their impact, or when my classmate and I arranged activities and found videos to educate delegates on the UN’s World Children’s Day.
I am also a leader in the Opening Minds Opening Lives (OMOL) social impact project through which we are supporting children with special needs in collaboration with Learn Will Suzhou, promoting SDG 4- Quality Education. As part of my CAS project, I have been selling authentic jewellery from Kenya to raise funds for the Heart-to-Heart Foundation.
I believe that attending the NAE-UNICEF Summit will provide me with valuable experience that I can share with the wider BISS community, and hopefully, inspire other students who may be interested in attending future summits. I intend to take advantage of the collaborative opportunities that the conference will open between participants from the different NAE schools by engaging with relevant Global Campus activities and expanding my networks further.
