In a first for our seven schools, Swan Christian College (SCC) hosted a combined Global Leadership Summit (GLS) on Thursday 9 March 2023 with representative students from Northshore Christian Grammar School (NCGS), Ellenbrook Christian College (ECC), Mundaring Christian College (MCC) and a number of other Christian schools from the Perth area.
The day was organised by Year 12 students from SCC, who acted as speakers and facilitators to the gathered group of more than 300 young people.
So what was it all about? And can students present entire conferences without teachers and leaders?
One NCGS representative felt that the senior students acquitted themselves very well under the bright lights:
“The day was organised and run by students from Swan Christian College, they created all of the activities and designed the student brochure and interaction sessions between the students. It was highly professional and mirrored and surpassed events I have attended that were run by seasoned professionals,” she said.
True to form, the youth-focused event had ‘live-streaming’ to social media throughout the day, lights out and countdowns to significant moments throughout the program and a fair bit of talk about ‘resilience’ and ‘bouncing back from adversities in life.’
An ECC student was happy to share their thoughts on how the day was structured:
“It was good to take part in the activities and hear from speakers about spirit and identity, as well as what it means to be a global citizen and to ‘live beyond yourself’,” he said.
The conference supported the 40-Hour-Famine and featured guest speakers such as Mr Noddy Sharma (Head of Church, Schools and Youth Engagement for World Vision).
StreetX, BeyondSkate and Rebel Sport sponsored the event, with the West Coast Eagles generously donating a jersey signed by the 2022 AFLW team and coach.
SCC’s Head of Wellbeing, Mr Simon Bergin, was impressed by the Year 12 students who had been able to put together an excellent program and deliver on the requirements of the day:
“Our student leaders have been working hard since late last year to make this day a success. They all had roles for the lead-up to this day and were learning how to contribute to the team environment.
“A number of students sought sponsorships, re-wrote scripts, cooked lunch, organised lunch programs, worked with the Marketing team and corresponded with numerous speakers and GLS leaders via email and teleconferences.”
The success of the day prompted conversation from school leaders as to when the next GLS event will be held. A number of non-SCEA schools also sent staff representatives to observe the day and their responses were all positive and optimistic about the likelihood of future GLS events.
For more information about the Global Leadership Summit program, visit the website here.
