1. Description of Our Team
The future of our world is in jeopardy, with the rise of ever-growing threats, which constantly challenge our peace and security in this modern society of ours. This sentence is the one that has brought our team together and continues to hold us strong together, different in our character, in working on our project. Bryan (14), the idealist, motivates us with his enthusiasm and keeps us going in times of adversity. Wei Sheng (14), the diligent worker, believes in achieving higher standards, always there to lend a helping hand to us, ensuring work is done. Dominic (14) keeps the morale in the team high with his jovialness and provides a multitude of perspectives with his critical nature, giving our project substance with his analysis. Khang Wen(15), wise as he is, constantly brings up points to improve on and creates our websites with his proficiency in IT. Different as we may be, but we do realize that when we work hand in hand, capitalizing on each others' strengths and covering up our weaknesses, we can achieve big. Moreover, under the guidance of our teacher-mentor Mrs. Chan, whose vast knowledge is of no doubt our advantage in our project, we are definitely even more confident in achieving our project aims. Teamwork is our key to success and our workload delegation was meticulously planned. The intensive research was to be done by all group members as the different areas of our project have been identified. Other areas like the vetting of our own work, creating of the resource package were evenly spread out among our 4 members. This project has therefore been an effective platform which was able to tap on the strengths of our members and to address our main concerns.
2. Summary of Our Project
Art of Diplomacy. An art so impactful yet underestimated, an art so impregnable yet underused. Day by day, terrorism continues to invade into our lives through its violence and aggression, instilling fear and hysteria into the masses. Day by day, the art of diplomacy is neglected. What the world sees is terrorism as a threat that can only be stopped by employing violence. What we see is that terrorism can actually be solved through the art of diplomacy. This project investigates on three areas- peacekeeping, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction and how diplomacy has an impact on all of these. In this modern time, where international security is constantly under threat, it is important to understand how diplomacy ties in and help in these problems. This is the gist of our project. We Believe in Diplomacy, the concerns of our society are all solvable through diplomacy. Peacekeeping, as difficult to carry out as it seem, can be made easier to carry out through diplomacy, as violence is avoided through conducting international relations. Terrorism, something which has struck fear into the world, need not be elevated to such a serious stage, where the Iraq war took place. The art of diplomacy could have helped in reducing the devastating state the world is in as it continues in fighting against terrorism. As weapons of mass destruction continue to threaten the delicate balance of power, it’s up to diplomacy to protect us. As the United Nations as a peacekeeping and international organization partakes in the intervention of nuclear enrichment programs, it can only be hoped that it will be for the betterment of the world and not create another slew of problems. Can we do it? Can we achieve peace and security? Our hopes are on you, Diplomacy!
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6
E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):
Our school is sufficiently equipped with wireless broadband connection and relevant software that aided us in all aspects of the project. Each of us also has access to the computer and the internet at home and thus the transmission of information was made easier.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
The journey of doing this project was no doubt arduous as it was paved with many new challenges and problems that we were not within what we had expected. At times, we were at loss of what to do but we did not depend on our mentor for help as we tried solving the problem ourselves as a gauge of our ability. As Confucius said “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he will eat for life.” This saying encompasses our belief of learning how to overcome barriers and obstacles using our own abilities and getting up from the mistakes we make. Many a time, we would be paused in our tracks, having to deal with conflicting views or being unable to acquire required information. We paused but we did not stop. By being bearing with each other, we often managed to reach a consensus and continue working, learning from the small arguments that we may have and enriched with possible new things we have learnt. We also had to deal with schedule differences even as we were racing for time. As such, we had to be accommodating so that we could meet up and complete our project. At times, late nights were unbearable but the knowledge and expertise we have derived is truly priceless, making our sacrifices worth it. We believe in the process. The process is the most important of all, it is where we learn to fall and we get up again stronger and more resilient than ever, never taunted by the difficulties which continue to unveil.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
Peace is essential to the balance of the international system and conglomerate of nations. As John F.Kennedy puts it, 'Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.' We Believe. Believe in Diplomacy. Believe in Global Peace. We dream of the day when problems of security would be solved and we would be able to live in peace and harmony. Believe and Dream. When you believe and contribute, goals will be achieved and the world will be one step closer to becoming a better place. So let’s stop these unhappiness and live hand in hand, all as one.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
The activities and research for our project supported our current course on geo politics and geo economics. It addressed the issues of terrorism and its threats to the balance of peace and security in the international context. The research supports the academic context we are learning this semester, mainly violence and terrorism. We also learned new skills such as teamwork and communication skills to facilitate the proper completion of the project. We also improved our research skills which will be useful to us in the future when writing research thesis. Through this project we also better understood the concept of diplomacy and its importance and relevance today. Through this project we also realized that not only the teachers but the students play an important role in the school community. If all students were proactive and willing to share, we would learn much more and have a better grasp on the topic then if we were to leave everything to the teacher. In the modern society, internet has been a very useful tool for interactive learning and is used in our school as a platform for self-study as more information and contrasting views are shared online giving students a global perspective of situations.
|