7 schools, 20 countries, 120 students. Three little numbers that make up an amazing day at IYLS 2014 at Beijing Experimental High School. After another spectacular breakfast at the hotel, we departed for the summit at 7:30am.
After the opening flag ceremony in which one of our students (Julia Hay) held the Canadian flag we listened to another one of our students (Jerry Yang) MC the ceremony and introduce two wonderful speakers named Tomer Rothschild and Daniel Cheng. Tomer talked about the importance of making your own choices and doing something you are passionate about. It was a speech that I believe many other students should listen to and that they should become open to the idea of following a path less travelled because if you do what you love, it won't feel like work but more like fun and that is the best of both worlds.
After the Tomer Rothschild speech we had a small break and then all returned to our seats to listen to our second keynote speaker, Daniel Cheng. Daniel Cheng's speech was his story up to his current point in life. He spoke of how his entire family consisted of solely medical specialists and how this was the career path he chose to follow primarily. During his time in university he discovered computers and in turn discovered his inner computer geek. Although he loved computers he also had to continue with medicine. So in turn he created his own field of work "medical computing". With luck the business is working. Daniel Cheng also mentioned how he believes that you have to pursue your dreams.
We then took a break for lunch and had traditional food. There were large portions and a wide variety of foods (ex. Bok choy, tofu, pork with kelp, shrimp in corn and peas). We learned that people in China drink their yogurt rather than eat it with a spoon. Afterwards we went outside and played a basketball game with Beijing students. We played boys against girls and the girls outplayed the boys (jk...not really but we still won). It was really hot outside so we were all sweating.
After the games, we went back into the Experimental High School and were put into seven mini groups for the afternoon of the International Youth Leadership Summit. Each group had an hour and 15 minutes to collaborate ideas and discuss their selected topics.
Group 1 - Technology and how to balance it
Group 2 - The role of student union in the high school
Group 3 - Kids go global (being a global citizen)
Group 4 - Citizenship development
Group 5 - Personal development
Group 6 - Community and volunteer experience
Group 7 - Environment and societal responsibility
The students from the Beijing High Schools were extremely friendly and easy to become friends with. We traded gifts and took some pictures together. Afterwards, small presentations were generated to showcase the similarities and differences between the Beijing High Schools and the Canadian High Schools. Though, as expected, there were a lot more similarities than differences. From this International Youth Leadership Summit, all students had gained new and different perspectives and understandings of each other's education system.
After the summit, we visited a karaoke club called "Melody". Upon entering, we were taken aback by the bright lights and energetic music. It was the perfect way to build our excitement. When we entered the room, Jerry was the first to start off the karaoke and surprised us by singing a beautiful Chinese song. The night progressed as practically everyone sang some really terrible pop songs and some really nice classic songs like "Hey Jude". After two hours we received our delicious dinner, hamburgers with fries and cheesecake for desert. Most of us realized that singing can really get tiring and so we stuffed our faces with the food. When we got tired of hearing each other's singing voices, we decided to call it a night and headed back to the hotel. All in all, it was a very educational day but a relaxing and fun night!
Goodnight from Beijing :)
Written by: Julia, Tracy, Sumaira, Hillary, Cynthia, Emily and Brenda.
After the opening flag ceremony in which one of our students (Julia Hay) held the Canadian flag we listened to another one of our students (Jerry Yang) MC the ceremony and introduce two wonderful speakers named Tomer Rothschild and Daniel Cheng. Tomer talked about the importance of making your own choices and doing something you are passionate about. It was a speech that I believe many other students should listen to and that they should become open to the idea of following a path less travelled because if you do what you love, it won't feel like work but more like fun and that is the best of both worlds.
After the Tomer Rothschild speech we had a small break and then all returned to our seats to listen to our second keynote speaker, Daniel Cheng. Daniel Cheng's speech was his story up to his current point in life. He spoke of how his entire family consisted of solely medical specialists and how this was the career path he chose to follow primarily. During his time in university he discovered computers and in turn discovered his inner computer geek. Although he loved computers he also had to continue with medicine. So in turn he created his own field of work "medical computing". With luck the business is working. Daniel Cheng also mentioned how he believes that you have to pursue your dreams.
We then took a break for lunch and had traditional food. There were large portions and a wide variety of foods (ex. Bok choy, tofu, pork with kelp, shrimp in corn and peas). We learned that people in China drink their yogurt rather than eat it with a spoon. Afterwards we went outside and played a basketball game with Beijing students. We played boys against girls and the girls outplayed the boys (jk...not really but we still won). It was really hot outside so we were all sweating.
After the games, we went back into the Experimental High School and were put into seven mini groups for the afternoon of the International Youth Leadership Summit. Each group had an hour and 15 minutes to collaborate ideas and discuss their selected topics.
Group 1 - Technology and how to balance it
Group 2 - The role of student union in the high school
Group 3 - Kids go global (being a global citizen)
Group 4 - Citizenship development
Group 5 - Personal development
Group 6 - Community and volunteer experience
Group 7 - Environment and societal responsibility
The students from the Beijing High Schools were extremely friendly and easy to become friends with. We traded gifts and took some pictures together. Afterwards, small presentations were generated to showcase the similarities and differences between the Beijing High Schools and the Canadian High Schools. Though, as expected, there were a lot more similarities than differences. From this International Youth Leadership Summit, all students had gained new and different perspectives and understandings of each other's education system.
After the summit, we visited a karaoke club called "Melody". Upon entering, we were taken aback by the bright lights and energetic music. It was the perfect way to build our excitement. When we entered the room, Jerry was the first to start off the karaoke and surprised us by singing a beautiful Chinese song. The night progressed as practically everyone sang some really terrible pop songs and some really nice classic songs like "Hey Jude". After two hours we received our delicious dinner, hamburgers with fries and cheesecake for desert. Most of us realized that singing can really get tiring and so we stuffed our faces with the food. When we got tired of hearing each other's singing voices, we decided to call it a night and headed back to the hotel. All in all, it was a very educational day but a relaxing and fun night!
Goodnight from Beijing :)
Written by: Julia, Tracy, Sumaira, Hillary, Cynthia, Emily and Brenda.