Newswise — Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 22—Nearly 200 teens from dozens of countries who are enrolled in either the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) or who are studying to earn the IB Career-related Certificate (IBCC) have flocked to the University of British Columbia to attend the second in a series of IB World Student Conferences taking place during school breaks from June-August 2013. Following on the heels of the vibrant IB World Student Conference recently concluded at Wake Forest University in the US, the IB World Student Conference at UBC focuses on ECOnomics: Creating a Sustainable Future [http://ibwsc.you.ubc.ca]. Program sessions opened today and feature tours of the university’s ‘green’ buildings, themed content and inspirational speakers, including keynote speaker Alex Steffen, award-winning author and planetary futurist, on Tuesday morning, July 23.
The IB World Student Conferences provide students with opportunity for extracurricular learning in a collaborative environment. Each conference attracts IB students between the ages of 15-17, all of whom are eager to dive into rich intercultural experiences with peers and (adult) global action team leaders. IB Chief Strategy and Development Officer Susan Saxton welcomed students to this morning’s opening plenary, saying, “The IB is proud to sponsor this event. We hope it will inspire you and ignite your creativity, leadership, and passion for a better world. As IB students, you are an exemplary group who have made the commitment to work hard, challenge yourselves, ask important questions and find solutions to global problems.” Saxton added, “The investment in your education that you are making now will have tremendous impact on how you view and engage with the world.”
The five-day conference at UBC supports examination of global engagement, and advancement of students’ personal Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) projects, a prerequisite to earning the IB Diploma, and an undertaking that encourages each student to forge a creative service action plan that can positively make a difference in the world. Student conference participants represent numerous cultures and languages, both diverse and far-flung.
During the conference, in between inspirational speakers and tours of UBC’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability--the most sustainable building in North America--students will devise innovative action plans to tackle the world’s most pressing problems, working in global action teams to advance grass-roots social entrepreneurship projects that focus on creating a sustainable and ‘green’ economy. Student presentations, the culminating event of the conference, will be available for review online at: http://ibwsc.youthmovements.org/
In addition, students who have received scholarships to attend the IB World Student Conferences are blogging during the events. A number of scholarship sponsors have supported student participation and learning that includes: • adjustment to new surroundings and to working with new people from an array of backgrounds and cultures.• developing new methods of problem-solving and thinking outside the parameters of what is common in their own country of origin.• gaining new cultural insights through peers studying the IB in other countries, who speak different languages, practice different religions, eat different foods, and come from various socio-politico-economic circumstances.• becoming inspired by their peers and enriching one another with ideas to implement in their home communities.• forging ties with potential future leaders from around the world.See the complete list of scholarship donors online at http://www.ibo.org/wsc On Tuesday evening, IB alumni students in the area are gathering at UBC to reconnect with the education programme that launched their careers, with each other and with IB leaders.
About the International BaccalaureateFounded in 1968, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is a not-for profit foundation, which offers four high quality and challenging educational programmes for a worldwide community of schools. For 45 years, IB programmes have gained a reputation for rigour and high academic standards, for preparing students for life in a globalized 21st century, and for developing citizens who will create a better, more peaceful world. Currently, more than 1 million IB students attend nearly 3,500 schools in 144 countries. To learn more, visit www.ibo.org.
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