SINGAPORE — February 14, 2011 — For the first time, over 100 DoDEA Pacific high school students joined 245 of their peers from Jordan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Philippines, and other countries for the Harvard Model Congress Asia Conference held here Jan. 14-16.

The HMC Asia is a forum for students to practice statecraft and diplomacy by assuming leadership roles as representatives of over 20 nations. The students are challenged through scenarios based on contemporary international disputes and must work together to forge solutions through diplomatic, judicial, legislative and journalistic exercises.

Topics covered a wide range of issues including overfishing and sustainable trade, six-party talks with North Korea, China and U.S. Military talks, immigration and energy reform, modern piracy, disaster risk management, and preferential trade agreements.

Facilitators from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government led the student teams which included the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, G-15, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and Domestic Policy committees, U.S. Supreme Court, World Trade Organization, lobbyists, among others.  

“The Harvard Model Congress Asia provided a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn the inner workings of the U.S. Congress and international bodies at an incredibly high level” said the DoDEA Pacific Activities Coordinator.

A teacher from Yokota High School agreed and added that the conference built on the experience many students brought from previous student leadership activities such as Model United Nations, “The students  were able to apply their MUN skills of research, writing papers, debate, negotiating, passing resolutions and bills, and parliamentary procedures while also learning a great deal about the U.S. Government.” Other skill areas the delegates learned and applied during the HMC Asia conference included cooperation, leadership, critical thinking, and public speaking.         

Challenging students through complex issues to strengthen both their academic and soft skills was an important consideration in choosing to participate in the conference according to the DoDEA Pacific Activities Coordinator A. Kinnick High School senior said the experience helped her reach that goal, “I learned how to get my ideas and thoughts presented in a friendly and respectful manner.”
  
Students came away impressed by the rigor and camaraderie of the experience, “This activity gave me a chance to meet people from all over Asia. I was also given the chance to practice real life skills that will benefit me in my future job in the global community.”

Selected delegates were recognized for their outstanding contributions to their respective committees. DoDEA Pacific students earned ten Awards of Excellence.

 

“Harvard Model Congress was an awe inspiring event that allowed me as an educator to observe some of the brightest and high achieving students from all of Asia,” said the Kinnick High School sponsor “It was also an affirmation to me that Dodds students are among the most globally aware and well prepared students for our interdependent world.”

For further information on HMC Asia: http://www.hmcasia.org

About DoDEA Pacific Far East Activities and Athletics:
In addition to Harvard Model Congress Asia, DoDEA Pacific sponsors 24 other unique Far East athletic and scholastic opportunities throughout the school year. Scholastic events include Far East Journalism, Science and Research Academy, MathematicaFest, LinguaFest, and many more while athletic competition includes tennis, cheerleading, cross country, track and field, football, baseball, wrestling, among others. Far East events also include several art and music offerings such as the Film and Entertainment Arts Festival, Creative Expressions, Culinary Arts, Honor Music and Jazz Honor Festivals, etc.

Far East events reinforce DoDEA core curriculum by providing students area-wide festivals, symposiums and competitions to showcase their creative, academic and athletic talents. The events are coordinated and managed by the DoDEA Pacific area office with guidance provided by the Far East Activities and Athletic Councils.

About DoDEA Pacific:
DoDEA Pacific provides a comprehensive preK-12 education to the children of military and eligible civilian personnel families serving throughout Asia. The 48 schools in DoDEA Pacific are comprised of more than 24,000 students and 3,100 full-time professional educators and support staff. The schools are geographically organized into four districts: Guam, Japan, Okinawa and South Korea.