STUDENTS FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY

On 25th and 26th January 2020, more than a dozen Shrewsbury students attend the Youths for Sustainable Development Goals Conference at Bangkok Patana School. Read our two student reports to find out how they got on.

A report by Weiyan (Wendy) Huang Y12

The 2020 Youths for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) conference was a huge success. It was an excellent chance for people to practise presentations in front of others and how to cooperate. Amongst the activities were the SDG Quest, Break-Out Sessions, and the Case Challenge. 

During the SDG quest, students were allocated into different groups with people they didn't know. This helped us to get different perspectives and work more collaboratively with others instead of with our friends. One of the most compelling activities was about responsible consumption and production. Organisers used fruit loops to represent microplastics, and the group who joined the game had to pick out as many fruit loops as they could within two minutes. This tells the participants that once plastic enters the ecosystem, it is tough to get them out. Therefore, it is imperative to be responsible with regards to recycling waste products. 

Similar to the SDG Quest, the Break-out Session also explained how the sustainable goals work. There were three sections in total, and everyone was working hard during each part they chose. Some excellent discussions were going on! One example was hearing students talk about the government raising taxes on people who have a second car. This would force more people to use public transportation, create far less congestion on the roads and in turn, reduce pollution.

The case challenge was by far the most challenging activity. Students had to work in groups of three to complete a presentation in only two hours! After that, the group had a four-minute lead-in about the presentation followed by seven minutes of actual presenting. After all the groups presented, the judges decided on a shortlist of just three teams to contend for the 10,000-baht prize. Those groups presented again to all of the students in the room before the judges decided on a winner.

The Youths for SDG's this year was a hugely successful activity. We learnt more about cooperation and the importance of creating a sustainable future for everyone on the planet. 

I think that this is something we should continue to work for.

Report by Remie 11IL & Andy 13MC

The Youths for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) is a conference created to bring together and unite youths across numerous international schools in Thailand. This is the same framework set-out by the United Nations. The 2020 event took place on 25th and 26th of January at Bangkok Patana School, with more than a dozen Shrewsbury students in attendance, and three Shrewsbury students amongst this year’s event organisers.

The event was divided into three main parts: the quest activity, the discussion workshops and the case-cracking session.  The quest activity was used as an icebreaker to bring together participants from different schools. We were then put into random groups where we had to work our way through several activities based on SDGs. The idea was both to educate and allow participants to think creatively about SDG-related problems. 

Next, came the discussion workshops. Here, participants could choose which workshop they wanted to take part in, and then engage in fun discussions guided by student leaders based on the theme of the room. 

Arguably, the case cracking session is the most significant part of the event. This task required participants to work in teams of 3 to come up with a solution to a problem facing humanity today and present it to judges. Students worked really hard on this as there was the added bonus of a 10,000-baht cash prize, which will then aid them in making their solution a reality.

The Youths for SDG conference was a great experience as we met new people and educated ourselves on ways to make the world a better place in the future. We encourage all students in the Senior School to join in with the event next year!