Instilling leadership skills in students

A four-day training programme for the students of Trivandrum International School will conclude here on Saturday.

The programme is aimed at improving the communication and leadership skills of the students so that they grow into confident individuals capable of making informed choices. On Wednesday and Thursday, an expert team of trainers from the Delhi-based organisation WORDZ trained the middle school students in voice modulation, giving off-the-cuff speeches in a convincing manner, and projecting a confident body language.

An MUN (Model United Nations) training workshop for children in classes 9 to 12 was held on Wednesday. Though many of the students had taken part in MUNs in other schools, this was the first time that an MUN was held at the school, a release from the school said.

MUN is a simulation of the actual proceedings of the United Nations. The students were divided into two different committees of the UN — the Disarmament and International Security Council (DISEC), and the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Council (SOCHUM).

Relevance of U.N.

In DISEC, a WORDZ trainer taught the students about the importance and relevance of the United Nations in today’s world, and the circumstances surrounding the UN’s birth. The trainers made the session engaging by presenting curious facts about some of the member-nations, such as the fact that Japan has no standing army, while Vatican City does. Then, the students went through the rules of procedure for a UN-U.S. MUN. Another trainer went over the different points a delegate could raise in a committee and when it was appropriate to do so, as well as the different styles of debate. The students also learnt about the proper way to research for a MUN, the accepted sources of information and so on.

Friday and Saturday have been devoted to the intra-MUN.

The importance of socialising, working smartly and efficiently, and respect for one’s peers were among the lesson that the students learnt.