二ＯＯ一年三月九日到十一日的週末期間，培德女中有十一位學生參加了第四十九屆的柏克萊模擬聯合國會議，這是培德女中第二次參與。會議在柏克萊加州大學舉行，活動亦由該校學生負責籌辦。培德女校的老師陪同學生一齊與會，當地上人的在家弟子們，也親切地提供自己的家給學生們住宿。
柏克萊模擬聯合國是模仿聯合國大會進行程序，由加州各高中學生團隊代表不同國家出席。今年培德女中代表芬蘭及冰島。與會期間同學們討論了當今一些重要話題：國際間和平與安全、武器廢止、解除貧窮、科技發展等，並草擬了解決方案。
整個過程讓代表團的同學們學習了許多國際外交、合作協商、和平解決衝突的技巧。所有與會成員都認為模擬聯合國大會挑戰性非常高，也是非常具教育性的一種經驗。以下節錄了會後一些同學們的感言：
十二年級蔡佩芬：…時間控制得很好…我覺得自己從中學習到不少。
十一年級高於涵:…今年我才算真正進入狀況，許多人都用很認真的態度去參加會議。
十年級陳青遙：…它改變了我對一些人及事的看法。
十年級Cintya Kandahsari：…你真可以學到很多：手邊的問題，以及代表們如何用幾小時的時間彼此協商，得到解決的方案。
九年級王慧娟：…他們的陳述令我很驚訝，他們評鑒及提解決方案時那種老練及聰慧，有時我簡直不相信他們只是高中生。我學習到在幹部會議中，如何一板一眼地協調、互動，作成決定，按大會方式投票…
九年級吳星燁：…我們學會如何參與一項正式的會議，如何溝通，如何與其他國家代表互動、協商來達成可行的解決方案… |
|
During the weekend of March 9-11, 2001, eleven students of Developing Virtue Girls School attended the 49th Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN) Conference. This was the second time a DVGS student team participated in this conference. The conference took place at the campus of University of California, Berkeley, and was organized by the Berkeley students. Three DVGS teachers accompanied the team, and local lay disciples of the Venerable Master graciously housed the students over the conference weekend.
The Berkeley Model United Nations is a simulation of a formal United Nations session where high school student teams from all over California represent one or more countries. This year the DVGS team represented Finland and Iceland. During the conference the student delegates discussed current issues such as international peace and security, disarmament, poverty eradication, and technological change. They also drafted resolutions that outlined possible solutions to these problems. In the process the delegates learned about international diplomacy and the arts of cooperation, compromise, and peaceful resolution of conflicts. All participants found the BMUN conference a challenging but enriching educational experience.
Excerpts from the students' comments after the conference:
... The time was managed well... I learned something from BMUN. —Peggy Tsai, 12th grade
... This year I started to understand and follow what was going on. A lot of people in there were very serious about this stuff... —Yu-han Kao, 11th grade
... It has changed the way I see several things and people as well... —Amy Bernacki, 10th grade
... You could really learn a lot from it: the issues at hand, and how delegates representing different nations compromised to come up with resolutions in a matter of a few hours. —Cintya Kandahsari, 10th grade
... I was amazed at how sophisticated and intelligent their resolutions, statements, and comments were. At one point I couldn't really believe they were high school students. I learned to caucus, interact in a businesslike way, make resolutions and vote the UN way... —Huei Ong, 9th grade
... We learned how to attend a formal meeting, communicate, interact with other delegates, and compromise on various solutions... —Shirley Wu, 9th grade |
