COACHING STUDENT LEADERS TO "BE THE CHANGE"

Greg Threlfall Director of Outreach, Shrewsbury International School Bangkok

Contribution is an innate desire in all of us, but often our busy lives make it hard to find time to give back. In schools, leadership skills and service learning are vital components for student development as global citizens, but they often take a backseat to our primary drivers or external pressures.

Inspired by the work of international humanitarian Linda Cruse, we developed a unique student leadership conference programme that aimed to provide training and inspire action to tackle real-world problems.

The event began with a focus on climate change and its impact on the indigenous people living in the Arctic. The Race4Good activity connected us immediately with Aleq (a hunter from Quaanaq in Greenland). It was clear by the end of Day 1, that we had already formed close connections between the 400 participants and their group of supporting staff, business mentors and race judges.

Through a dynamic and impactful three-day program, students from seventeen schools around the region were empowered to use their voices to effect positive change. We created a bespoke leadership curriculum, including a ‘Global Citizenship Passport’ and ‘Leadership Skills Self Reflection’ document which helped participants consider their own leadership skills as they journeyed through their individualised conference pathway. Coach ‘in-residence’ Isabel Valle set to work presenting active sessions like ‘Taming your Gremlins’, 'Finding the Future You’ and ‘the Success Mindset’ whilst other speakers like multi Grammy nominated producer, studio owner and Senior VP of Sony Masterworks Chris Craker talked about the importance of self-leadership.

We sought, very deliberately, to avoid what are often described as ‘talking heads’ in favour of lively, hands-on experiences that would allow students to practise leadership with empathy. Lisa Tregale, (Director of the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales) steers much of the BBC diversity and inclusion policy. Khun Tee Vachiramon, CEO of Thailand’s leading big data and AI company, who led a lively debate. We also enjoyed a fireside chat with Dr. Kraiyos Patrawat, (Managing Director, Equitable Education Fund) and his team who delivered a workshop on Equity Partnership Schools Network. This is a wonderfully successful entrepreneurial skills development programme involving international schools and EEF funded rural government schools working in unison on product design, production and marketing via the Shopee ecommerce platform.

All of the sessions linked back to the theme ‘Think Globally and Act Locally’ and were pitched age appropriately to provide a pathway for Year 6 up to Year 13.

The conference culminated in one-on-one ‘Speed Coaching’ sessions with all our guest speakers, giving participants the chance to receive guidance and inspiration from our incredible industry leaders. This was intended to equip the participants to approach future challenges, including university applications and the greater Global Citizenship agenda with increased skill and confidence.

The impact of this project will ultimately be measured by the implementation of the successful Race4Good team's actions by Linda’s ‘boots on the ground’. So, as a closing moment, we showed our gratitude to the mentors and speakers and asked all of the participants to pledge, with energetic encouragement from Linda and I, to "be the change" they want to see in the world.