St. Joseph High School students visit UH Hilo for workshop on global affairs
From a mini-Model United Nations simulation, to applying UN Sustainable Development Goals to local issues, the St. Joseph HS students were engaged from start to finish.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
A group of students from St. Joseph High School in Hilo visited the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo last week to take part in a day-long event where they were introduced to key areas of global affairs. The event was led by Professor of Political Science Su-Mi Lee, who was inspired by a colleague on the mainland who’s been running an international affairs summer program for high school students for several years.
“It introduces students early on to the importance of global issues and how they shape our daily lives,” says Lee. “Inspired by that work, I wanted to try a small-scale version here in Hilo and applied for a (College of Arts and Sciences) Faculty Professional Development Award to make it possible.”
Through her community connections, Lee was introduced to a teacher at St. Joseph High School, Masae Gomes, who is also passionate about helping students understand why international affairs matter. The result was last week’s event.
Professor Lee: “The event was energetic, engaging, and full of enthusiasm from start to finish.”
Throughout the event held Nov. 10, the high school students were immersed in global affairs.
“In the morning, we explored fun facts about countries around the world and discussed how interconnected the world truly is,” says Lee. “Then, I introduced key areas of global affairs and held a mini-Model United Nations simulation focused on climate-induced migration. Students represented five delegations — Bangladesh, Germany (representing the European Union), Fiji, the United States, and Australia — and worked together to draft resolutions.”
In the afternoon, the group shifted to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The goals offer solutions to poverty, hunger, water issues, insufficient life-long learning opportunities, and more.
“Working in groups of three or four, students selected one SDG, connected it to a local issue, developed solutions, and presented their ideas,” says Lee. “With the help of two UH Hilo student student assistants as well as Ms. Gomes, the event was energetic, engaging, and full of enthusiasm from start to finish.”
The two UH Hilo student assistants are political science majors Baker Taumaoe and Makayla Cramer.
Student feedback: “It was really fun and engaging. I learned a lot and took in lots of knowledge that I didn’t know beforehand.”
“The feedback I have received from students so far has been very positive, with several expressing that they wished they had more time to work on their projects,” says Lee. Here are some examples of that feedback:
- “I liked it a lot. It was really fun and engaging. I learned a lot and took in lots of knowledge that I didn’t know beforehand.”
- “It was a really fun experience and learning about international affairs and social affairs really opened up the way I think about certain things.”
- “Dr. Su-Mi made it really fun for us to learn about international relations and conflicts with all the activities.”
- “I got to learn things I never knew, like how we are all connected somehow, even though it might not be something we get involved in. I also learned how climate change, war and peace, migration, and other factors can affect many of us significantly, even though it might seem much. I also learned how countries can come together or be an alliance to help each other. Relationships and conflicts between many countries were fun to learn about.”
The most important thing: “Local problems all connect to the big spider web of global challenges.”
When asked about the most important thing they learned regarding global issues, students shared the following insights:
- “The world is a big group of individuals who are unique yet woven together to resolve problems.”
- “I learned that if we all work together we can solve many problems.”
- “The most important thing I learned today was even though some issues are not related to us, it could affect us in many different ways.”
- “Something that surprised me was how closely our world is related and we can face the same challenges but also solve them.”
- “Local problems all connect to the big spider web of global challenges.”
Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
